Being with What Is: Having the Courage to Go Deeper

“We cultivate love when we allow our most vulnerable and powerful selves to be deeply seen and known, and when we honor the spiritual connection that grows from that offering with trust, respect, kindness and affection.” — Brené Brown

This started out as a newsletter, an update to people in my network of beloveds after a period of quiet darkness. A blue period I only alluded to obliquely and wrapped in my signature rose colored, “don’t worry, I got this”, optimism (as evidence, see photo above). An experience that might have stayed largely hidden were it not for the response I received, the courageous and contagious vulnerability that flowed back to me from those I love. And some that I loved but barely knew and now know a great deal more. A response that — despite all my sharing on this journey of Contagious Vulnerability — surprised and humbled me.

Many of you reflect how easy I make the authentic, uninhibited soul baring look. The truth is that each time I write one of these Medium pieces or send out a newsletter I wonder if its contents are really worth sharing, worth drawing the attention of others to, worth anyone’s precious time. Whether there’s too much me and not enough we to be of value. Questions which at their core point to the wound around worthiness that I share with my mother and continue to tend to.

What to me had been a simple check in was clearly something more. It invited me to explore my experience more deeply and to share it more widely in hopes that it may offer value to you too. If you were one of the recipients of that email, you may…