Five Ways to Be Bold

Hello! It's Spiritual Journey Thursday, and I'm out adventuring, but I couldn't NOT leave a post in celebration of Donna's One Little Word BOLD.

When I look back over my life, I realize that even though I am a self-professed shy, introverted person, I have also had some really bold moments -- one such moment came to me this morning: when I was 11, I was the first girl acolyte at Christ Episcopal Church in Covington, Louisiana.

 I've also had plenty of wish-I'd-been bold moments. That's sort of what I want to talk about today. Because I'm learning being bold isn't always about being loud or brash or outlandish or first. For me, lately, it's about these five things instead.

How To Be BOLD

1. Be honest. About who you are, what you like, what you want, what you think.

2. Speak up.  Even when no one asks. Maybe especially when no one asks. Who you are and what you like/want/think is important, and no one will know unless you tell them.

3. Try something new. Read a book in a genre you don't usually choose. Sign up for sushi lessons -- even if you don't like sushi. (It will grow on you, I promise.) Go to a thrift store and buy something you'd never wear -- and wear it!

4. Say Yes. And NO. Yes to adventure, to an invitation for coffee, to getting up in the middle of the night to watch a meteor shower. Say NO when it interferes with what you really want to be doing or when it hurts you (or others) or when what you need more than anything is a nap.

Bold Oliver!5. Wear rainbow shoelaces. Walk around in the world like it's a beautiful place to be, and you are so delighted to be in it. Smile at strangers. When someone says, I like your shoelaces, do a little dance step and invite them to join in. Sure, they might say no, they might think you're crazy. But this is a way to reach out and connect with the world. And I can't think of anything BOLDer than that.

Please come back tomorrow for the kickoff of my 2016 National Poetry Month project ARTSPEAK! Plant. Grow. Eat. Yay!