Out There

Seven Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Me

Out There

It feels good to be back, to put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard.

I love writing, it is the essence that flows through me like a river when I allow it to, and unfortunately, I have denied myself that pleasure for too long. My book “Hungry”-Feed Your Soul is doing amazingly well, and I suppose in a way, it was such a process getting that work “out there”, that in some ways, I needed to retreat from the world of writing for a little while. I have recently been approached to be a co-author along with 32 other amazing spiritual teachers, authors, and thought leaders for a series called “Adventures in Manifesting”. It is an exciting time for me in terms of getting my work out there, and having my voice be heard, but at the same time, there has been something stopping me in terms of moving forward and just allowing my writing to flow.

This blog has always been my little haven of respite, a safe place to go and exercise my mind, heart, and soul. It’s a place to connect with those who choose to enter this space, and to share what I’ve learned, and what I’m still yearning to learn.

I think what happens is that I end up thinking that every piece that I write needs to be a masterpiece, needs to be perfect in every way. And that’s what stops MOST of us from creating….the fear of inadequacy, or fear that no one will engage with what we’ve created.

We need to see it from a viewpoint of “better out than in”. All that juiciness is no good holed up inside our human casings! The spirit needs to flow and be free, and to be housed among skin and bone with no place to roam and express itself, the essence of our creativity gets stuck in a rut.

As I write this, it becomes apparent to me that there is one key theme that revolves around getting our work “out there”, and that is the theme of vulnerability. One of my favorite authors Brene Brown is an expert and speaker on the topic of vulnerability. Her 2010 talk on Tedx has over 9,000,000 views to date, and it is the rawness and authenticity of this talk that has captivated people worldwide.

Putting yourself “out there” inevitably creates a sense of vulnerability, and a fear that you won’t be seen, when ultimately that’s your end goal. You write a book, of course you want people to read it. You put your heart and soul into a painting, you want it to be admired. You armor yourself up for a day of parenting, and hope that someone notices that you’re doing a good job. You wear your heart on your sleeve…..you get my drift.

You extend yourself, and wait for a connection..

For as Brene puts it, there is a fear of disconnection more than anything that stops us from moving forward. The mask we wear from day to day is like solid armor, showing no signs of weakness, and a sense of not wanting to let anyone in.

For fear of not being seen.

For fear of being isolated.

For fear of not being able to fill the shoes of those who put themselves “out there” before us.

It takes a certain level of courage to forge forward in the direction of your dreams. Getting up every morning requires enough courage in itself to meet whatever it is the world has to offer, and we should all praise ourselves for the incredible navigating that we do each and every day to be seen, to be heard, to be LOVED in this world.

When I ask myself “Why am I writing this, who would want to read this anyway?”, I stop and ask the question “Why NOT?”. Aren’t we living in a continuous stream and flow of conversation, unique ideas, and experiences that CONNECT us to the core of who we really are?

By putting our work “out there”, we take a gamble, this is true, but isn’t life just one big game after all? How can you pass GO And collect $200 if you haven’t even rolled the dice?

I am so grateful for a series of events that have happened to me recently to fire up my creativity and really connect me to what my purpose is. I am here to share, and to LOVE. It’s a pretty simple job, just as long as I don’t allow my ego to complicate things.

To sum it up in my own words…

Vulnerability is putting your cards on the table, not knowing what the rules are or what the outcome will be. There is a courage the springs forth, pushing you, knowing that not matter WHAT the outcome, you played in the game of LIFE.

I say yes to the game of life, with all it’s fears of

disconnection,