Authentically Going All In
Ever notice when you tell your truth, even the icky, embarrassing, don’t-have-it-all together truth that leaves you feeling vulnerable and insecure, that some people turn away embarrassed, but others will sigh and nod their heads and offer a been-there-done-that smile. Then they will support and encourage you rather judge or bolster with white lies.
They’ll root for you a little bit and you will root for them too because we have all been-there-done-that and you know it is hard every single time and they know it is hard, this being human thing and we know that we must celebrate any and all efforts to grow and learn and live well while we are here.
It so much easier to be a human when you run into those people. Those people who let you see that they are human too. We can connect then to each other. Go a little deeper and judge a little less because while there are some crazy-ass people doing some things we would never do, there is plenty of stuff we have done in our flawed, human status, in our full-on imperfection that is just as crazy-ass.
We will not always get the life thing right. Not even close and I’m totally down with that. But it doesn’t mean it isn’t scary when the idea fails or the story is rejected or my lack-of-parenting skill is on full display in the supermarket. But in these moments of ick we can help each other feel not so lonely and afraid in our wrongness.
You Are Not Alone
We can stick together. We can teach other, and laugh and hug and say, ‘whoa, do I know that feeling and you are not alone” and then we all become a little braver. And authentic. And able to share our truth and our experience and our talents and gifts and ideas with the world in a way that can really change it for the better. When we feel brave, we are free to come off the bench and participate.
Not every person can be this kind of human for you, the one that can deal with your drama in a supportive way. Not everyone should. But you can be this for another. And, we can all stop judging each other and then we can go find those who are willing to tell us when we have spinach in our teeth and those who are strong enough to hear our story, to hear our truth.
Of course it is preferable that these are the same friends that keep a good bottle of the wine in the cupboard for the days when the truth sucks.
Find these people. Check the cupboard for the wine. And, stay close to both the people and the cupboard.
Honor these people by being vulnerable and authentic and alive and brave enough to stand next to them when they go all in too.
