We all have things happen to us in life. Some are wonderful. Some aren’t. It’s how we respond to adversity that makes all the difference.
We can succumb…or we can overcome.
Most of what happens in our daily life is probably fairly benign. It’s when the big things, the unexpected, the often unwanted things happen that test us and help us remember that we can respond or react. The choice is ours. Often, a fair amount of grace is required to help us not succumb, to support us to overcome the adversity and carry on hopefully stronger and even better than before. Even if at first we don’t realize it.
I think Mandisa captures the essence of this magnificently in her song and her video, Overcomer.
Maybe you’ve heard her song before, but if you’ve never watched the video that accompanies it, then you’re missing out. I am posting it right here below.
And here is my challenge to you:
Listen to the song and watch the video. I hope you’ll take a few minutes to do this so you can see what I mean. It’s something you will feel in your body as the music and images play out. Please watch it to the end, and then post your thoughts in the comment section below.
My expectations were low. Full disclosure: I watch a lot of free webinars. I am never motivated to buy anything at the end of them. Anyway, the information that I got was so interesting and so in alignment with what I already knew and was currently doing (or trying to do), that I had to find out more about what this guy was teaching. Also, I had to find out more about this guy in general.
So I did what women everywhere have been doing since the beginning of time when they needed to find out more about a guy:
I googled him.
Not one bad thing. Not one. On the entire internet.
This led to me becoming part of the Igniting Souls Tribe, which led to me going to the Igniting Souls Conference this year.
This was a much bigger deal for me.
I was taking big risks to go to this conference!
I hadn’t flown alone since 1990 and had never changed planes before to get anywhere. If changing planes was required, it was a deal-breaker.
I would be leaving my daughter alone for a few days, and she didn’t want that.
In the end,though, I did the thing I thought I could not do! (Nod to Eleanor Roosevelt)
I packed up all my fears and I went to Ohio. Alone. On the plane–two planes. No, four, counting the fights home!
In the morning before the first session of the conference started, I heard a song playing over the speakers. I could feel it inside me. This wasn’t just any song.
Translation: Time to Say Goodbye. And I realized that I had done exactly that. By making this trip, I said ‘Goodbye’ to my fears and ‘Hello’ to my faith and confidence in myself. When I heard this song playing, I knew I was exactly where I was supposed to be, doing exactly what I was supposed to do.
So, who is this Kary guy? He’s the guy who you can’t find anyone to say anything bad about. And at the Igniting Souls Conference, there were hundreds of people saying only good things. About him. About each other. It was one of the best gatherings that I have ever been part of. Ever.
Thank you, Kary, and thank you to all the amazing members of this tribe, in which I am blessed to be included.
I am leaving you with this, my favorite version of Con Te Partiro, which Andrea Bocelli sings with Sarah Brightman. I hope you feel it, too.
Here is a slideshow of some moments from my trip and #IgnitingSoulsConference17
WHO are you?I’m 36. An artist, a woman in love, a widow, a crafter, a teacher, and a seeker of joy. I live in Wisconsin with my boyfriend, TJ, and my Beagle, Gracie.
WHAT is your One Brave Thing? It’s hard to pick just one – honestly, it’s been a journey. I was 32 when my husband died by suicide. After that, I found that I had to face new fears and learn how to create a new life for myself.About nine months after he passed, I went away for a week by myself. I was having trouble trusting my own decisions and I knew I needed to leave my comfort zone in order to move forward. The trip was transformational and ultimately led to my decision to leave my home in Iowa and move to Wisconsin for a fresh start. Art journaling and crafting were such a vital part of my healing process, and I really wanted to share that with others. My ultimate brave thing was to leave my day job in order to start a business teaching art classes and offering coaching services.
WHEN did you do it? I started my company, Determined to Shine, about 18 months ago. It’s been a bit of a crazy journey, to be sure. But without a doubt, it’s the best decision I’ve ever made.
WHERE did it occur? Right here in Madison, Wisconsin.
HOW did you make it happen? One step at a time! Determined to Shine has grown into so much – weekend retreats, several online workshops, and even one-on-one coaching services. Sometimes it can seem like all of that happened at once, but it’s been a gradual process. For those looking to make a career change – don’t let the size of the task overwhelm you! Pick apart each task into small chunks, and just get started.
WHY did you do it? The idea for Determined to Shine had been in my mind for several years. Ultimately, I realized I was just going to have to take a leap and be willing to fail. I didn’t want to wake up in three more years and still be talking about it. Taking that leap was terrifying, and I had to build my plan along the way. But everything that’s worth anything is scary. Determined to Shine has brought so much joy into my life and the lives of others – I can’t imagine what life would be like if I hadn’t done that one brave thing.
Thank you, Allyson, for sharing your brave story with us!
I began to read Michele’s story and as a woman, my heart was filled with compassion and empathy for her and the situation she was in. As an RN, my heart was filled with rage for how this patient was treated by her physician! Michele was not defined by her circumstances, however. Rather, she decided to educate herself and therein lay her power, and now she is offering to share her results with all of us.
One quote resonated with me very early in the book, as the author described her experience with “continual roller coaster ride courtesy of allopathic medicine,” perfectly capturing what can happen if you are not empowered with the information you need to evaluate medical information and make good, informed health care choices for yourself and your loved ones.
Many other sentences speak to my own beliefs. On page 92: “The pharmaceutical industry is not interested in your health.” Truer words have never been spoken. Also, on page 108: “The corruption at the CDC runs deep and wide and the health of the American public is not the sole priority, or even a priority at all.”
The chapters dealing with the pharmaceutical industry and vaccines will provide you with especially valuable information.
Here is this month’s BRAVE Interview with Sylvia Wesley! Enjoy!
WHO are you? I’m a 61-year-old white woman—wife, mother, nurse, and pseudo-bon vivant!
WHAT is your One Brave Thing?Sometimes I feel like just living every day is a Brave Thing and it is difficult to choose a single event! As a nurse, it seems like so many of my ‘brave things’ encompass caring for people—my dad and my brother, who both died of cancer; my mom with multiple surgeries; friends with HIV/AIDS. As a mom I gave birth to twins who were 10 weeks premature and their first 6 months of life was pretty hectic, to put it mildly. As a wife, still being married after 38 years could be considered brave—but probably the bravest aspect there is that I married a black man in 1979, only 12 years after the Supreme Court ruled interracial marriage was not illegal, and our early years involved some struggles in a very white New England. So, after all that, I decided to choose a joyous adventure as my One Brave Thing—I went to Burning Man!
WHEN did you do it?8/28-9/1, 2006
WHERE did it occur?Black Rock Desert, NV
HOW did you make it happen?Mostly my daughter made the initial experience happen. She had been going to Burning Man for a few years and always marveled at how awesome it was and she was sure I would love it. So for my 50th birthday, I was given a ticket to TTITD (aka ‘that thing in the desert’). Which meant I would be sharing camping space with 38,000+ other adventuring nomads for a week in rather hostile environmental conditions, and only knowing one other person. A little scary having to be self-reliant in an unknown situation, camping with my daughter’s friends who only had her assurances that I was ‘fun, non-judgmental, fully capable of taking care of myself, and would not act like everybody’s mother.’ So I packed my bags and flew to LA. We readied all our camping equipment, some party outfits, food and water for a week, and did a 12 hour ride/drive-share to the event with a heretofore unknown person. After 12+ hours, in a very small mini-van, we were all fast friends. Getting to and from is just as much of an adventure as being there!
WHY did you do it?For the adventure! It was one of the best experiences of my life—the bigger-than-life art, the music, the people, the sense of oneness—all magnificent. I came away with a whole new sense of self. And as my daughter predicted, I would want to go every year after that, and did so for the next 7 years. ‘Life’ has since interrupted my annual trek, and I have not been for the past 3 years, but look forward to resuming visits to my personal Mecca in the near future.
Thank you for sharing your story with us, Sylvia!
If anybody wants to learn more about the culture that is Burning Man, go to https://burningman.org/
Maybe you’ve seen this video by now. The one where Alex Wubbles, a nurse at University Hospital in Salt Lake City, is assaulted and arrested by a police officer while she is at work, doing her job, protecting her patient. Thank God that there is a video account of this so that everyone is free to see exactly what happened without the filters of backpedaling and rhetoric and false recounting of the events by anyone. You can also read more about the event in the The Washington Post article by clicking here.
This is an example of bullying, plain and simple.
Someone wanted to force the nurse to act in a way that was in violation of her ethics, morals, and values. The nurse, Alex, calmly reasoned with the individual who was making the demands and presented evidence to support her conclusion that what she was being asked to do was in violation of all of the above, as well as the rules of the facility in which she worked. Her decision was to decline the demanded blood draw for her unconscious patient.
The officer tried to bully Alex into doing what he wanted, and she held her ground with grace. And then the office lost his temper, and this is when it all falls apart, and Alex is assaulted by the bully.
Judge for yourself (be forewarned that this is upsetting):
One observation I have is that the gentleman in the white shirt not only stood by her, but tried to intervene to help her; he was an active bystander. The situation might have turned out even worse if he wasn’t actively trying to defuse the situation and help his coworker.
I leave you with this quote from Renee Thompson‘s blog (Nurses Unite Against the View but What About Each Other? Posted by Renee ThompsonSept 22, 2015):
Here is this month’s BRAVE Interview with author, Jennifer W. Smith. ENJOY!
Who is Jennifer W. Smith?
I put my family first, so I’d start with I’m a wife and mother. My next top three answers: I’m a novelist, a world traveler, and a foodie. I live in a cozy New Hampshire town in a busy household including a blue-eyed kitty and a collie who looks just like Lassie. I’ve had other careers before I became a fulltime writer in 2015. I’ve used my experiences from when I was a flight attendant and interior designer to inspire my story ideas.
What is my One Brave Thing for 2016?
Well, if you asked me my brave thing for 2015, I’d have said publishing my first novel, Flying Backwards. In 2016 I published two books, The Rare Pearl and The Forsaken Pearl, but I’d say the One Brave Thing was pushing myself to maneuver—and conquer—the digital age to produce all aspects of publishing my latest books—mainly book cover design. The cover is critical. It’s the first thing a reader sees. If the cover isn’t appealing they won’t bother to flip it over and read the back. I worried that I’d be unsuccessful, but I was determined to give it my best effort. Let me state, my skills were basic at first. I’m happy to report that after all the puzzle solving I’m pleased with the final products.
Why did you do it?
So why make my own book covers if I could just pay someone? Well, I love design in general. As I mentioned I’m a former interior designer by trade. Also, I spent a decade taking photos and documenting my family’s life in scrapbooks. So a part of me thought it would be fun and creative. Besides, I found it difficult to explain what I wanted my cover to look like to someone who hadn’t read my story. I paid to have the cover done for my first novel Flying Backwards. I explained what I wanted, and I do love the cover, but it’s not perfect. For example, in that story the main character is an international flight attendant and the airplane on the cover is a domestic plane (it should have four engines instead of two). I know it’s a tiny detail. But the control is what I like—and it is kind of exciting and fun.
When and how did you do it?
I spend loads of time the whole year reading and watching YouTube tutorials about how to produce a successful book cover. Who knew fonts had so much impact! It took me a while as I tried different programs, but eventually I discovered which ones worked best for me. My fellow friends and authors recommend sites where I could purchase photos or fonts. I also stumble across Derek Murphy’s book cover design tutorials which helped me immensely. After vastly improving my MS Word skills, I managed to produce book covers for my Broken Water Series, which include The Rare Pearl and The Forsaken Pearl. I was able to manage 95% it, but I confess, my husband helped with the file conversions. I may have shed some tears of frustration throughout the learning curve, but it was worth it.
Where did you do it?
I learned, and continue to learn, right from the comfort of my home. After I got used to navigating the internet—I realized the world is at my fingertips. With dedication to succeed, I’m grateful to live and thrive in this modern age. This is a usable tool to become self-published. I hope I inspire other budding authors to give it a try.
I always love to hear from readers. Please check out my website at JenniferWSmith.com for book trailers, release updates, events, blogs, and more. Also, you can read the first chapter of The Rare Pearl, Book One in the Broken Water Series for FREE. You can find me on Twitter @authorjenwsmith and Facebook at AuthorJenniferWSmith.
Here is #3 in The BRAVE Interview series! It’s the Who, What, When, Where, How, (and sometimes Why) of YOUR ‘one brave thing’! November’s interview is with Sheila Brownlow!
WHO AM I?Sheila Brownlow
MY ONE BRAVE THING—when, where, with whom: I have stopped discussing eating, how upset I am at my eating, how much I weigh, whether I am peeved at myself for overeating, how awful I am for not weighing 110 lbs., whined about how I can’t eat like a normal person anymore at age 55, or otherwise wasting time – precious time – talking with my friends, so many good friends….about eating and weight. Not in person, not online. For one month.
WHY DO I THINK THIS IS BRAVE?I’m at this age/stage of my life where I’ve felt compelled to start every interaction with a justification of how I look and why I don’t look like a 30-year old anymore. It’s not ok to essentially apologizing for myself to start every interaction. To me it’s brave because I have completely shifted my lens on the world.
WHY:Because I waste so much time and energy where I could be helping others, learning things, doing things, having meaningful conversations, being supportive, just being in the moment…with all this constant food and weight talk I am taking away from the productive possibilities of my life and my friends’ lives.
So how do I feel about this? Well, I miss commiserating, and I’m still working on not “leading” with that foot in every conversation (“let’s talk about food, eating, how much, when, regrets…again?”). I think I am listening better rather than just winding up to say how upset I am about this that or the other weight thing.
Can I continue?I don’t know. Maybe if we all spent a month on something other than our food and body appearance we could make a lot of changes in the world.
Karen Creamer Author, Coach, Speaker 
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