The BRAVE Interviews – Page 3 – Karen Creamer Author, Coach, Speaker

The BRAVE Interview #3 October 2016: Sheila Brownlow

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.

Thank you so much, Sheila!

The BRAVE Interview #2 September 2016: Jody O’Farrell Breton

August 17, 2016December 31, 2016 by Karen, posted in friends, no fear, The BRAVE Interviews, writing

Hello and welcome to my new series: The BRAVE Interviews! It’s the Who, What, When, Where, How, (and sometimes Why) of YOUR ‘one brave thing’!

Welcome to Interview #2! Here we go!

**UPDATE: Jody’s new business website is right here: http://www.essenceofspiritceremonies.com/

Who: My name is Jody O’Farrell Breton. I am a (newly) retired (by choice) Respiratory Therapist. I am also an Ordained Interfaith Minister, Ceremonialist and Energy Healing Practitioner. And a tree hugger and a lover of all things earthy 🙂

What: I retired! After participating in a spiritual event in May I made my decision to resign from my career of 35 years and forge ahead on my own as a professional chaplain.

When: August 5, 2016

Where: My last full-time employer in South Portland, Maine

How: I contemplated, dreamed, obsessed, cried, prayed and journeyed on the decision. Oh and discussed it ad nauseam with my husband. Then one day when my stress level reached critical mass at work I came to the decision not impulsively but calmly and with great conviction!

Why: I realized that I am more than a Respiratory Therapist; I have skills and a calling that will not quiet itself. I know that the Universe continually presented me with obstacles to remaining in the status quo and opportunities to spread my wings and fly! Re-invent myself….yes!

Jody’s business is Essence of Spirit Ceremonies. You can reach Jody by email: essenceofspiritweddings@gmail.com

NOTE: Missed Interview #1 with Kathy Eliscu? Just click on her name to read it now!

The BRAVE Interview #1 August 2016: Kathy Eliscu

August 7, 2016December 31, 2016 by Karen, posted in books, Interviews, no fear, The BRAVE Interviews, writing

Hello and welcome to my new series: The BRAVE Interviews! It’s the Who, What, When, Where, How, (and sometimes Why) of YOUR ‘one brave thing’!

We are kicking off the series with Kathy Eliscu, author of the wonderful book, Not Even Dark Chocolate Can Fix This Mess.

So, let’s get started-

Me and Kathy at Falmouth Library — Me and Kathy at the Falmouth Library, 2016.

WHO are you? A: I’m Kathy Eliscu. I’m a retired RN (from an injury) and have been writing freelance columns for decades. I have a 7-year-long running humor column in Maine called “Lightly Roasted” and am the author of the humor novel “Not Even Dark Chocolate Can Fix This Mess.”

WHAT is your One Brave Thing (so far!!) for 2016? A: I had been scheduled for a brief reading from my book but asked if I could share some of my “serious” unpublished material and was given the go-ahead.

WHEN did you do it? A: This was in May of this year.

WHERE did it occur? A: At the Local Buzz in Cape Elizabeth, Maine.

HOW did you make it happen? A: Well…I opened my big mouth and asked.

WHY did you do it? A: I’ve been working on some serious material for a couple of years but felt very insecure about it. I wanted to push myself to try it out. It just seemed like the right time to take a chance. And I got very good feedback on it, so now I feel I have the impetus to continue to do this kind of work as well as humor writing.

Thank you so much, Kathy!

Kathy’s wonderful book (which I read and loved!) is available on her website: kathyeliscu.com and at Amazon.com.