Authentic Joy

Well, Brene Brown's posts about Authenticity are over. I can hardly believe it, 5 weeks went by so quickly.  I found this workshop phenomenal. Not only for the insights into myself, but for the perspectives from other people.  The women who participated were thoughtful, supportive and most importantly honest.  They put into practice something I call living transparently.  "What you see is what you get.  I am not going to hide from you." 

It takes a tremendous amount of courage to live transparently and these women did it so gracefully, so thoughtfully (and not thoughtful like- here's a card for your birthday, but thoughtful as in thought put into something difficult).  I am thouroughly impressed with them.

We had lots of responses about What do you want to Focus on? and embracing imperfections and practicing courage. a fair amount on perfectionism.  We were certainly not afraid to share what we considered our weaknesses.

I did find it interesting, however, that in our final week, Brene asked us to speak to our joy. Some of us did, but lots of us were quiet.  It makes me wonder - are we more afraid to share that we are joyful creatures than to share that we may be "damaged" creatures?

I know I am a Polly Anna.  I see the bright side to everything.  I find joy in the simplest things.  and frankly I am not embarassed by that any more. I truly believe this quote:

"Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light and not our darkness that most frightens us." -Marianne Williamson,

In celebration of my Polly Annaness, here are three things that bring me joy!

1. My horses.  Their fuzzy, soft, wonderful outsides and their deep and forgiving souls.  any troubles can be soothed, just by being with them.

2. My husband.  A man with the most amazing sense of humor, he can have me laughing so hard I can barely breathe!  He is thoughtful, caring and understanding. And sooo not afraid of his light!

3. Nature.  Outside is the best place to be.  I love the smell and feel of springtime grass, the shocking beauty of summertime flowers, Autumn, well it just goes without saying. and the quiet softness of winter snow-  a surprisingly wonderful thing.

This life?

It is pretty freakin' awesome.