“There is no shortage of good days. It is good lives that are hard to come by. A life of good days lived in the senses is not enough. The life of sensation is the life of greed; it requires more and more. The life of the spirit requires less and less; time is ample and its passage sweet. Who would call a day spent reading a good day? But a life spent reading- that is a good life.”
Recently, I've been consumed with two creative, inspiring, raw, authentic, fiery, unapologetically-badass women whose work I have admired through the years. Both have new books out.
Dr. Brene Brown's work on vulnerability and shame from a research-oriented perspective inspired me in my own writing and sharing of my work. Turns out, when you dare greatly in the 'arena,' you are going to get knocked down.
Miraculously, PK and I were able to score tickets to her sold-out show in SF, and there was a unique energy in the room. We were not her fans, we were part of her tribe- all of us were somehow in our own arenas of life, wanting so badly to choose courage over fear, being tempted to feel safe rather than brave, but also feeling sick and tired of hiding out, pretending, and armoring up against vulnerability.
“Our job is not to deny the story, but to defy the ending- to rise strong, recognize our story, and rumble with the truth until we get to a place where we think, ‘Yes. This is what happened. This is my truth. And I will choose how this story ends.”
In her newest book, Rising Strong, Dr. Brene Brown provides the roadmap to enable individuals to navigate through the messy middle parts of life (this is where the magic happens), and ultimately emerge from the mud and mire more whole, and living a more wholehearted life. She reliably, simply, shatteringly continues to rock my world, in the most mindful, elegant, research-based of ways.
On the same note, Elizabeth Gilbert's newest book Big Magic comes out tomorrow. I've been riding this train of what it means to live a creative life (it is a choice, after all), how to show-up daily for the 'work' even when feeling uninspired, and trusting that this path of uncertainty as an artist is worthwhile and meaningful. These authors are like warm blankets to comfort us artists, who are at times, shivering in our own fear and isolation. The power of good, honest, raw writing, of course, is that even when it expresses sentiments of the work being difficult and hard and muddy, that kind of authenticity makes us all feel less alone in our creative work. Somehow, we feel more normal.
Read Dr. Brene Brown's book Rising Strong, and listen to this fabulous interview with Elizabeth Gilbert and Jonathan Fields about her new book, Big Magic.
http://www.goodlifeproject.com/elizabeth-gilbert/
Take inspiration by the hand and follow your curiosity. Then get up off your butt. And make something real.