Vulnerability – The Unveiled

Englighten

Block the Block

To state the obvious, I’ve been absent from this blog for the past few weeks. I could make convincing excuses, e.g., I’ve taken on a second job as a wrangler for the Four Seasons Horseback Riding operation, but that doesn’t feel like the whole truth. I want to tell the whole truth; this must always be a space of vulnerable story-telling, even when certain stories feel uncomfortable.

But, just for fun, here is some photo evidence of my almost-excuse.

So, here’s the unveiled truth–I’ve had writer’s block. No, worse than that–inspiration block.

I’ve come to the conclusion that since I am still dry in the enlightening historical anecdote department, I must push back against the blockade on my creativity by picking up my proverbial pen and writing about it. After all, if you bring your struggle into the light, it loses the power it has mustered by remaining veiled in shadows.

There are a few lessons that I’ve learned from this process that I would like to unpack through my next few posts. I believe that these will have useful tools for overcoming various blocks; not just in writing. Here’s the run-down:

The fear of man, i.e., worrying about people’s opinions of me, cannot have a hold on my blog content or on the content of my life for that matter.
In unearthing truth in public, the reverberations may leave me drained and tempted to shy away if not kept in check.
My search for inspiring stories isn’t always the route to take. Sometimes, I need to unveil truths through personal commentary.

Please check back to get my take on the above points. To ensure that you won’t miss anything, subscribe on the homepage sidebar and get fresh content delivered straight to your inbox.

Quotes / Patriotic / History

Take Heart

Perhaps this punchy quote is expected from President Theodore Roosevelt– The same man who was shot in the chest and instead of going to the hospital, proceeded with delivering a 90-minute-long speech! But isn’t such courage, though it will look different for each person, and hopefully less dramatic, the standard that we should attain to?

Comfort is achieved by remaining on the sidelines, but this is often at the expense of digging the grave of your own dreams. I think most of us want to “dare mighty things,” but when it comes down to it, that takes real vulnerability.

Dr. Brené Brown is a research professor who studies vulnerability and knows the immense struggle it is for so many. It takes courage to be vulnerable. In fact, Brown points out that the root word for courage is “cor,” which is Latin for heart, and an early definition of courage was “To speak one’s mind by telling all one’s heart.” In other words, courageous meant to bare your heart.

Mighty surf at Ho’okipa, Maui.

Think of people that you look up to for whatever reason– Chances are, they got to their current success by daring to be vulnerable; by baring their heart. For instance, many great authors, such as William Golding, E.E. Cummings, Jack London, Dr. Seuss, and J.K. Rowling were rejected by publishers numerous times before their famous books were finally published. So not only did they have to be vulnerable once, but after they failed, they had to be vulnerable again, and again, and again. Or take Walt Disney–…