I don’t have anything smooth and polished to give you this week. It’s been a bit crazy at work and quite frankly, I can echo the words of Bilbo Baggins when he told Frodo, “I feel thin, sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread.”
Busyness isn’t enough to make me feel stretched. I have just seen an inordinate amount of pain in past weeks, and it is weighing heavily on me. I spoke about it in my last post – the loneliness, the sadness. There are a lot of sad people in my world right now. But in the midst of this sadness, I have seen small acts of courage.
The man who is no longer in love with his wife but is willing to try again said, “I will stay with you even though I am almost out of hope.”
The woman who is trying to survive the turbulence of her husband’s mid-life crisis said, “I am confused and hurting too, but I am here for you. I’m not giving up.”
The woman who decided to be open and vulnerable with her new love rather than stony and closed took the risk to say, “I love you even if you don’t love me.”
The man at the end of his rope finally decided to say, “I can’t keep my nose above water anymore, please help.”
These small steps – to connect rather than withdraw and isolate – these take courage. Make no mistake, the risk is huge. I can’t predict what will happen in the lives of these people. They could be crushed for their vulnerability. Or they could find more intimacy than they ever thought possible.
As I was musing about these things this week, a music video dropped into my inbox – Sara Bareilles’ Brave. The sheer lack of perfection, the awkwardness, and the unbridled joy of this video utterly delight me. And, in my personal opinion, the best lines of the song are:
Maybe there’s a way out of the cage where you live
Maybe one of these days you can let the light in
Show me how big your brave is
So, to all the sad people in my life – I see you. I care. I know it’s tough. I’m in your corner. Be brave.
PS – Dude in the library, I want to give you a huge hug. You are my favorite part of this video!
ERYN-FAYE FRANS, Canada's Passion Coach ®
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