Daring Greatly

This summer I was in a book group reading Daring Greatly by Brene Brown. She is a researcher on shame and vulnerability. Brene writes about how the courage to be vulnerable transforms the way we live, love, and even parent and lead. For an intro to Brene, she has a great TED talk.

I was surprised to find out that the title of the book comes from a 1910 speech by Theodore Roosevelt, focusing on the person in the arena who is human, trying their best, making errors, course correcting and trying again…daring greatly by engaging without knowing what the outcome may be.

This describes my adventure here in Bend in many ways. I moved to Bend, guided by spirit, without knowing anyone and without a pharmacy job. With my Healing Journey Options website up and no experience running a business, I was down to a month’s worth of living expenses in my savings account after a year and a half. Positive things that happened during this time were that I completed the requirements to become licensed as a professional teacher at the Reiki I & II and Usui/Tibetan ART/Master levels with the ICRT. In addition, I had a chance to realize how much I needed to retire my “superwoman” cape and did some radical self-care and healing during this time. Meeting many of you and growing friendships was a highlight of this time and continues to be a joy!

A temporary 6 month “as needed” clinical pharmacy position at St Charles turned into almost 3 years of about part-time employment and allowed me to “recover” financially as well as meet some wonderful co-workers. Online business classes and a creative business coach, Sammantha Bennett, have made a big difference in my experience after resigning my pharmacy position in Feb 2014. I am still learning and growing and now covering my business expenses, which is a major step forward. Next is covering personal expenses and then even paying myself!

A key message in Daring Greatly is “wholeheartedness” – engaging life from a place of “I am enough” and I am worthy of love, belonging and connection. Living this way in a world that emphasizes “fear and scarcity” is a challenge. It takes guts to get out in the world and live your dream – daring greatly is to transform your focus from fear to being brave. This also involves fully embracing yourself as a human being, strengths and flaws.

What risk will you take to be vulnerable as you grow and create meaning in your life?