I have been on a bravery kick.
For the longest time I have been pushing fear away.
…committed to releasing fear and choosing love instead.
Love cannot exist where there is fear they say.
What I hadn’t realized is that I wasn’t embracing my fear.
…rather, pushing it away and literally choosing love instead.
But I fell into the pattern that we all do, which is wanting something so badly for fear of the opposite.
Wanting love because what we really don’t want to feel is loss….separation…rejection.
Wanting relief and peace because I really don’t want to feel the pain of fear.
Super attached to outcome.
Super attached to the way I feel.
Hating the feeling of pain and anxiety, fear and loss.
So much so, that I would push it away and welcome its way cooler, way better feeling opposite…. LOVE.
What I have learned through the lesson of bravery
Life is not without fear.
Love is not without fear.
It’s about embracing both sides.
It’s about recognizing where fear is and how we can go ahead and… carry on anyways.
Bravery has taught me to embrace fear.
Show it love…. gratitude…. compassion.
And invite love to join the party.
Fear comes to the party as fear….and leaves as BRAVERY.
The Good Dinosaur
Beautiful…adorable…of course, another opportunity to sob in a movie theatre for me.
Another gorgeous lesson in bravery.
Only as the voice of T-Rex Sam Elliott can say,
“I was afraid….if you ain’t afraid when a crock is biting you in the face, then you ain’t alive.”
What this authentic tale has reminded me is that life is not without fear, it’s about learning to, as Sam Elliott’s character says, “Seeing what you’re made of.”
Whether we are fighting off crocodiles or raising children, making a living and caring for a most meaningful and important relationship….
There will be fear…
…And there will be bravery.
One way I have explained my love for my kids is: I love them so much it hurts.
It does… that aching, overwhelming, almost anything but joyous feeling in and around my heart when I tap into the emotion and attachment I have for my children and my husband.
It’s kinda what fear feels like.
But the love I have for them has an energy, a momentum to them that carries me to action in providing for them, caring for them, holding space for them to thrive and grow.
In the moment of fear, may I embrace my driving force of love for them, and love for myself, and glide through.
To the other side.
Where fear meets bravery.
Diagnosis during pregnancy 
Thanks so much for the shout out. Your writing is beautiful and it gave me goosebumps to read your words because i felt as if you were describing what I was thinking/feeling while creating that piece. I make the art that I need and that I can relate to. And I put it out into the world hoping that someone else who needs it will find it. When you bought it I recall you saying that you needed to be reminded to be brave and that you were wanting to remember to take this action on a daily basis. That really resonated with me. I too, need to remember this daily. But I need also to remember to carry it out in a gentle way. You summed this piece up so eloquently above. Being brave doesn’t always mean having to be tough and harsh and forceful. Sometimes it means simply having courage to take another step forward despite the pain we feel or the fear we experience. Thank you for taking an interest in my work and for sharing how you relate to it. It really means so much to me. It validates, for me, why I do what I do. Thank you. 💕
Hi Gretel, your comment touched me so much, thank you. The universe is a magical place that you and I can share in each other’s art and, well, your words speak for themselves. Thank you, too, for your validation, for showing up and for sharing your work. May we defintely remember to just take that step forward…xoxo