“Speak your mind, even if your voice shakes.”
~ Maggie Bunn.
I was connecting with a friend earlier this past week, and the conversation flowed into defining what the opposite of ‘fear’ was. Several thoughts were tossed around. Including words such as ‘trust’ and ‘faith.’ Then what spontaneously came to me is that it takes vulnerability to move through fear. The statement below came tumbling out:
Vulnerability is the seat of Courage.~ Lin
Sounds like an oxymoron: vulnerability and courage??!
For me, in order to “speak my mind” I owe it to myself to figure out the difference between my mind ~ and my Mind. I have to get honest ~ and to do that, I must become vulnerable.
Small-‘m’-mind simply is the repository of thoughts (mine and others), ideas (mine and others), input from tv commercials and jingles, OPOs, residue of nightmares or pleasant dreams, insecurities, policy and procedure manuals, resentments, forensic files shows, judgments, wishes and hopes, pharmaceutical commercials, Dr Suess books, likes & dislikes ….that I’ve carried around for eons. Jumbled up. Jumbled in there. The head-bobbin’ ‘speakin my mind, sista!‘ (or ‘mista!‘) Lots of arrogance and ignorance. Fear.
Large-‘M’-Mind has taken the time to filter through the Committee comments, been willing to evaluate truths in the jumble (wheat-from-chaff as it were – which is a kinder more PC way to say stop bs’ing myself), become willing to separate the what-was from the what-is, see my part in the formation of my opinions, and step into integrity about those thoughts, ideas, beliefs that define the who-I-am-today.
Sure “the fam” sees me in the role from kidhood. Yah the folks at the high school reunion remember that ‘me’ from 20 – 30 – 50 years ago. Yup the “ex-” has me pegged as fill-in-the-blank. That was then. What defines me today? Will I embrace that and show the world the present-me? Vulnerability into courage.
Then …..
Even if I am afraid, follow Maggie’s suggestion.
Speak my Mind.
Even if my voice shakes.