Snagging my jacket off the back of a chair and my lunch from the fridge I walked to my car, called my mum and sank into the leather seat. My first day of work was off to a great start but I needed some fresh air and a friendly voice. She said, "you're so brave." In this moment I didn't feel brave. In fact, I revealed, I'm hiding in my car.
Two days prior to our conversation I moved from Oakland, CA, where I had been living for the past two years, to a more remote and central part of CA to begin travel physical therapy. These life changes came on the heels of a breakup, a lot of reflection, and several helpful conversations with trusted mentors, friends and family members.
So there I sat acknowledging the paper thin slice of bravery as my mum equated this leap to inland California to jumping off a cliff.
Mum's are always right, you know.
In Glennon Doyle's, Untamed, she highlights the concept of bravery throughout,
"Brave means living from the inside out. Brave means, in every uncertain moment, turning inward, feeling for the Knowing, and speaking it outloud."
As I mediated on the concept of bravery, it dawned on me that I would tell my friends they brave for:
Saying no to plans
Being vulnerable with friends/family members
Trying something new
That bravery doesn't have to mean risking your life, it means "to forsake all others to be true to yourself" (Untamed).
I have had the desire to set out on this journey for so long and when the right time came I knew it was the right time because I listened to myself. I was reminded by family of my goal to travel. I was told it was possible by friends. I trusted that everything would work out in the way I needed it to. That I deserved to chase a dream (into the middle of nowhere, I digress). When I finally began listening to The Knowing, the pieces fit together seamlessly. Letting go of the dam I built let abundance flow down river. "The braver I am, the luckier I get" (Untamed).
So no, I'm not bungee jumping off a cliff or throwing myself out of a plane. I am listening to my inner voice. And it is so blooming brave.