Both broken and radiant...

 "We are all in the same boat – radiant and broken…" – Sy Safransky

Every living thing has been broken. If not broken, it has a scratch, a dent, a nick, a gouge, a crack, or a hole in it. Every heart, has at some time, been broken or bruised. To be alive is to be both broken and radiant.

Being authentic and vulnerable is living with our brokenness and our radiance. When I am wounded, when I break, I reflexively close tight. The key is to remember you have been broken before and recovered. You can trust again. You can open your heart again. When you open your heart, the radiance pours out like sunbeams through a cloud. 

Throughout life, every one of us experiences some hurt, grief, or loss that breaks us. At this time, we choose. We choose to say yes and bounce back and return to life or we say no and choose to diminish.

When you are wounded, broken, and you fear you cannot go on, that is your moment to remember. Remember, you have been here before and you have returned.

Returned to life, returned to love.

Walls...

"They say there is a window from one heart to another; 
but how can there be a window where no wall remains?" ~ Rumi

Rumi, a great spiritual poet, reminds us of our potential as human beings. We are designed to connect.

"We are hardwired for connection." – Brené Brown

It is our fear and need for power that erects walls. Every wall I have ever studied, from Jericho to Berlin, has come down. It is our fear, our reptilian brain's fear of anyone not like us that has created walls and systems of oppression and exclusion.

My faith tells me to "love thy neighbor as thy self." It is time to evolve. Evolve past our reptilian fears and move to our higher order thinking. Our human thinking that reaches out with human open hearts, open minds, and open hands to our brothers and sisters across all humanity.

LOVE

It is essential to love and care about ourselves so that we can love and care for others.  Your self worth and value as a human being is not dependent on anyone else.  We have to own our value.  We have to claim our worth.  We are here to love and be loved.  We are created by unlimited, unconditional love.  Each and every day we are in the embrace of God.  Your being approved of by another person is not necessary for your love to blossom.

When we love, we can heal our wounds and offer forgiveness to the broken people who have hurt us.

When we love and respect ourselves, we can forgive and let go of the hurt, anger, and resentment that weighs us down.

When we love ourselves and each other, we forgive and love again.

Continue...

I never thought of myself as a very intellectually bright person.  In school I always did well in Language Arts and Social Studies and struggled in Math and Science.  

My mantra through most of my adulthood has been, "There are thousands of people smarter than me, but no one works harder than me."

Success to me has always been measured in, "Have I been helpful? Have I been caring and compassionate? Have I been understanding and empathetic?" 

I think for the most part, I have met my goals.  I can, sadly, think of a few occasions where I have failed to be all that I wanted to be.  I live with and accept responsibility for my shortcomings.

Every failure, every mistake, has taught me valuable lessons.  I have learned humility, forgiveness, gratitude, and courage.  Now it is my great pleasure to share these lessons with anyone that will listen.  I share in graduate classes, professional development for educators, speeches, videos, and podcasts.

My mistakes have taught me that we are not alone.  We all stumble, we all fail, and it is my joy to continue to get up.  Get up, look up, and continue.  

I love to continue- continue life, continue love, and continue learning.