Last year, I started a non-fiction, self-help book club to read books that simply better ourselves, our lives, an our families. The response was inspiring and we now have a community of woman who motivate, support and challenge with one another.
Our latest read was, Imperfect: The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown. She honestly defines wholehearted living as “engaging in our lives from a place of worthiness. It means cultivating the courage, compassion and connection to wake up in the morning and think, No matter what gets done and how much is left undone, I am enough” (3). She proceeds to explain how this process is “the journey of a lifetime” (3). Ahhhhhhh….we don’t have to squeeze it in this month?! No! This is a LONG, LONG, LONG process that builds upon life experiences and much, much practice. It can also be uncomfortable and risky. Yet, building courage, compassion and connection throughout our years, makes us stronger, resilient, and happier. Letting people see that we are ‘imperfect’ along this journey, actually strengthens our relationships and ourselves. This honesty has a ripple effect and allows these ‘gifts of imperfection’ to give back to us tenfold! For instance, when you are more accepting of yourself and others, you become more compassionate. When you open yourself up to connect with others and allow yourself to receive blessings or help, you will then give more. When you put yourself out there, sharing feelings and experiences, you are showing ordinary courage and inspire others to do the same.
Dr. Brown does DIG (Deliberate, Inspired, Going) deep into ways to that prevent us from living with our whole hearts. So she develop a list of qualities to cultivate so that we can live wholeheartedly:
Start cultivating: authenticity, self-compassion, a resilient spirit, gratitude & joy, intuition & trusting faith, creativity, play & rest, calm & stillness, meaningful work, and laughter, song & dance.
Again, this is a process, a movement towards living better. Simply try to work on these each day, with each conversation, decision and action. Over time, you will notice your gifts strengthening and yourself transforming into a better version of you. “To practice courage, compassion, and connection is to look at life and the people around us, and say, “I’m all in” (31). So, what are you waiting for? Start Wholehearted Living ♥︎
the Essentialist Family 