#bebravefriday

“To be an artist is to believe in life.” – Henry Moore That Moore quote blew my mind today. That’s because for me, I always thought that I was afraid to paint or even try to paint because my sweet, well meaning mom told me when I was little that nobody in our family had an artistic bone in our bodies. I was meant to make story with words, she said. She was right. But I really wanted to make…

GHOSTING – BE BRAVE FRIDAY

I took the first part of a painting class and as everyone was putting up their paintings, I ghosted out. Seriously, I snatched my painting off the easel and ran out, while these other people who had time and talent to take two hours out of their afternoon made friends and connections as they looked at each other’s works in progress. Brave? Not one bit. Apparently, I have a lot of work left to…

BE BRAVE FRIDAY – NO JUDGEMENT

Ah, as many of you know, I get super stressed and major imposter syndrome about sharing anything artistic or doing anything where people can hear my voice. And because of that I have a super hard time actually doing things like buying paint or canvas because it means I’m using money to make art rather than pay bills or buy pellets for winter. That’s why this painting is actually mixed media. I…

This week I reached out to another woman even though I was afraid to. If you don’t know, I’m actually technically an introvert. Reaching out is hard for me. But it wasn’t about me being an introvert. I was afraid to reach out to her because I’ve started a local news newsletter/blog and this person is someone who shows up in the news. At a meeting, I watched someone else try to vilify her and…

Courage in Unlikely Places – How Thinking of Others Helps You Be Courageous

Today is Be Brave Friday, and I don’t have a ton of insight. I know! I know! Way to sell a blog post, Carrie, right? Me and Em not being scared. So, I thought I should look to some wordsmiths instead. Courage is found in unlikely places.J.R.R. Tolkien There’s something that compels us to show our inner souls. The more courageous we are, the more we succeed in explaining what we know.Maya…

Invisible Disability Requires A Different Kind of Bravery for One Author

IT’S BE BRAVE FRIDAY WHERE SHAUN OR I (FROM DOGS ARE SMARTER THAN PEOPLE AND LOVING THE STRANGE AND JUST BEING AN AUTHOR IN MAINE) SHARE PEOPLE’S UNEDITED, UNFILTERED STORIES, SO WE CAN ALL CELEBRATE THE BIG AND LITTLE BRAVE THINGS WE DO ALL THE TIME. SOMETIMES WE DON’T EVEN REALIZE WE’RE BEING BRAVE. This Be Brave Friday story is from the wonderful and brave and cool and talented Lenka Vodicka…

What Does It Mean to Be Brave

No video today! Sorry! This week things got a bit hectic. Apologies. But we wanted to quickly talk about what it means to be brave and of course, ask you to send in your Be Brave stories. Because we are still on a mission to share these stories and sing your praises with the world. The Oxford Dictionary defines bravery as: Ready to face and endure danger or pain; showing courage. And that’s…

Helping Toxic People Even When They Didn’t Help You – Be Brave Friday

It’s Be Brave Friday where Shaun or I (from Dogs are Smarter than People and Loving the Strange and just being an author in Maine) share people’s unedited, unfiltered stories, so we can all celebrate the big and little brave things we do all the time. Sometimes we don’t even realize we’re being brave. Here’s Jordan’s brave story and we are so grateful, Jordan, for you trusting us and sending it…