About a year ago I was in the midst of some of the darkest days I have experienced. It involved me having to tell a hard and uncomfortable truth and then walking through the pain of the choices that followed.

I grew up in a home with a mentally ill sibling and to cope I created a facade of being fine to get through it. Being OK became my armor and that armor became a way of life and that eventually just morphed into who I was. In some ways it's been a good quality to have. I have a high tolerance for hardship, change and challenge. I can handle a lot without falling apart. But in other ways it's been a huge detriment. I have found that I often hold in what I am feeling - the good, the bad and the ugly. I feel a lot and can identify what I am feeling yet saying the words paralyzes me.

There is a lot of vulnerability in truth telling. It's not easy. Some people might not be open or understand. You might feel bad after you do it. Eventually though, you rise.  Right around the time I was trying to find the courage to talk I heard about this book, Rising Strong by Brene Brown. This book gave me the push to do what I knew I needed to do, what I needed to say. You don't have to be in major crisis to get something valuable from it. She writes about being vulnerable without knowing, and regardless of, the outcome of what follows. What a powerful and empowering notion. On a much lighter comparison starting this blog follows the very same lessons.  I am putting my words out there to nurture my creativity and authentic self regardless of the outcome.

If you have something stirring inside you and you need a nudge to find the confidence to put it in to words for yourself or for someone else, read this book. It might just get you to where you need to be.