The V Word Monologue (Vulnerability!)
Hi everyone! Happy "fear monster Friday!"
The word of the week for me this week was vulnerability. And since I am in Bali writing my graphic novel, I decided to pay homage to my favorite graphic novel, V for Vendetta! (That seriously took me four hours to write, so even if you don't get the reference, appreciate the alliteration!)
I'm with a bunch of other amazing writers, and I've been blown away and inspired at how vulnerable they have been in their writing. I'm certainly aspiring to do the same.
But then I got a little bit stuck on Wednesday, so I did what I usually do when I'm stuck creatively. I started to read. I downloaded Brene Brown's book, Daring Greatly, and I could not put it down. That woman has my number. For those of you not familiar with her, her work is all about researching the benefits of being vulnerable. It's good stuff, and because she uses facts to support her theories, it really satisfied my right brain, which is the George hemisphere. It really helped to calm him down. (Highly recommend it!)
Anyway, the book really helped me have a huge "ah-ha" moment. I realized that I'm a little bit backwards from most people. I don't have any problem being vulnerable about my dark side. I've named it. I've drawn it. I've made it kind of cute and lovable. I've even made t-shirts out of it! (Available for sale when I get back to the States!)
But for me, it's a lot scarier to be vulnerable about my light. In the past, I didn't know how to set boundaries and ended up getting taken advantage of, or victimized in other ways. The psychos tend to gravitate towards the light, like bugs. It's just the way it is.
But now that I know how to set boundaries, I've decided it's safe to shine!
The day after I decided this, several people walked up to me and said, "You're so shiny!" or "You're just glowing!" To me, this indicates that really all you have to do to shine is make the decision to do so.
Pretty neat, huh?
So, let me know in the comments, if you were going to be truly vulnerable, what would you do? (And more importantly, are you going to DO IT?!)
Sending you all lots of love and a big hug from Bali!
Jillian