WHAT I'M READING WEDNESDAY : "How We Learn to Be Brave" by Mariann Engle Budde

I have so many books in my "to be read" queue, and I often have no idea how they got there.

This is one such book.

I loved the title of it, and thought it would be easy to incorporate into some of my work.

What I didn't realize is that the author is an Episcopal Bishop 😲

I left religion behind, while studying theology at university, and I haven't looked back since.

That being said, I respect and honor those who choose to live a life of religious faith, and surround myself with people of the many the world religions.

Yes, this book contains teachings from the Christian traditions, but it also contains so much more.

I appreciate how the author breaks down bravery into it's different forms and nuances based on our life circumstances.

The bravery needed to leave is different from the bravery needed to stay.

The bravery needed to leave is different from the bravery needed to start.

The bravery needed to endure what we don't choose, is different from that needed to stay.

It reminded me of the importance of letting go of judgment of others because they didn't go, or stay, or accept, or whatever.

Bravery looks different for everyone, and unless we are in their shoes, we can't judge their bravery based on our sense of bravery.

The book reminds me of something in Glennon Doyle's book Untamed.

"Brave does not mean feeling afraid and doing it anyway. Brave means living from the inside out. Brave means, in every uncertain moment, turning inward, feeling for the Knowing, and speaking it out loud....Whether you are brave or not cannot be judged by people on the outside. Sometimes being brae requires letting the crowd think you are a coward. Sometimes being brave means letting everyone down but yourself."

Each book has lessons in it, if we are willing to put our initial judgments aside and dive in.

If I had known the religious underpinnings of this book at the start, I may never have put it on my list.

Glad that I didn't know what I didn't know.

Originally posted on LinkedIn with comments.

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