I am currently reading Braving the Wilderness by Brené Brown and so far it has been an excellent read. My goal for this post was to just talk about the things I learn and the revelations I come to throughout reading it, mainly by pulling out quotes that speak to me.
This is the description of the book pulled straight off of Brené’s website:
The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone
Belonging so fully to yourself that you’re willing to stand alone is a wilderness—an untamed, unpredictable place of solitude and searching. It is a place as dangerous as it is breathtaking, a place as sought after as it is feared. The wilderness can often feel unholy because we can’t control it, or what people think about our choice of whether to venture into that vastness or not. But it turns out to be the place of true belonging, and it’s the bravest and most sacred place you will ever stand.
In this first chapter, Brené talks about her journey from feeling as though she belonged nowhere to her realization that she belongs everywhere – as long as she is living a life true to herself. I have spent many years feeling as though I didn’t belong, trying to fit myself into the expectations that others have of me. Through reading this chapter, I’m beginning to realize one of the biggest things I need to do this year is finding who I am and live truthfully to that.
I started choosing research and data over vulnerability.
– Brené Brown
This line really called me out. I have always been one to rationalize my feelings away. Treating them as if they are data points in my life. Googling various problems in my life rather than looking within to find the answers. I’ve spent so long choosing comfort over growth.
Never underestimate the power of being seen – it’s exhausting to keep working against yourself when someone truly sees you and loves you. Some days his love felt like a gift. Other days I hated his guts for it.
– Brené Brown
Recognizing the kind of love you not only deserve but truly need is crucial to growth. If you are not this person for someone or they are not this person for you, it’s time to let them go. We all deserve a love that brings out the best in us. Sometimes you need space alone before you are ready to accept that kind of love, but sometimes that love is what you need to keep growing. It’s learning how to know which one it is that allows yourself and your relationship to blossom.
But you need to find a way to stop and bring yourself back here. This is a big deal. I don’t want you to miss it. Don’t study this moment. Be in it.
– Brené Brown
I am a chronic futuristic thinker. I’ve spent probably the last 21 years of my life constantly focused on what comes next, waiting on it, thinking that the next thing will be what makes me happy. I’ve missed out on so many things. I over-analyze every situation trying to determine the next steps to get me to my goal. Wasting my time, frozen in waiting for the next part of my life to begin. That’s just tragic. I think that by being intentional with the ways I spend my day, I will become someone who lives in the present. How can you grow in the now if you aren’t living in the now?
I can confidently say that stories of pain and of courage always include two things: praying and cussing. Sometimes at the exact same time.
– Brené Brown
I think if anything this reminded me that it’s okay to be vocal about the pain you feel. It’s okay to be loud and messy and feel those emotions and most importantly share them. So if you see me cursing at the sky, mind your own business.
I went into reading this book with very little expectations, I knew that Brené Brown is a talented writer and very relatable but I had no clue how applicable this would be to my life. In just 28 short pages, I learned a lot about myself and was able to come to some great realizations about not just what I want this year to hold, but also about my past and how that’s affected myself and my relationships.
The next chapter is “The quest for true belonging” and I have a feeling that it will speak just as many volumes to my experience and where I need to grow.
Till next time, I love you always.
MH
Lovingly Always 
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