Inspired by Michael Hyatt and Gary Hirsch, two of the speakers at WDS* this weekend,  I’ve chosen this question as my mantra for the next week. (Well actually, it kinda chose me).

Today my one brave move was asking a question that to someone else might have felt like the most natural thing in the world.

Tomorrow my one brave move will be to send the email I’ve been thinking of writing for four years. An email that makes my heart race and that I know is the next step in setting myself free from an old story.

Yesterday I went up in the hot air balloon you see in the above photo. It didn’t feel scary to me but it sure did for some of the women I was with. I loved being a witness to their bravery.

Will you join me in asking this question? Does the thought make your palms sweat?

Your brave move could be to allow yourself a day off or to ask that cute guy (or girl) out for coffee or maybe your one brave move is simply getting out of bed. The only thing that matters is that it feels brave to you (even just a little bit).

Don’t over think it. If you listen to your heart, you’ll know…

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* WDS is the World Domination Summit, brainchild of Chris Guillebeau. It’s quite amazing. You can check it out here.

P.S. Gary Hirsch made all 2800 WDS attendees a Brave Bot to help us do our brave things. Here’s mine. I think it’s pure hand painted awesomeness.

P.P.S. If you like the idea of making one brave move a day, then you’ll also like this powerful class, One Move, taught by Liz Lamoreux and Kelly Barton. It’s about making (yup, you guessed it) one move every day toward the life of your dreams while deeply appreciating the life you have. It started today but there’s still time to join in the magic.

We are in Paris this week. My husband has business and since I’d been not-so-secretly wishing to come back here, Ada and I are traveling with him.

I’ve been surprised at the trepidation I felt as this trip approached. My first time in Paris with a child. My first time in Paris with food restrictions. (No baguettes! No croissants! No stinky cheese!) And because this is technically a work trip, we’re staying in a lovely hotel with no kitchenette, in an area I wouldn’t have chosen to stay in and have no familiarity with.

In the packing and prepping, dealing with a miserable summer cold, I could feel myself tightening up. At one point on the plane as we watched a couple with a screaming child have words with the people in the seats ahead of them I said quietly to Steve, “People are often not at their best when they travel.”  Later I realized I was referring to myself too.

We’ve had lots of little things go awry. Nothing major and nothing worth getting upset over, but again I could feel myself tighten, wishing for it all to be easier.

As we wandered in the rain near our hotel yesterday, still jet lagged and in search of something Ada and I could eat for dinner, I stopped and looked up. The architecture around me was not at all what I think of when I conjure Paris in my mind but it was beautiful in its funky modernity. I stopped to take a picture and found myself relaxing, opening, enjoying myself just a little more.

I know this will be a wonderful trip. I’m excited to see one of my favorite cities through my daughter’s eyes. And I’m entering this next week with one intention, one simple thought:

Open eyes. Open heart.

Even writing it here makes me feel better, lighter.

Will you join me?

Open eyes. Open heart.

What do you see?

 

 

Today I am nursing a cold, packing for an overseas trip and prepping our house to be lived in by someone else while we’re gone. This week is full and I know I need to continue to rest so I’m healthy by the time we leave. To keep the overwhelm at bay, I’m busy repeating some of my fave mantras: Breathe, Trust and There is enough time.

Because I know how serious I can get when under stress and how un-fun that is (especially for Ada, who is playful and light under almost all circumstances), I’m adding another mantra in, courtesy of my friend Liz Lamoreux, to help me stay present: Yes, to this moment.

Yes to having two extra kids here this morning before we head to camp.

Yes to this achy chest and the need for more rest than I had planned.

Yes to the packing and the planning and the figuring out what food to take so there will be something for Ada and I to eat on the long flights.

Yes to last night’s dishes still piled in the sink.

Yes to putting on music that I’d sing to if it didn’t hurt.

Yes to the full calendar and to finding the spaces in between.

Yes to my apprehension about sleeping sitting up and yes to staying right here, right now and trusting it will be okay.

Yes to gray skies, hot tea and extra Vitamin C.

Yes to finding the simple joys in the midst of it all.

What are you saying yes to today?