Celebrate :: Courage

As I look back on May and my theme "Celebrate :: Courage" I want to lay down and put a wet cloth on my forehead.  I am drained.

This month's theme hooked up with my personal life in a very powerful way.  I took steps that I never would have imagined myself taking, and the experiences have reminded me that, for many people, life's most heroic moments unfold in private.   Perhaps in the shade of a hospital curtain, in the dark silence of a solitary night, or, like for me, in one-on-one conversation.  Could it be that heroic behavior we witness in public is seeded in times of solitude; that the heroes we see around us, were courag-ing in private, appearing on the surface as if "nothing" were happening, and that we lay eyes upon them only after some inner decision has been made?

On the lighter side, these new courageous forays have brought in some very wonderful energy and opportunities too. Next week I will post an interview with Tara Mohr, an inspiring woman on the rise, author of the post Ten Rules for Brilliant Women, who will be a keynote speaker at this year's Emerging Women Live conference.

And as part of my journey with "celebrate" as my word, I organized an informal celebration of courage for our Friday group.  The word playful has struck me twice recently, and it seems to be a good antidote for some of what has been heavy this month.  So I went with that theme.  

It was a very simple practice.  Each of us in the group was given a card.  We wrote our name in the card, and then passed it to the next person.  As the cards went around the circle, we jotted down what we saw each other doing that was courageous.  Then we read our cards out loud.  Once all the cards were read, we each opened an "award."  It is pictured below.

I think it might be impossible to start a meditation group and not have some sense of should...how it should look, how it should feel, what you should do.  I'm pretty sure wearing Wonder Woman aprons while sitting broke through our should barrier.