MANIFESTO OF THE BRAVE
AND BROKENHEARTED
Brene Brown – Rising Strong
There is no greater threat to the critics
and cynics and fearmongers
Than those of us who are willing to fall
Because we have learned how to rise.
With skinned knees and bruised hearts;
We choose owning our stories of struggle,
Over hiding, over hustling, over pretending.
When we deny our stories, they define us.
When we run from struggle, we are never free.
So we turn toward truth and look it in the eye.
We will not be characters in our stories.
Not villains, not victims, not even heroes.
We are the authors of our lives.
We write our own daring endings.
We craft love from heartbreak,
Compassion from shame,
Grace from disappointment,
Courage from failure.
Showing up is our power.
Story is our way home. Truth is our song.
We are the brave and brokenhearted.
We are rising strong.
#RisingStrong – Brene Brown
Like birthdays, the end of a year, is often a great time for reflection. And as we know, Imago Africa is BIG on reflection. And in this spirit, we ask you
What has the year brought you?
What is in front of your face, that you’re not facing?
What do you need to let go of?
What of your best self, will you carry into this new year of possibility?
What are you celebrating?
What are your stories of “rising strong”?
We invite you to journal, chat, hold a dialogue around these reflections, share your stories with us if you can.
And as we reflect on where we are now, we acknowledge that this time of year is very special to very many. It’s a sacred time of prayer, religious significance and spiritual commemoration. It’s a time for family and friends and being together. It’s a time for big family meals, holidays, togetherness, music, song and playing with the children. It’s a time that we feel triumphant; that we’ve made it through and we’re alive and kicking. We keep rising strong
And like most anything that we experience in this world, there is more than one narrative. For as many, it’s a time of loneliness and pain and emptiness. The gathering of families isn’t pleasant. We remember our loved ones and feel the raw pain of their absence. It’s a time when days are long and money is short and a new school year beckons, and have we enough to buy what the kids need? It’s hard. It’s hard to be alone in one’s pain. And it’s hard to keep rising strong.
We look at this big world, of which we are a small part and we know that there are millions of stories playing out. There are some that have played out and continue to play out globally and here at home, and we have experienced it and/or participated in it via various mediums. The story we make up is that we are deeply influenced and impacted by our present times and by the people who entrust us with their stories, because deeply embedded in our ethos, our philosophy and our life’s work is the belief in the connectedness of all things, of all people, of all systems. We reflect on what our role is, as Imago practitioners, in this time of disruption. How do we hold the space for our clients who are living though these turbulent times, whilst simultaneously are also going through personal turbulence? And, as importantly, who holds the space for us? We reflect on the stories, ours and others, that have lifted our spirit, that have celebrated possibility and hope. And we also reflect on the stories, ours and others, that have pained us. How do we keep rising strong?
And as we reflect on this, we do believe that we can feel proud of the contribution that we have made as a community, as a body of Imago practitioners, towards easing the suffering by creating a space for deep listening, for hard conversations, for stories to be told, for hearts to be healed, for moving people closer to connection and aliveness. And as the year draws to an end, we speak the intention and dreams for 2018, of building connectedness between us, of holding the space for each other, for our stories to be told, for our hearts to heal, for laughter, for joy and generative gratitude for the possibilities. And in this way, we will keep RISING STRONG.
May 2018 be your year for RISING STRONG
Written by Savanthika Pillay
Imago Africa
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