Your courage is showing, Braveheart.  

I bet you think no one is looking…while you are tapping into a deep reservoir of strength to bolster your resolve…speaking with courageous clarity rather than letting corrosive comments slide…choosing integrity over comfort, painfully aware that your voice speaks for all those who cannot be heard.

I am grateful every day for the thousand ways you show up in our world, quietly choosing again…and again…to bring compassion and understanding into conversations rife with peril. Telling the truth, sharing creative ideas, asking for that which will work better while refusing to attack the character of the people around you. After all, it is the tiny, consistent choices that build the foundation of our lives…and have the power to transform the mightiest structures in society.

I offer you the gift of gratitude, the knowledge that you are seen with love, and this alchemical video from Brandi Carlile. Nominated for 6 Grammy Awards, it appears Brandi burst into stardom out of nowhere. In reality, this powerhouse been writing and playing her heart out for twenty years. Hailing from a town of less than 1,000 souls, she’s held fast to her spirit, refusing to be swayed by the opinions of the masses…and now we are privileged to witness her song, “The Joke”, vibrating the sinews of courage and faith throughout our world.

May your spirit be bouyed…and your faith in humanity…as you watch, listen, and perhaps, if you are like me, weep with gratitude.