The question of whether to write about something or not comes up pretty much every day. When the question pops into my head, it's because I'm pretty sure there would be huge amounts of disagreement with my observations and maybe even outright outrage. So I'm usually pretty chicken to do the writing.
Lately, however, I've been hosting a book study on one of Brene`Brown's books on "shame" (which almost nobody wants to admit they actually have). She has done a lot of research on shame (which I define as the fear of being judged) and what she calls whole-heartedness (which I just define as being willing to let other people have their opinions of me without allowing their judgments to run my life.)
No one who knows me would believe it, but a huge amount of my observations just stay inside my head because of my fear of judgment. I talk a lot and I talk a lot about my observations, so I'm sure it must seem to others that I air my thoughts 100%. If it wasn't for that damn book, I could have just kept on believing I had very little fear of judgment. But I'm realizing that I'm a big chicken when it comes to sharing many things I believe and live by.
After giving this some considerable prayerful thought, I've decided to put some of my ideas in print. Good grief, it's not as if my blogs have thousands of readers - or even tens! So the number of people I can piss off is really limited. I thought about starting another blog and keeping it private. That seemed immensely cowardly and stupid. If I'm going to put thoughts and ideas in print that could be controversial, what's the point if no one can read them?
I believe and I've been told by others that the responsibility of us "elderly" folks is to share what we've concluded from the experiences of our lives. If everything dies with us, our knowledge and understanding of life can't be put to use by anyone else. Since I've been a writer all my life, it seems pretty clear that not using that skill to share the ideas that might cause other people to judge me, is pretty wimpy and sad.
So, no more censorship for me. Let the chips fall where they may...
Empowerment enhances the ability of individuals or organizations to make choices and transform those choices into positive outcomes. Empowered people have recognized their own value and strength and their capacity to handle life's problems. In turn they are better able to influence the course of their lives. With information and support, most people can find within themselves the power to direct their lives and reach their dreams.
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