In search of authentic promotions of what’s most important and unity — noting that the two are often encouraged by the same people — allow us today to focus on the words of author, speaker, inspirer, and research professor, Brené Brown. Noting that Brown’s TED talk – “The Power of Vulnerability” – is one of the top five most viewed TED talks in the world, Brown has much to say that would be wise for us to hear… that is, if we’re going to promote the positive. Here are just a few of her words…
“We’re a nation hungry for more joy: Because we’re starving from a lack of gratitude.”
“What we know matters but who we are matters more.”
“Maybe stories are just data with a soul.”
“Trust is earned in the smallest of moments.”
“You are imperfect, you are wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging.”
“Imperfections are not inadequacies; they are reminders that we’re all in this together.”
“You cannot shame or belittle people into changing their behaviors.”
“To love ourselves and support each other in the process of becoming real is perhaps the greatest single act of daring greatly.”
“Nothing has transformed my life more than realizing that it’s a waste of time to evaluate my worthiness by weighing the reaction of the people in the stands.”
“It’s in our biology to trust what we see with our eyes. This makes living in a carefully edited, overproduced and photoshopped world very dangerous.”
“I’ve found what makes children happy doesn’t always prepare them to be courageous, engaged adults.”
“It takes courage to say yes to rest and play in a culture where exhaustion is seen as a status symbol.”
“We run from grief because loss scares us, yet our hearts reach toward grief because the broken parts want to mend.”
“I thought faith would say, ‘I’ll take away the pain and discomfort,’ but what it ended up saying was, ‘I’ll sit with you in it.’”
“Joy comes to us in ordinary moments. We risk missing out when we get too busy chasing down the extraordinary.”
“Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen.”
“What separates privilege from entitlement is gratitude.”
“One of the greatest barriers to connection is the cultural importance we place on “going it alone.” Somehow we’ve come to equate success with not needing anyone. Many of us are willing to extend a helping hand, but we’re very reluctant to reach out for help when we need it ourselves. It’s as if we’ve divided the world into “those who offer help” and “those who need help.” The truth is that we are both.”
“The universe is not short on wake-up calls. We’re just quick to hit the snooze button.”
18, 19… oh, wait… there’s one more. Granted, this one might be harder for us; ignoring it really would be easier. But no one said promoting the positive is easy. It does, though, seem to be wise…
“Here’s what I believe: 1. If you are offended or hurt when you hear Hillary Clinton or Maxine Waters called bitch, whore, or the c-word, you should be equally offended and hurt when you hear those same words used to describe Ivanka Trump, Kellyanne Conway, or Theresa May. 2. If you felt belittled when Hillary Clinton called Trump supporters “a basket of deplorables” then you should have felt equally concerned when Eric Trump said “Democrats aren’t even human.” 3. When the president of the United States calls women dogs or talks about grabbing pussy, we should get chills down our spine and resistance flowing through our veins. When people call the president of the United States a pig, we should reject that language regardless of our politics and demand discourse that doesn’t make people subhuman. 4. When we hear people referred to as animals or aliens, we should immediately wonder, “Is this an attempt to reduce someone’s humanity so we can get away with hurting them or denying them basic human rights?” 5. If you’re offended by a meme of Trump Photoshopped to look like Hitler, then you shouldn’t have Obama Photoshopped to look like the Joker on your Facebook feed. There is a line. It’s etched from dignity. And raging, fearful people from the right and left are crossing it at unprecedented rates every single day. We must never tolerate dehumanization—the primary instrument of violence that has been used in every genocide recorded throughout history.”
Respectfully…
AR