A weekly post from my awesome friend Carrie ~
sharing her awesome life and her desire to have community while doing it!
I am
currently in Washington, D.C., one of my favorite places on the planet. My
heart explodes with joy and gratitude and uncontrollable, uncontainable
excitement each time I arrive in this city. It also grieves me every time I
have leave, but that’s a conversation for another day. Needless to say, I am
grateful for all of the above.
Whenever
you’re in a new city or on an adventure of some sort, selfies are a must! I am
a friend of selfies and I am embracing this selfie movement---if that’s a
thing. But I’d like to invite you into something deeper than just a photo of
yourself that you post online. I want to invite you into the me
conversation,
the selfie conversation, into a new view: the reflective view. When we press that
reverse icon on our phones the lens changes directions. The current picture
goes from the view ahead to the reflective view. When you press that button,
what do you see?
Who is that
beauty? Or that stud?
It’s you!!!
Definitely an amazing human!
Let’s press
deeper. Who is that person? Are they bold? Timid? Kind? Grumpy? What do you
love about them? What are they working to get better at? Are you proud of that
person? These are all questions I’m asking myself, followed by an onslaught of
others. This is what I’ve found in this reflective view: I’m desperately looking
to live a full, yet streamlined life (kind of an oxymoron, I know). I long to
live a life that is fueled by intentionality, justice, and service. A life that
gives generously, fights hard, and rests well. I don’t see the blemishes but
rather the unfiltered beauty of the moment.
While
switching to the reflective view is the first step, we all know that
positioning and the right filter is key to any good selfie.
Positioning
“In matters of style,
swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.”
Thomas Jefferson
Know where you stand. What are your non-negotiables? We don’t
have to have a big, long list, but what are those few principles that transcend
all else? Make those a constant. Give everything else grace.
Filters
We control
our filter. Choose to filter through joy (much easier said than done; believe
me, I know.) Broken hearts and broken spirits lead to muddy filters. If your
filter has been dirtied, find your tribe, let them in, let them love you back
to life and back to seeing through a clear filter.
Now
about me:
I have
found myself in this real struggle to “face myself”. In recent weeks, I’ve been
grappling with the reflective view. It sometimes feels unbearable, and it is
quite uncomfortable. It’s in those moments of discomfort when I look for
something, anything, to busy myself with. At first I give into my desire to
hide from the reflective view that requires me to dig deep. But then I reach
out. I reach for the tribe and they embrace me and my unfiltered mess. They
gently address the mess, “Carrie,
what are you running from? Let’s talk,” they say. And if I’m not quite ready,
they patiently wait.
So here I
am, facing myself, choosing to switch to the reflective view. I’m earnestly
looking for answers to the questions I’m asking. I breathe deeply to calm my
heart and uncomfortably embrace the moment.
Thank you
for reading!
See you
next Tuesday!
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