Three small tasks

to choose light, trust, and belonging

Finding Light © Kathryn LeRoy

Hello friends,

“I can’t do it.”

“Yes, you can. Try  again.”

I’ve spoken and listened to this exchange in more circumstances than I care to remember. Like when I learned to ride a bicycle, balancing on two wheels, and those moments when I wanted to give up, convinced that the task fell beyond my capability.

With legs a tad too short to sit on the seat to start pedaling, I climbed back onto that blue bicycle with the metal basket and clanging bell. I tried again, and again, until finally, what seemed impossible became a love of the wind blowing across my face, steady and confident.

How can we shift from what we can do to what seems impossible or beyond our control? In  Ladder to the Light, Steven Charleston shares three small steps toward faith and trusting ourselves to take action when we feel too small to make a difference.

Charleston defines faith as perception.

It is how we see. If we see the world around us as nothing but darkness—a darkness we believe we cannot change—then darkness is what we get. But if we see darkness while we believe in light—a light we cannot yet see but know is there—then we get something new: we get possibility of change. It all comes down to trust.

Start with three steps

1. Make memories—create moments of joy that make us feel loved and appreciated.

2. Give generously—and understand “it is not how much we give, but how often and why.”

3. Laugh along the way—because laughter provides balance, “keeping things in perspective, offering us a chance to see the light even in darkness.”

This week, our family chose light, sharing stories, and making new memories.

We gave each other attention and the space to belong to ourselves and each other.

Laughter filled the walls with a sweet and precious sound. We enjoyed the antics of a new puppy, chewing, stumbling, with only two speeds: full-on rowdiness to deep sleep.

Honey © Kathryn LeRoy

Belonging, being you, requires being rooted and makes all the difference.

“Do not negotiate who you are,” says Brené Brown on belonging, trust, and BRAVING.

Whether you prefer Cindy Lauper singing “True Colors” or this acoustic version with Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick, the words speak to our need to accept each other and look for the good in others and ourselves — just be you.

“ Stop walking through the world looking for confirmation that you don’t belong. You will always find it because you’ve made that your mission. Stop scouring people’s faces for evidence that you’re not enough. You will always find it because you’ve made that your goal. True belonging and self-worth are not goods; we don’t negotiate their value with the world. The truth about who we are lives in our hearts. Our call to courage is to protect our wild heart against constant evaluation, especially our own. No one belongs here more than you.”
— Brené Brown in Braving the Wilderness

Light in the Clouds © Kathryn LeRoy

Find a little wonder this week by trusting yourself and taking a few steps.

With gratitude,

Kathryn

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