30 Day Challenge
I am flexing my creative muscles as part of this awesome web challenge. It seemed like a good place to start in an effort to expand my word-smith skills, which for so long I have denied. I shall do my best to complete all the challenges, especially the writing ones.So here we go.....
Prompt #1- Write your
personal manifesto. This could be an essay, a sentence, a word… the beginning
of your novel. Get creative. What are you about?
Connection, Courage, and Compassion are the three
C’s I try to live by. These three all relate to each other and form the core of
who I am. The central element of these is courage, which I think is the force
or feeling which drives my compassion and ability to connect with people.
For me, life, or my life in particular is about
connection. Being able to join hands with someone either in a physical or
metaphorical sense is central to my life and the joy I experience on a day to
day basis. I am not the most out-going person, not typically the life of the
party, but give me someone or a group of people to chat with and I am content.
Conversation and connection is associated with a sense of freedom for me. Being
able to converse and share stories temporarily dissolves the limitations my
disability creates. The experience of conversation and relationship building
can overcome many of these obstacles, even if it is only temporary or within
the space of my imagination.
I love sharing moments with people where a point of
connection can be found or a shared experience can bring otherwise unrelated
people together. Moments where people can smile and nod in acknowledgement of
this new found common ground. The amazing thing about these experiences is how
different they can be. Sometime you only meet someone for a moment and then they
are gone or someone else who you meet and you are connected with for a
lifetime. There are many ways that interactions and connections differ but I
think they are all of value. It takes courage to go into new situations and to
open myself up to people in the hopes of making these connections. I have
always believed it takes as much courage to
love as it does to accept someone’s
love as it does to face down our worst nightmares. Being able to put aside
that fear of possible hurt, betrayal or rejection is the only way I feel genuine
connections can form. I remind myself daily to have courage in all aspects of
my life as I seek to be genuine with people and myself.
Connection opens doors to new knowledge, experiences
and relationships. Each time it’s like a mini adventure, wondering where it
will take me and what will have come about by the end. It’s not just a chance
for me to learn and experience but also a chance I have to share my story with
others. This allows me to relive events and talk about the wild imaginings of
my ambitions and dreams. It is these times of sharing and dreaming that
encourages me to use my compassion to support and encourage others in their
hopes and aspirations as often they do with me. I have also learned, sometimes
the hard way that I need to be compassionate with myself as well. If I want to be
genuine, compassionate and engage with others I need to be these things with
myself, in order to maintain my emotional and mental health. For this reason I
have just got my latest tattoo on my arm that I can look at and remind myself,
COURAGE.
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