I am a seeker…what exactly I’m seeking…well, that’s kind of the point of the whole thing now isn’t it…maybe the seeking and the journey are really what is important, not just the destination.  Or maybe, unlike what we’ve been led to believe, there really is no destination just a never ending amazing journey.

As part of the journey, I seek out like minded kindred spirits and sit at their (most times virtual) feet.  Yesterday I started another piece of the journey with Brene Brown .  If you don’t know Brene from her Ted Talk (which you must must must listen to… right after you finish reading this) or her books (which are a must read particularly the Gifts of Imperfection and Daring Greatly, both of which I have read-and re-read) Well get the on the computer and to a bookstore!

Brene is teaching a 6 week eCourse in partnership with Oprah based on her book the Gifts of Imperfection.  I jumped in at the last minute and I’m embarking on this journey with a few good friends in my back pocket and art supplies in my hand.

So exciting…and I wanted to share our first assignment…Permission slips.

Remember when we were kids and you brought home that 1/2 sheet of paper that was your permission slip for the field trip?  Yeah, you know, the one that still smelled like the mimeograph machine and had vaguely purpl-ey black type?  Mom would fill it out and you’d bring it back to school so you could go to the zoo or the museum or wherever.   As adults, we need to write our own permission slips to ourselves.  Because sometimes, darn it, life is big and scary …. BUT it’s OK if you’ve got your permission slip…

Here are mine..

I give myself permission to…Be afraid and do it anyway…Be a complete dork and totally uncool…Seek joy wherever I go and whatever I’m doing…Take time for myself…Not be all things to all people…To just try, and not necessarily succeed…To mess up, to fail, to try again…To say YES more…Practice BRAVE…To have ideas and act on them… To make a creative home.

No go…write your own…be BRAVE…have fun!  Join me on the journey