11.13.19 // Reflections on the Do Lectures.

This past July I attended a lecture series called the Do Lectures (@thedolectures). The point of this series is to create a safe space to ask better questions.
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Bringing together souls from all over the world, the first day was full of anxious anticipation, enthusiasm, and jitters for the unknown.
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To break the nerves, we were encouraged to explain to the person sitting next to us what book we would re-read and why...
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What came next is really important in my personal narrative.
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My response was "To Shake the Sleeping Self," written by @jedidiahjenkins... An insanely powerful read (I’ve quoted on a lot of posts). Jed's words and thoughts are forever etched into my mind, inspiring my actions.
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My neighbor, Sonia, told me about the book "Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway." She told me a bit of her story (which was eerily similar to my mom's) and how the book was a powerful guide in moments when she needed it...
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The next day, Sonia had Amazon Primed a copy of the book she suggested to The Farm (a remote location in rural Wales...).
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I tried a couple of times to read it over the summer, but couldn't get into it. It wasn't until I was on a trans-Atlantic flight last week that the words started to lift off the page and I couldn't absorb the words fast enough.
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As I read, I found myself underlining what felt like almost every other line. The timing for reading this book was perfect and I knew why I hadn't been able to read it until now. I hadn't jumped, I hadn't pushed myself into fear.
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These past few weeks (and I imagine for the next several months) I have needed (and will need) this book. With quotes like...
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"We fear beginnings; we fear endings. We fear changing; we fear 'staying stuck.' We fear success; we fear failure. We fear living; we fear dying" AND “… when you blame any outside force for any of your experience of life, you are literally giving away all your power and thus creating pain, paralysis and depression,...” this book is giving me insight into my own often debilitatingly anxious and fearful brain.
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The synchronicities of how this book came to me and when this book opened when I needed it were not without coincidence.

Location: Dolomites, Italy