The Night I Became A Warrior
That's right. I became a warrior. Well, not the type you might be thinking of but as a human being battling life, aren't we all warriors? I attended "Together Live" with one of my good friends, Mandy, last Thursday in the cities. I don't get up to the cities often so this was a good excuse to do that. When we walked into the State Theater we were surrounded by women. Lots of them. If you're not familiar with this event, it's the mastermind of Glennon Doyle. She's a writer (started out blogging) turned speaker. She's been seen on Oprah and TED. She's coined the phrase "First the pain, then the rising" and through the messiness of her own life battling addiction, a cheating husband and much more wrote a book called "Love Warrior". In her own imperfections baring all she would connect with thousands of people.
The event was igniting in so many ways. Glennon had several other speakers besides herself. One of my favorites was another blogger turned writer, Awesomely Luvvie. Her humor and tenacity about life was invigorating. She shared her life journey about wanting to become a doctor. She dreamed of becoming that as a child. When she attended college, she realized that path just wasn't for her. She had created a blog and shared her experiences. Her wit and humor won the admiration of many followers. She discovered that she was meant to be a writer. She recently released a book "I'm Judging You: The do-better manual" Outside of all this talent, what I really loved about her? She co-started The Red Pump Project, where they are working to remove stigmas related to HIV/AIDS and raise more awareness around it.
And in a surprising twist of guests on stage, in walks Krista Tippett! I mean, Krista is typically in the other seat interviewing people like Glennon or Brene Brown. It was interesting to see the role reversed. I love her and loved the message she conveyed about the five virtues and choosing love over hate.
Glennon was amazing. She has a special touch in that she can connect with the audience on a deep human level. Her message at the event really inspired me to not let pain or fear prevent me from my full potential. You gotta run to it, face it and use the pain for good. If you'd like to see her awesomeness - check out the video below.