Brave Enough To Be Bliss

As often happens when I listen to one of my Spotify playlists, I end up hearing new songs after the playlist ends. Early in my three-week stay in Michigan, The Goodness by TobyMac immediately caught my attention. I stopped writing and ran over to save it to my playlist. I couldn’t remember having ever heard a TobyMac song, so I did an online search to see who I was listening to. I was surprised to hear a little bit of his story when I clicked on a link that was available at that time where for one minute and 15 seconds, the human named Kevin Michael McKeehan, not the entertainer TobyMac, stood on the stage at the 2022 GMA Dove Awards with tears in his eyes and said this, “There were times that I thought I’d never write another song. Much less a song that’s up tempo or a song that felt like joy. But all I can tell you is I’ve learned that our God is kind. He’s go od. He might not always give us what we want or take away the pain, but He is right there in it with us. I’ve learned that He doesn’t leave. He remains.” Unfortunately that exact video I saw then isn ’ t available, but these below are both worth watching.

TobyMac – Life After Death: Behind The Goodness - YouTube

Vulnerable conversation with TobyMac about grief and loss. - YouTube

“I thought faith would say, I’ll take away the pain and discomfort, but what it ended up saying was, I’ll sit with you in it.” Brené Brown

When I first heard the song, The Goodness , I wouldn’t have guessed the singer had recently experienced such a profound loss. It reminded me, yet again, that it’s impossible to know what is going on in anyone’s life or heart unless they tell us, or we ask. And to make any assumptions at all about another human is to deprive them and yourself of an opportunity to share a connection. When we share our hearts with others, whether it ’ s a crowd of thousands as he did or a group of friends or a stranger, we have the opportunity to create an authentic connection. Some people may be too scared, like I used to be, to participate fully in that connection, but the attempt can leave a lasting mark. Within a day or two, I saw a video on TikTok of Eric Worre interviewing Dr. Robb Kelly, who recommended doing these three things to start rewiring neural pathways and change your life. He said to get up in the morning, go straight into the bathroom and: ▪ Brush your teeth with the opposite hand (so if right-handed, brush with left) ▪ Look at yourself in the mirror eye to eye and tell yourself, “I love you” 10 times (talking to your subconscious brain) ▪ When you finish that, get some oxygen inside to start the day with exaggerated breaths (25 morning, 25 lunch time, 25 evening) So, I committed to at least doing the first two steps every morning, try as hard as I could with the breathing, and see what happened. When I started, I’m not sure what was more uncomfortable: awkwardly trying to hold the toothbrush and keep it on my teeth and in my mouth, or looking myself in the eye and saying “ I love you ” 10 times. Regardless, it got easier each day and I began saying “ I love you with dark circles under your eyes, ” “ I love you with messy hair, ” “I love you even though you can’t do this , ” and then I heard Ginger in my head and added, “ yet, ” and I followed up with “ I love you for being brave and trying this new thing, ” “ I love you even though you didn’t exercise yesterday,” “ I love you, I love you, I love you ”…oh I hope it’s been 10 times already because I lost count…I love you, I love you…that’s got to be 10. Whew!” A memory came to mind of talking with John in my office about something, when he said, “I can just see you standing there singing in the bathroom while you’re getting ready.” I wondered if he would ever be able to visualize, or even believe that I was now doing these new practices, along with singing and maybe even dancing in the bathroom while getting ready for the day. It made me smile because, whether or not he’d ever believe it, I was actually doing it. “Today, remember that you are worthy of feeling valuable, of feeling special, of feeling loved.” Unknown 3 Powerful techniques to rewire your neural pathways for success #robb... | disney 100 | TikTok

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