Last year, I posted this entry about my birthday. The response was amazing! Several folks have asked me to send it to them, so I am reposting it along with 2 of the comments. And I am trying a new restaurant today for my birthday. Thanks for the birthday wishes and I hope you enjoy the story! - Sharon
What would you do if you were completely fearless?
Several years ago, I found myself alone in a rural French town a week before my birthday. I was there for work, not pleasure. The only French I could speak was what I could cram into my brain on the flight over. It was cold, wet and grey outside. I didn't know anybody. The only birthday party I could foresee was a pity party.
Then my dear friend, Mark, called me out of the blue. We hadn't seen each other since he relocated across the country, and he was astonished to hear that I was in France. He was traveling with his new business partners, who just happened to be German. Mark told me he would be in Munich the following week and asked if there was any way I could break away for a visit.
I was so moved and grateful to be rescued from such dismal prospects on my birthday. We arranged for us to meet at the train station in Munich.
When I arrived, I saw Mark and he took me out to the car. The car turned out to be a Bentley limo, complete with liveried chauffeur. It turned out that his business partners were from a wealthy, formerly aristocratic family. When they heard that Mark's friend was coming to visit AND it was her birthday, they pulled out all the stops.
Like Cinderella, I was whisked all over town in a beautiful silver coach. I was the only woman in the group and was treated like a real princess. Mark's friends belonged to all the exclusive clubs in Munich. When we arrived at a discotheque, we were the ones to get in while all the others waited behind the red ropes. I ate five-star food, stayed in a five-star hotel, shopped in five-star stores, and was not allowed to pay one pfenning for any of it. We ended that day in a very chi-chi rathskeller club in the former dungeon of a castle somewhere outside the city. (I have NO idea where it is now...) The members offered toasts to my health. It was one of my best birthdays ever!
The next day Mark and I were walking in the town square and I was musing on all the things I had experienced for the first time. I had never celebrated my birthday in Munich. I had never been to a discotheque on my birthday. Then Mark and I walked past a tobacconists' shop where there were Cuban cigars in the window. In the spirit of doing something we'd never done before, we bought a Cuban cigar and sat on a park bench, smoking cigars while we watched the world go by.
Ever since then, it has become a tradition in our family to do something you've never done on your birthday. It could be something small, like smoke a Cuban cigar (I admit this is not the healthiest choice...), or something big like going to Munich.
My challenge for you this year is to try something new on your birthday. A food you've never tasted, a place in your town you've never been, an activity you've never tried. Set a goal for a milestone birthday to take that special vacation you've always dreamed about. Try something outside your comfort zone. Maybe even try something that scares you a little.
One of the biggest fears we all face is that of change. But doing something unfamiliar, yet easy and fun, can encourage you to conquer those bigger changes when they come along. Some of those changes might not be fun or easy. But stretching your 'change' muscles in small areas can equip you for the tougher ones. Just as marathon runners start by running a 5K, start small. It's all about those baby steps!
What would you do if you were completely fearless? I'd love to hear your answers!
Smiles and Blessings,
Sharon
p.s. Thanks to those of you who commented last week. If you haven't read last week's blog comments, check out the dream story posted by one of your fellow bloggers. Here's praying that you get the chance to live out your dreams!
Hi Sharon!
I'm sorry it took me so long to get here and post on your beautiful blog. It's hard for me right now to dream limitlessly, as my life is so very limited. But since you asked, I will give it a try.
Never having been fearless in my life, this is a hard one for me... Well, since I've already sung with the greats on a national opera stage, participated in a worldwide celebration on TV, traveled to Europe and performed there with a group, got a degree from a 4-year institution, married a man (a feat in itself), birthed two children (the ultimate fearful event in my book), built a house almost entirely on my own (no, I didn't hammer it together, I meant worked with the all male contractors etc.), almost raised two children (maybe that's the ultimate one), and herded 10 first graders all over the globe through their fifth grade year as Cub Scouts (well, ok, there were only five that last year... but have you ever had 10 first graders in an empty house for an hour and a half? 'Nuff said!).
Having all these accomplishment behind me, for which I had little role model growing up, I feel I can easily be fearless given the necessity of a situation.
However, there is certainly one situation I have felt called to which I have found myself not answering due to a kind of fear. And if I were truly fearless, I could have accomplished much that is more worthwhile perhaps than all the previous acts.
If I were truly fearless:
I would speak Truth in the midst of a struggling church body.
I would declare Peace to a squabbling brother- and sisterhood.
I would write Liberality to a religious community shaking in fear and disdain of the word.
I would sing Love to a parish more fearful than loving.
And I would live Honor to the peacemaker far more than the soldier.
But I am afraid. I fear lost friendships more than lost Truth. I fear lost reputation over lost Peace. I fear lost comfort more than lost Liberality. I fear lost friendships rather than lost Love. I fear lost pleasures more than lost Honor.
If I were only fearless..... but I am not. I don't want to upset my apple cart. I want to keep my friends on good terms. I don't want to have long, heated arguments and blow up at the people that support my life. I want my children to continue growing up in a community in which our name means something pleasant and good to everyone who has known us, not one in which people turn up their noses at the mention of their mother, shy away from them in fear they will be as "contentious", turn them down for opportunities, in order to keep away the Voice they have kept at bay for so long now.
I am not fearless.
But there is One who is. And if God makes me able, He can live His fearless life in me. He spoke Truth, declared Peace, wrote Liberality, sang Love, and lived Honor in ways no one had ever dreamed of. Perhaps truly being fearless, for me, is simply getting out of the way so He can go on living His fearlessness in my life.
Perhaps specifically that means I do all of those things I listed, but only after much praying and much listening to others.
This has been a meditation on "fearlessness". Thank you for reading and sharing this time with me.
When I figure out what it means, I'll let you know. 6;D
Patty
Hi Sharon,
I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your BLOG story about your bday! Yo are really a great writer. I hope you publish something someday. You have definitely challenged me to see what I can cook up for my 58th bday this summer!!!! It won't be a trip to Europe or smoking a cigar, but -- by golly -- it will be something fab!
I'm proud to have trained you as a Life Purpose Facilitator -- to help women get "unstuck" -- now it's my turn, ya!
One of your biggest fans,
Katie Brazelton
Founder, Life Purpose Coaching Centers, Intl