Thank you so much for the reminder, albeit sad, that we MUST reach beyond our comfort zones to be absolutely embrace, completely and deeply the gifts we have to give to this world. Over the holiday break, I FORCED myself to unplug. My mission was to completely detach and lose myself in something. Well, I found Seasons 1-3 of Damages on Netflix. The writers on for this show are freakin’ brilliant. The way women were conveyed in this series deserves a separate study on its own. But, I found myself fascinated with the main charachter.

Yes, Glenn Close’s character was vicious, tough, manipulative, conniving, desperate, etc. But dammit, that bitch had me standing up in my living room with my mouth to the floor rooting for her. ‘Go get ‘em Patty!’ When the male characters would coach each other on how to ‘deal’ with her, I was filled glee (my husband would observe with worry in his eye). Yes, she was quite extreme and dangerous but what if we played with a little bit of danger every now and then? I was able to see, at 43, how this character was in some respects, THE role model for how to be fully expressed and not give a damn who liked it or not. All of this is to say that Sheryl is absolutely right and I for one plead guilty to feeling absolutely comfortable being on the sidelines. But I can also fully acknowledge the costs of voluntarily diminishing my worth by stepping aside to make room for others. Not anymore baby.

My new year’s wish to everyone is to join me in a movement. The movement is this: each of you are walking vibrantly, passionately through your day, having ample resources at hand, with people at your side encouraging you to be fully expressed.