Authenticity. What does that mean? It’s a word near and dear to me over the past several years as I’ve been more conscious of who I am and living my life as an outer expression of my inner self. For me, my heart speaks volumes and when I allow myself to speak from that place I experience the truth of my authenticity. Sure, it feels really vulnerable – it’s courageous to live a life of authenticity. And there’s a delicious richness to it that makes it worth the risk. “…when we let go of what we are supposed to be and embrace who we are.”(Brené Brown)

Brené Brown is a researcher, writer, and professor. She has spent the past ten years studying a concept that she calls Wholeheartedness, looking at: “How do we engage in our lives from a place of authenticity, spirit, and worthiness? How do we cultivate the courage, compassion, and connection that we need to embrace our imperfections and to recognize that we are enough – that we are worthy of love, belonging and joy?”. Much of her work has been centred around what she refers to as “the universal experience” of shame and how it keeps us disconnected. I get it. Within each of us is some element of shame, that has us feel different, not good enough, and ultimately holds us separate and disconnected from others.

My daughter has a book about a hamster named Lola who is seeking the right moment to share her “special words”. Towards the end of the book she is about to burst, as she has held back many times because the timing wasn’t quite right. Finally she spills at the end of the book saying “I love you, I love you, I love you” to her mom and dad and nods off contentedly to sleep knowing the words are always there on the tip of her tongue, waiting to be shared. Sweet little hamster.

The words are always there, if we stop long enough to listen and to speak them. What words are on the tip of your tongue? Are you ready to burst?

My daughter Annie greeted me with this card this morning. Need I say more? I am truly blessed to be Mom to both my son and my daughter.

Enjoy this day, nurturers and caretakers of the world!

I’m excited to share details about a project that I’m undertaking this coming year, beginning this week. It’s called E=mc2 which stands for “Engaging Women in Meaningful Conversations Makes Community”. I’ve created a logo that captures the essence of the project. Every week I’ll be engaging a woman unknown to me (a stranger) in a meaningful conversation with 10 questions. I’ll post about the conversation in my blog every week. It’s part of my commitment to inspire more meaningful communication among women. Hopefully the questions I ask will have people intrigued and wanting to carry on the conversation with friends and loved ones. My posts will paint a varied picture of women’s insights into themselves and what’s important to them.

This project was inspired by a man named Jayson Krause, who has recently completed a year’s worth of conversations with 52 strangers. He has since begun a Crusade for Meaningful Connection, inviting the conversations to continue. I’ve tweaked his approach a bit, changing the questions and focussing only on women.

I am excited and curious as I begin this quest. I don’t easily engage in conversation with strangers on this level. It’s uncharted territory. And it’s important. It’s important to me because I’ve discovered through my work and in my life that so many women have a deep desire to engage in meaningful conversations, to foster that feeling of intimacy that we all crave on some level and to be known and witnessed. I’ve been exploring a lot lately about the dis-connect that is so pervasive in our society today – we are too busy, spread too thin and moving too quickly to engage. We are afraid of having our true selves be known and yet it’s what many of us deeply desire.

E=mc2 is an attempt to bridge that gap. It’s a beginning place. It’s an opportunity to begin a conversation that I hope will continue. I’m excited to see where this will lead and invite you along on the journey week by week. Buckle up as I prepare to leap!