And obviously, also my human friends and family, work, etc.

Today’s #bloganuary prompt – What brings you joy in life?

What is a treasure that’s been lost?

I’ll be honest, I’m not inspired by today’s #bloganuary prompt.

My snarky answer is, well, here’s a list of 30 “treasures” that are lost: 30 of the World’s Most Valuable Treasures That Are Still Missing. Or maybe this means the City of Atlantis?

Ok, ok. I know what they’re asking is for something that I consider treasured and lost. Perhaps it’s a forgotten memory (although how I’d know that’s lost, I’m not sure), or a person/relationship, or maybe a lost item?

I don’t find any of those interesting to write about. So let me share this story of a lost shoe (a Birkenstock no less!), instead. While it was not a treasure, it definitely was lost.

I was at The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, and having a great time running around with my friend Jenny, and riding the rides, particularly the Logger’s Revenge, over and over.

At one point, we went on a ride called Typhoon. (The current ride Typhoon, that’s there now, is similar but not the same ride.) This is how I lost my shoe.

On the ride, Typhoon, you are in a cage that swings back and forth like a pendulum, building momentum until it finally goes all the way over. While we were briefly suspended fully upside-down at the top of the ride, my shoe came off. And it managed to fall through the cracks of the cage door. And it landed….. right on top of the center pillar of the ride.

Park employees were not willing (or able?) to go up there. So, my shoe was lost. I spent the rest of the day with only one shoe, and ran around barefoot.

“Rides at Santa Cruz Beach” by Chris Devers is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Horse!

I think I was around 3. Even though we lived in the city, for some reason, that day, we had our horse, Gypsy, in the backyard. I believe we were giving her a bath.

Sorry for the poor-quality image. That’s actually a photo of my dad’s TV playing home movies. I’m probably 8, and that’s my pony, Midget.

#bloganuary prompt of the day

What’s your earliest memory?

How are you brave?

Today’s #bloganuary prompt has sent me down a rabbit hole!

First thoughts, how is bravery different from courage? Is bravery being bold with an absence of fear? Does bravery imply physical danger? Why is the only thing I can think of the Cowardly Lion from the Wizard of Oz? The internet has a lot of opinions on these topics. I’m not entirely sure all of this is right, so perhaps I should ignore it.

Do you know what I realized? This rabbit hole, like rabbit holes so often are, is simply a distraction from the uncomfortableness that rises when I try to answer the question.

How am I brave? How am I brave? How am I brave? How am I brave? Well, changing the question’s emphasis is not making it easier to answer. Which leads to “am I brave?”

While I would like COURAGE to be one of my core values, it makes me uncomfortable. Does that mean I need to be courageous or brave all the time? What if I fail? And reading my self-talk written out like this, I notice two things. One, there is some imposter syndrome going on here, and two, I see some fixed mindset beliefs jumping out.

Some of the best self-help advice I’ve read recently can be paraphrased as listening to your self-talk and then rephrasing it as if you were talking to a friend or loved one.

So, instead of beating my self up with negative self-talk, I’m going to think about this as if I were talking to a loved one.

Some might consider it brave to be posting this and sharing this sort of vulnerability.

Who cares what the internet thinks is brave?! Choose your own definition and roll with it.

Of course, you’re brave! You do a million brave things every single day. Ok, maybe not every day, but you get my point!

A core value of courage could be similar to an intention word, and help serve as a reminder to keep courage in your heart and your life.

PS. I’m not sure I’ve actually answered the question!