When it was born, this Blog was clumsily called “Mirrors, Masks, Fists and Hearts” after a line in the Ian McCullum poem “the Rising”.
In hindsight, it should have been named after a different phrase in that same poem. A more honest title, based on where and who I was at the time, would have been A HOLY RAGE.
There were attempts at blogs both before and after Mirrors, but she remains my most naĆÆve and honest account of the period between abandoning my corporate career until I somehow found my feet again, and of the thousands of kilometers I walked in between. Until now.
Rejoining the workforce was neither easy, nor pretty.
The Pandemic took us all by surprise. As did Afghanistan, and the July Riots, and Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine. It takes a Brave Heart to sit with a Strong Back and a Soft Front these days.
I’ve decided to gather all my pieces together here in Daily Braveries (named after another line of poetry – this time by the inimitable Naomi Shihab Nye). Instead of another new blog marking another new beginning, I’ve decided to simplify and consolidate; merge all the different sites without erasing posts or sanitising my journey or my struggles to find my place in the world again.
Doing this has shown me how I have changed over time. I’m not so sure that I am a ‘self contained unit’ or my own eco-system anymore. I still get restless though, and sometimes it does feel as if the stars are pulling at my hair again.
But I’m also mostly okay these days, living in my little house with a cat who’s always hungry, going about my life in a quiet way and attempting to see the beauty as I walk.
This is the spot where all my brave selves gather, so we can own our stories and continue the journey onward – together – to find out what happens next.
Daily Braveries 