Okay, let’s talk about something while it’s still fresh in my mind. My palms are clammy, my pits are sweaty and I’m a little shaky. No, I didn’t just climb Mt. Everest in record time. I cried on my first ever Facebook Live. Not what you were expecting? Well, that makes two of us. Around thirty seconds into the video, I probably would have welcomed some hiking boots and a map of Everest. Just sayin.
So maybe this is more of a pep talk for me, but hoping that you’ll get a huge reminder out of all of this as well.
It is definitely okay to cry.
Okay, so raise your hand if you’ve ever cried at an inopportune time? Like during a sappy movie on a first date? Or maybe it was one of those times that came out of nowhere and was based on merit from something that happened awhile back. So now you just look like an emotional mess leading people to question “oh my gosh, is she okay”.
Well this is what just happened to me (the later, not the former – my husband is used to my movie tears by now). I was asked to do a Facebook Live video for my new Blogging Mastermind (shout out to Faith Mariah!). I found my quiet spot, enabled Facebook to access my camera, and hit record!
It was off to a good start…”Hi, my name is Laura.” Whew, nailed it!
Then it happened. “I started blogging after my oldest son died”. Here we go.
If you’ve been reading this blog for anytime at all, I’m sure you’re like, “yup, that’ll do it”. (Well thank you for the heads up). I really thought I was going to get through it – matter-of-factly talking about my blog, my mission and my message. But I got caught up in those words ‘son died’ and mentally I was stuck there.
In all seriousness, I was embarrassed AS it was happening, but afterwards, I felt like I could hear Jim Carrey from Ace Ventura, reinacting the woman from Poltergeist “this house is clear”.
I felt so cleansed.
Not only that, I felt extremely strong. And you know why? Four words.
People saw my truth.
When we let even a small piece of us become exposed, that is when I truly believe that we can move mountains.
Sure I could focus on the parts of the video that made me cringe. The quivering chin, the trembling voice as I was still attempting to look like the subject matter expert (totally kidding, I’m winging it), but this is what I’m choosing to focus on:
Crying is an emotional reaction that:
- Shows your audience your true self
- Helps you realize that something was on your mind that you were ignoring (it definitely isn’t an act of indifference)
- Leaves you open to being even more vulnerable
- Allows your vulnerability to lead to breakthroughs
- Reminds you that there is a strength inside of you that might need a channel
- Helps you find your true people
At the end of the video I replayed it to see exactly how “bad” it went. And you know what the only thing I was upset at myself for after the fact…freakin’ apologizing for crying!
I honestly was not expecting that reaction. Much like the crying itself.
The amount of love I felt afterwards from the friends (my fellow bloggers) who watched the video was a reminder that there is so much strength in emotion and so much more that is possible if you lean into the hard stuff. Even if that means having a good (and potentially awkward) cry.
I’m proud of myself for crying and you should be too!
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