I promised some recap of my weekend at WDS 2014, so here we go. I’ve already talked about Gary Hirsch and the bravebot… but there were a couple of moments before Gary appeared that ‘primed’ me for action.

First it was Jadah Sellner – co-founder of Simple Green Smoothies. Jadah burst onto the stage in dreadlocks and green lace speaking poetry about abuse and self-harm and taking complete responsibility for every lesson life serves us. Of several tips she gave us, the one that struck deepest for me was “take imperfect action”.

You see, I’ve spent years worrying about perfection. I’ve allowed a belief that things needed to be perfect to stop me from writing, from speaking, from launching and from loving. Perfection has been a handbrake for my dreams. So I resolved that – by the time the weekend was over – I would be clear on some imperfect action I could take towards living a bigger life.

And then it was Shannon Galpin – humanitarian and activist. She appeared, sleek in black jersey and heels, talking about mountain biking through Afghanistan for women’s rights and female genital mutilation and the power of public art and the responsibility that Western women of great privilege have to find their voice in the name and on behalf of all the women and girls who are silenced in our world. And suddenly I was in tears.

girls going to school

You see, I’ve taught myself to hide what I really thought and shrink from what I really wanted to say. It’s better now than a few years ago, when I cracked a back molar from grinding my teeth so hard in my sleep… but I still don’t share myself as much as I could. Right then, I knew it was time to find my voice. Because I am so fucking privileged – I have been given so much education and opportunity and talent and time  – that I cannot, in good conscience, keep hiding any more. It’s time to get over myself and stand up.

And so I decided to start writing – to literally find my voice through tinybrave. I’m loving it. Writing is easier than I thought, especially now that I have permission for my posts to be imperfect. Suddenly, I have plenty to say.

So a deep bow of gratitude to Jadah and Shannon for the push I needed to find my voice and take imperfect action. More coming, soon.