My heart is so full today, friends.
It's been 7 months and 11 days since the inaugural meeting of the Secret Society of Unreasonable Kindness, and while it's still very new and there's so much I want to build and grow in the community, yesterday I had the overwhelming feeling that it's doing what I hoped it would do.
It's inspiring people to be courageous.
And it's causing people to feel aliveness.
That is bringing tears to my eyes.
Of course there have been so many delightful glimmers and celebrations and feelings of pride along the way, but yesterday it really hit me.
We were celebrating two of our members who completed bold and joyful Unreasonable Kindness projects this month, and we heard what it meant for our newest member to complete their first project
Our newest member joined us last month, and during the first call of the month, we started discussing the ideas we have for our monthly project.
In the moment, she shared an idea that delighted the rest of the members, but yesterday she shared some of the backstory that we didn't know at the time. This idea was something she'd dreamed about many years ago, had never taken action on, and honestly didn't believe it was going to happen.
But something magical started to occur when she said it out loud and shared it with the community. We all thought it sounded so fun (it was related to baked goods in her neighborhood), got her thinking about specifics, and ultimately, we were a supportive space to have that idea land.
Looking back now, I'm so proud that we've cultivated that environment where we have a 'of course we know that a project can be done, that's what we do around here!' mentality. It reminds me of the story of how the Blue Man Group got started (from memory so please take with a grain of salt) when the main creator of the idea told his friend he was going to paint his head blue and go walk around town and see what happens and instead of being hesitant, or naysaying, or trying to dissuade him, the friend effectively said "hell yeah, definitely do that".
When we have courageous ideas that are so tender and new and fragile, it's so easy for them to be stopped before they even get started. We accidentally crush each other's enthusiasm and imagination with practicality or nerves. Or we're scared of what would happen if we put something vulnerable out into the world and want to save our friend the embarrassment.
But not here, not in this community. So that's the first celebration, but it's not even the biggest one! Stay with me...
This past weekend, this member completed her years-long dream of making this idea into reality. She said it couldn't have gone better and she was overjoyed that she did it. And while I'm glad it went well, around here we don't only count outcomes as success, and what she shared next was how I knew that we're doing what Lindsay of a year ago dreamed of.
She was immensely proud of herself. She said,
"I wanted to do something and I did it."
She shared the joys of having an idea and putting it into action.
She beamed as she spoke about the trust and credibility that were restored in herself by doing something that had been a dream for years.
(I shared in one of my teachings earlier that month that every time we say we want to do something and we don't, we erode some of our self-trust)
That, to me, is aliveness.
It's being courageous enough to dream something up and put it out into the world.
It's being audacious enough to let yourself believe that you can make it happen, even if you're not sure at first.
It's knowing yourself as someone who can make a difference in your family, your neighborhood, or your community, through your own kindness, creativity, and imagination.
I'm so incredibly moved by this experience, and I imagine it's never going to get old. It's so beautiful to witness courage up close.
This is what I want more of in our world right now. If you want that for yourself, I want it for you, too.
And if you've got dreams that are ready to be turned into reality, may you have a supportive community with unlimited "hell yeah, definitely do that" responses ready to go.
P.S. The end of the year is approaching and if you want to join us as our next Unreasonably Kind One, we've got a few spots open before we close up shop for 2025 on Dec 17th!
You can either:
Apply here so we can welcome you in ASAP or
Check out a sneak peek of the community on Monday, November 17th or Monday, December 15th, learn more at UnreasonableKindness.eventbrite.com and bring a friend for even more fun.