This is the way to be brave again

This is the way to be brave againThis is the way to be brave againIllustrations by John P. Weiss.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreSeveral years ago, during the holidays, I encountered a street poet. He was plinking away on a very old typewriter, selling short poems for whatever patrons felt appropriate.close dialogAdvertisementclose dialog/* effects for .bx-campaign-1012257 *//* custom css .bx-campaign-1012257 */.bx-custom.bx-campaign-1012257.bx-type-agilityzone .bx-close z-index 2-ms-keyframes bx-anim-1012257-spin from -ms-transform rotate(0deg) to -ms-transform rotate(360deg) -moz-keyframes bx-anim-1012257-spin from -moz-transform rotate(0deg) to -moz-transform rotate(360deg) -webkit-keyframes bx-anim-1012257-spin from -webkit-transform rotate(0deg) to -webkit-transform rotate(360deg) keyframes bx-anim-1012257-spin from transform rotate(0deg) to transform rotate(360deg) bx-close-inside-1012257 top 0 right 0 /* rendered styles .bx-campaign-1012257 */.bxc.bx-campaign-1012257.bx-active-step-1 .bx-creative *first-child padding 0width auto.bxc.bx-campaign-1012257.bx-active-step-1 .bx-creative background-color transparent.bxc.bx-campaign-1012257.bx-active-step-1 .bx-close stroke whitebackground-color blackborder-style solidborder-color whiteborder-width 1pxbox-shadow 0px 0px 0px 3px black.bxc.bx-campaign-1012257 .bx-group-1012257-3RBnJGC position absolutetop 50%left 50%transform translate(-50%, -50%)z-index -1.bxc.bx-campaign-1012257 .bx-element-1012257-wryzWV5 width 55px.bxc.bx-campaign-1012257 .bx-element-1012257-wryzWV5 *first-child animation-name bx-anim-1012257-spinanimation-duration 800msanimation-iteration-count infiniteanimation-timing-function line ar.bxc.bx-campaign-1012257 .bx-group-1012257-lyDBLV9 width 900pxheight 550px.bxc.bx-campaign-1012257 .bx-group-1012257-me4p1bl padding 10px.bxc.bx-campaign-1012257 .bx-element-1012257-ZdLO37u width auto.bxc.bx-campaign-1012257 .bx-element-1012257-ZdLO37u *first-child padding 2px 4pxfont-size 10pxcolor rgb(255, 255, 255)text-transform uppercasebackground-color rgb(0, 0, 0)background-color rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.34)He typed his poetry on thin, onion skin paper. I remember the distinctive clickety-clack sound of the keys striking the paper. An utterly foreign sound in todays world of laptops and touch screens.He was staged just outside a popular downtown bookstore. Location, after all, is everything. Busy, frazzled shoppers couldnt help but stop and take in this intriguing spectacle.Poet Kevin DevaneyI inquired about his services. He told me there were several clients ahead of me, but if Id like a personal poem, to leave my name. He suggested I include whatever I was passionate about. So, I w rote down my name and the word art.Close up of Kevin Devaney typingI left to explore the bookstore and shop. An hour later I returned and the poet told me my poem was done. Heres a photo of the poem he typed for mePoem by Kevin Devaney.This is my favorite line in his poemStretch the paint, until you have built a stair on which man may climb out of his lack of kindness.The poets name is Kevin Devaney. Hiswebsitestates that he is a graduate of the Sarah Lawrence College MFA program (2011) and a spoken word advocate.He is the founder of the Santa Cruz, California weekly poetry open mic, the Sarah Lawrence College Spoken Word Collective, the Northampton Poetry Brothel, Northampton Poetry, and the former Art Bar Cafe Philanthropub. He is passionate about devising new ways for art to intersect with daily life. You can find more of his work on hisInstagram page.What I admire about Kevin Devaney are his passion and fearlessness. Not a lot of people are willing to open up shop on a busy cit y street, during the holidays, and perform.Push just a tiny bitlongerHow many of us are held back by fear? By that nagging voice in our head, telling us were not good enough?Perhaps the answer to our fears, then, is to stretch the paint. Take out our creative brushes (or whatever tools you use), and dive in.And what about fear, you ask? How do we be brave and recover the essence of who we are? Or who we want to become?Fortunately, there is a way to be brave again. All it requires is one thingLet go of the past. Ignore the voices of those who discourage you. They are mired in their own fear and threatened by the ones who platzset sail.Illustrations by John P. Weiss.Let go of your self-doubt and fear of failure. Risk a little to let your true self emerge. Others will appreciate your authenticity and uniqueness.And should you get knocked down, dust yourself off and learn from the experience. Figure out what went wrong. Dont waste time blaming others, even if it was their fault. Find a better path forward. Regroup, and when youre ready, try again.Extraordinary benefits accrue to the tiny minority of people who are able to push just a tiny bit longer.?- ?SethGodinClinging andgraspingWriter Melissa Kirk, in anarticlefor Psychology Today, had this to say about the power of letting goIn my life, the most amazing things that have happened to me have been direct results of me facing the crippling terror of letting go of something. Whether a relationship, a job, or a story about myself and what I am and am not good at, the best things in my life have come when Ive chosen to hold my breath and dive under the terror, even if Ive tried hundreds or times before and failed.Author and mindfulness expert Jon Kabat-Zinn, in the following YouTube video narration, encourages us to stop clinging and grasping at things, especially when we cannot have them or theyre not good for us.Kabat-Zinn talks about how they trap monkeys in India. They cut a hole in a coconut, and tie the coconu t to the base of a tree.Then they distributions-mix a banana inside the coconut. The hole is crafted so that when the monkey grasps the banana, the size of his fist prevents the monkey from removing his hand.The monkeys refuse to let go of the banana. They are caught by their own desire.Sound a bit familiar?How many of us cling to a desire? How often do we grasp and hold on to unhealthy habits, relationships or behaviors?As Kabat-Zinn points out, letting go really means letting be. Allowing yourself not to get caught up in something. When we stop grasping and clinging, we let go of the psychological banana. We open the doorway to freedom. Freedom to be who we want to be.A more peacefulstateThe street poet Kevin Devaney inspired me. He reminded me that creative passion is such a gift, if we are willing to be brave, let go of our fear and share our art with the world.Letting go helps us to to live in a more peaceful state of mind and helps restore our balance. It allows others to be r esponsible for themselves and for us to take our hands off situations that do not belong to us. This frees us from unnecessary stress.?- ?MelodyBeattieI hope you let go of whatever is holding-gesellschaft you back, and learn to be brave again. Doing so will enrich your life and the lives of many others.Before yougoImJohn P. Weiss.I draw cartoons, paint landscapes and write about life. Thanks for reading.This article first appeared on Medium.close dialogAdvertisementclose dialog/* effects for .bx-campaign-1012255 *//* custom css .bx-campaign-1012255 */.bx-custom.bx-campaign-1012255.bx-type-agilityzone .bx-close z-index 2-ms-keyframes bx-anim-1012255-spin from -ms-transform rotate(0deg) to -ms-transform rotate(360deg) -moz-keyframes bx-anim-1012255-spin from -moz-transform rotate(0deg) to -moz-transform rotate(360deg) -webkit-keyframes bx-anim-1012255-spin from - webkit-transform rotate(0deg) to -webkit-transform rotate(360deg) keyframes bx-anim-1012255-spin from transform rotate(0deg) to transform rotate(360deg) bx-close-inside-1012255 top 0 right 0 /* rendered styles .bx-campaign-1012255 */.bxc.bx-campaign-1012255.bx-active-step-1 .bx-creative *first-child padding 0width auto.bxc.bx-campaign-1012255.bx-active-step-1 .bx-creative background-color transparent.bxc.bx-campaign-1012255.bx-active-step-1 .bx-close stroke whitebackground-color blackborder-style solidborder-color whiteborder-width 1pxbox-shadow 0px 0px 0px 3px black.bxc.bx-campaign-1012255 .bx-group-1012255-3RBnJGC position absolutetop 50%left 50%transform translate(-50%, -50%)z-index -1.bxc.bx-campaign-1012255 .bx-element-1012255-wryzWV5 width 55px.bxc.bx-campaign-1012255 .bx-element-1012255-wryzWV5 *first-child animation-name bx-anim-1012255-spinanimation-duration 800msanimation-iteration-count in finiteanimation-timing-function linear.bxc.bx-campaign-1012255 .bx-group-1012255-me4p1bl padding 10px.bxc.bx-campaign-1012255 .bx-element-1012255-ZdLO37u width auto.bxc.bx-campaign-1012255 .bx-element-1012255-ZdLO37u *first-child padding 2px 4pxfont-size 10pxcolor rgb(255, 255, 255)text-transform uppercasebackground-color rgb(0, 0, 0)background-color rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.34).bxc.bx-campaign-1012255 .bx-group-1012255-lyDBLV9 width 900pxheight 550pxYou might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people