I think I’m about to break a major blogging rule. I’m going to *gasp* process some personal things I’ve been thinking about in blog form—all having to do with bravery. I wrote about bravery a couple weeks ago and ever since, have been reading this amazing book called Let’s All Be Brave and I just have ALL these thoughts.
So I’m going to process them. Right here. Over several Fridays.
Because I process best in writing.
And because maybe someone else might be thinking about bravery and what it looks like, too.
And because, really, breaking the blogging rules is about as rebellious as I get.
*****
When bravery means looking out the window
One week ago today I hopped a plane for Nashville. It was a quickie weekend trip where I got the fun of learning from awesome literary agents Amanda Luedeke and Chip MacGregor and hanging out with super cool author friends.
See that Jack’s Bar-b-que sign? We went there Saturday night. Mmmm…
OH and I got to go to the Johnny Cash museum and I kinda can’t stop thinking about the guy and will totally be blogging about him next Friday because it fits so perfectly into this topic of bravery…but that’s a story for next week.
[Focus, Melissa]
Anyway, so I went to Nashville and it was a blast.
On the way there, on my second flight, I ended up seated between two cowboys. At least I assume they were cowboys. The Levis. The plaid button-downs. The boots. The drawls. I don’t think I was too far off in assuming we had some Ponderosa action going on in our row.
I’m not sure, but I’m guessing the guys I sat in between on the plane were headed for a ranch where they’d ride horses against a sunset backdrop. Sounds about right, right?
The cowboy on my right was super annoyed to be flying Delta instead of Southwest. We bonded over our shared love for Southwest and shared skepticism toward Delta. (Sorry, Delta.)
The cowboy on my left, however. Oh boy, he was highly entertaining.
First off, I need to explain—something must have been wrong with the air conditioning in this plane because as we sat around waiting to take off, it felt like a sauna. Not the most pleasant thing ever.
And after about ten minutes of taxi-ing around the runway, this cowboy looks over at me and goes, “I’m SO hot.”
Which, you know, was funny. He’s clearly talking body temp but, I mean, come on…
Before I could muster up a better response than “Yeah, me too,” he went on.
“And I’m so sweaty. I’m sorry I’m so sweaty. Can you smell me?”
I cracked up at that.
So I’m sitting next to a hot and sweaty cowboy thinking, “Could we please just take off already because I’ve got places to go and people to see and maybe once we’re up in the air it won’t feel like the Sahara Dessert in here.”
And finally, we do just that. We start to take off…
And the cowboy immediately drops his head, tucks it between his knees and starts humming!
The hot and sweaty cowboy is scared of flying!
And I’m telling you, it’s like my amused little kid side and compassionate maternal side went to war inside me. I’m thinking, “Should I help him? Tell him it’s going to be okay? Pat his shoulder…but he’s sweaty…? Maybe I should just go back to talking to the other cowboy about Southwest versus Delta…?”
This goes on ’til we’re just pushing through clouds.
Suddenly, the hot, sweaty cowboy juts his head up, turns to the window, flings it open, looks out…
Then slams it back down and returns to his previous head-between-the-knees pose.
And I stick in my earbuds, close my eyes, and give him his privacy.
*****
I recounted that story at least a couple times to friends in Nashville. Because, you know, any story with a cowboy who is scared of flying is probably a good one.
But I’ve continued to think about that guy a couple times since.
Mostly, I’ve thought about the way he took that super quick look out the window.
Only lasted a couple seconds. Clearly freaked him out. But he did it. In the midst of his fear, he lifted his head and looked outside.
As I mentioned above, I’ve been reading this wonderful book called Let’s All Be Brave by Annie F. Downs. There’s a quote in it I love:
“[God] knows we need dreams in pieces because we would be too scared of the whole puzzle.”
I love that.
Bravery, I think, might sometimes mean quick glances out the window. Peeks into what’s waiting for us outside the confines of our own personal airplanes.
Maybe we don’t look long.
Maybe the thought of that job change or huge move and all the details that come along with it is too much at once.
Maybe trying comprehend the scope of a dream that’s bigger than ourselves is too daunting for today.
Maybe—definitely—seeing the whole picture at once isn’t a good thing.
So we get one puzzle piece at a time.
We digest what’s coming in small doses.
We glance out the window just for a moment.
But that one glance IS an act of bravery.
*****
Once we were up in the air on that flight, the scared cowboy eventually relaxed.
And get this: He got out his laptop and started watching a horror movie. Like, a movie that freaked me out and I couldn’t even hear it. Dude doesn’t like flying but apparently demon movies don’t bother him.
Then…then about halfway through the flight, he opened the window.
And left it open until we landed.
He’ll probably never know the girl sitting next to him has thought of him so many times since.
And is asking herself, even now, what window she might need to peek through…
Comments 26
Arh Melissa!
What an absolutely amazing post!
It really encouraged me as im going through some testing times myself! I will try to be brave and ‘peek out the windiw of life’.
Youre amazing. P s i have never read your books but i will now! Are u a christian ?
mcminnangela@yahoo.com
Author
Hi Angie, thanks so much for stopping by. Glad you found the post encouraging. And yes, I’m a Christian. 🙂
This is beautiful! Who knew you could learn so much on a flight. Super inspiring!
Author
Thanks, Chelsea! I didn’t realized until a few days after the fact how that cowboy would end up inspiring me. 🙂
Oh! Keep processing because you do it so well:) Love how you always see the world around you, Melissa. And then offer us all bits of encouragement as you do. So yes, keep it up. Forget about those “rules” 😉
Author
Thanks, Susan! I believe I will keep it up. I’ve never been one for blogging/social media rules anyway…takes to much of the fun away. Hey I’ve been meaning to ask you, are you coming to ACFW??
Love this post! It’s so great how random strangers can teach us valuable lessons. I’m really looking forward to hearing more about bravery. I’ve been working on trying to be more brave myself. 🙂
Author
Thanks, Danica! It was so fun hanging out with you over the weekend. 🙂
I agree that seeing the whole picture would probably freak us out, but sometimes…
Great post. And I totally agree, we need to take that risk that God’s calling us to. It’s an adventure you’ll never regret going on.
Author
I like you’re “but sometimes…” 🙂 I can definitely that sometimes–most times–I want the whole picture. But I’m pretty positive God knows I couldn’t handle it. LOL!
Hi Melissa!
Thank you so much for breaking the blogging rules (though I seriously didn’t know there were rules and I’ve broken this one several times already. Who knew?)! I really enjoyed your post and it has given me a lot to think about. I had to smile at your cowboy story. I probably would have been the weird person patting his shoulder while silently praying for him. Or the person beside him equally freaked out, since I’ve never flown before (we could have sympathized, until he pulled out the horror movie). Anyway, I completely agree with your and Annie’s opinion. I’m facing a dilemma right now, because I’m too aware of how lacking my abilities are and I’m going “God, are You sure You want me to do this?” So if He had shown me any more of the picture I would be way past just quietly asking and up to head-between-my-knees-humming with that cowboy. LOL
Thanks for the food for thought! I can’t wait to read next week’s post. 🙂
Hope you have a great weekend!
~Sarah
Author
Hi, Sarah! Yeah, as far as blogging rules, I’m always hearing people say not to turn blog posts into journal entries. To write for the reader rather than ourselves. That posts should be brief and have a point. That we shouldn’t get rambley and heaven forbid we write a post that doesn’t end with a question for commenters. 🙂 So…yeah I think I broke all those “rules” with this one. LOL!
You know what? I think being aware of your abilities and any potential lacking is a good thing. It means you’re humble. And it means you’re going to have to depend on God rather than just yourself. That’s a great, if uncomfortable, place to be. 🙂
Hi Melissa!
Good gravy! I break most of those rules with almost every post! So much for mine being brief and having a point. They usually do have a point, but I’m a rambler by nature (in case you can’t tell from my comments), so it takes a while to get there. I sometimes ask questions, but a lot of the time, not really. I get tired of asking questions no one bothers to answer, anyway. LOL Sounds a little depressing, but unfortunately true. I can’t even get people to answer questions when I do a giveaway!
You have the uncomfortable part right! Every time I think about what He’s asking of me, I freak myself out and decide I can’t do it. Then I start praying and think maybe I can. Then I freak out again. It just keeps going in circles. God has got to be getting tired of me doing that. I can just imagine Him up there, rolling His eyes at His scared daughter going, “I said yes 10 times! I meant it. Get off the fence already!” LOL
Are there rules for commenters, too? Just in case, I’d better stop now, before I break too many more of them! 😉
I hope you have a lovely Labor Day weekend!
~Sarah
Author
Haha! You know, I think breaking those so-called “rules” is totally fine. I think a lot of times people set rules in order to try to make blogging more of a platform-building thing…a marketing tool. I decided awhile back that blogging, for me, isn’t so much about marketing/platform-building as it is a personal exercise in creativity. I use other social media to build my author platform…but I think I blog for me and for fun. I need that outlet.
What’s your blog address? I should stop by!
And yes, that freaking out in cycles thing…you are not alone there. But getting off the fence…it’s hard.
And no rules for comments that I know of. I love your comments! They’re thoughtful!
I just love your writing voice, Melissa! And how fun about this hot, sweaty, scared cowboy. 😉 I laughed aloud a few times while reading. And point well taken about the courage to dream, the courage to see the dream, the courage to chase the dream. Okay, that’s what I take from it. Looking forward to next Friday’s post. 😀
Author
Thanks, Annette! Glad the post made you laugh. And yes, courage to see the dream and chase the dream…it’s important.
Wow, this is wisdom right here, pure and simple. Now you got me thinking! Love it.
Author
Thanks, Preslaysa! I just realized I think you were in Nashville and we never got a chance to chat. Sad!!
Wonderful wisdom there, Melissa.
I’ll give you another beauty from Brene Brown which you’ll find in “The gifts …” if you’ve bought it: “It’s okay to be afraid when you’re being brave!” I love that – and that’s what most of us will be feeling when we have a peek out the window.
Looking forward to this next series of posts, Melissa.
Author
Thanks, Ian. And I did buy that Brene Brown book! It’s waiting patiently on my Kindle. I have to finish one other first, but hers is next in my non-fiction lineup. (I always have a fiction and non-fic going on at the same time.) I love that quote. I think a lot of times we think bravery means not being scared…but what kind of bravery is it if we’re not at least a little scared??
I don’t know how I missed this one, but I’m here now…
I hope you break the rules again. And of course you know you have to write a story with THIS cowboy.
Loved your analogies. 🙂
Author
I probably should stick that cowboy in a story sometime. One thing I appreciate a LOT about blogging is it creates space for preserving funny memories like that.
You go right on breaking those blog rules (there are really rules?!). Loved the post. Now I’m not going to be able to get the cowboy out of my head. Hope I get to sit beside someone as interesting on my flights to WPA on Thurs. 😀
Author
Thank you, Sandra! (And as for the rules, I decided awhile ago to blog the way I want, not the way the social media gurus tell me I have to. 🙂 ) Hope you sit by someone fun on your flight!
Melissa, as usual, this is a beautiful, inspiring (and humorous) post. Thank you VERY much for sharing this. It has a wonderful message we all should think about. 🙂
Author
Thanks, Rissi! Glad it resonated. 🙂