Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Eight Favorite Quotes - Braving the Wilderness

For a while I've been contemplating writing some posts where I share my favorite quotes from the books I've read. I've been hesitant to do so because long lists of quotes don't really make intriguing blog posts. But today I realized what a wonderful resource it would be to have these compilations of quotes for my own reference.

Today's list comes from Braving the Wilderness by Brene Brown, which I finished a few weeks ago. My overall rating for this book is about 3.5 stars. This book has some really strong five-star content, but you have to wade through a lot of 2-3 star content to get to it. I've checked out all of Brene Brown's books from the library at various times, but this is the first one I've finished - not due to lack of interest but lack of time (remember when I did school?) I will definitely be going back to revisit her other books. I love her perspective.

{Via}

The best gift this book gave me was the term "wilderness." Since reading it, I have found myself calling out the wilderness. As I witness contention over issues where I can see both sides, I now take a deep breath and say, "This is the wilderness," and somehow, that brings me peace.

With that, here are eight quotes I enjoyed in Braving the Wilderness by Brene Brown:

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"Do not think you can be brave with your life and your work and never disappoint anyone. It doesn't work that way." -Oprah Winfrey (p. 5)

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"Spirituality is recognizing and celebrating that we are all inextricably connected to each other by a power greater that all of us, and that our connection to that power and to one another is grounded in love and compassion."  -Quoted from The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown

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"Wilderness is a metaphor to represent everything from a vast and dangerous environment where we are forced to navigate difficult trials to a refuge of nature and beauty where we seek space for contemplation. What all... have in common are the notions of solitude, vulnerability, and an emotional, spiritual, or physical quest." (p.36)

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"Be more curious than defensive." (p. 37)

This quote is referring to listening to other people's perspectives and asking them questions rather than worrying about defending our own points of view.

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"People are hard to hate close up. Move in." Title of Chapter 4

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"It is consistent with the idea that collective assembly is more than just people coming together to distract themselves from life by watching a game, concert, or play - instead it is an opportunity to feel connected to something bigger than oneself; it is an opportunity to feel joy, social connection, meaning, and peace. Collective assemble has long been a part of the human experience and the current work begins to quantify its important psychological benefits." -Quoted from the research of Shira Gabriel, Jennifer Valenti, Kristin Naragon-Gainey, and Ariana Young, 2017 (p. 130)

[PAUSE]

If you only read one quote from this post, I would want it to be one of these last two:

[RESUME]

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"...if our faith asks us to find the face of God in everyone we meet, that should include the politicians, media, and strangers on Twitter with whom we most violently disagree. When we desecrate their divinity, we desecrate our own, and we betray our faith." (p. 76)

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"Stop walking through the world looking for confirmation that you don't belong. You will always find it because you've made that your goal. True belonging and self-worth are not goods; we don't negotiate their value to the world... No one belongs here more than you." (p. 158)

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