I have recently been reminded of the brilliance that lives and breathes down the back roads of our lives. That “thing” that happens when one finds enough bravery to become the who, they have always wanted to be. When moments are stolen away from the demands of the day. The young police officer who picks up leather work or pounds the irons to build amazing things. Or the lady who straps on a cowgirl hat for the first time, pulls up her boots, marches to the gate and says to herself… “I can.” The young mom who picks up her camera, fights back all the negative talk about who she is “supposed” to be, and dares to tell the world who she really is. How about that empty nester who now has time to pick up the paint brush again and explore all that she is.
I love that I am a writer. For to me, it is in the hearing of their stories that the pettiness of politics and hatred and the negativity of life lose their deafening voice. And with each story told, flickers of hope ignite the possibilities within our own souls..
There was a time in my life as a writer, when asked what I did for a living, I offered to the ask(er), “I am a brilliantologist.” I do not know why I quite saying that.. But certainly I will be taking it up again. . Of course, my definition of a “brilliantologist” is simply someone who sought out and studied those being brilliant. I have learned over the last little while that it takes courage to be both a brilliantologist and someone who is living their life brilliantly. Neither can be done without effort. The one living their life brilliantly has to push against time and resources and all the inner dialog they may have inherited… and of course the brillliantolgist cannot NOT try to discover their own brilliance one they “see the light.”
Webster suggests that brilliance is a form of light – radiant and luminous. And that seems right to me somehow. For it is in the example of those brave souls that will dare to live their life in such a manner, that lights the path for those not quiet so daring… but, perhaps willing once shown the way, to move out of the shadows of their own existence.
I never tire of their stories, those that dare to be brilliant, and often wonder what it is that they possess. If only we could bottle it and sell it.. and if only we could sell eyewear that would allow us to see it in more clearly in those around us. For they have pushed their way through the fears and objectives of self and others to be in their bliss… and it is brilliant.
So I wonder, who are you on the back roads… when no one is watching. When in those moments of victory you have put down the titles, and the degrees and the responsibilities and just allow yourself to be? I dare you take a drive and see if you too catch a back road reminder of your own brilliance and your ability to be a brilliantologist.
A Cowgirl Called 