This is my new friend Mimi. We met online and got a chance to meet in person this week.
Mimi is a mother of teenagers with a big heart to serve others.
She has a long history of volunteering for non-profits, mentoring girls and medical mission trips. Recently she’s turned her desire for serving into a beautiful blog called Big Hearted. There she’s sharing her discoveries in the world or fair trade and non-profits, fun tips on helping others, and fashion trends from those giving back. Her desire is to challenge herself, teens and the community to look outside ourselves and be a light in the lives of others.
Before we met for coffee, I was thinking to myself, Is she for real?
Is she really only doing this out of the goodness of her heart to serve others, with no other motivation?
Of course, after an effortless connection and conversation, I realized she is for real. She’s driven by a calling in her heart that she can’t silence. She knows she’s meant for more, so she took the first step to start blogging. She’s interviewing amazing people. She telling their stories of courage and bravery as they’ve followed their hearts. She doesn’t know exactly where the next steps will lead, but she keeps walking.
The trail she’s leaving on her way, is beautiful.
I’m usually very trusting of people right off the bat, so my mental questioning with Mimi caught me off guard. I’ve thought about it several times over the last couple of days. It wasn’t her. It was me.
What kind of story was I telling myself?
Did your parents ever remind you that, If it seems too good to be true, it probably is? That way of thinking permeated my childhood. That kind of pessimism and skepticism, before trust, can be helpful for children, but it doesn’t serve us well as adults.
I want to lead with trust.
I want to assume everyone is good and kind. Let them prove me wrong if they must. I want jump in with an open heart of love.
Staying closed will protect me, but closed and protected is a wasteland compared to open and alive.
What’s your tendency when you meet new people who seem too good to be true?
Do you lean in, open up and trust?
The world would be a lot different if we all did that a little more. Sure, you’ll get hurt. People are imperfect and we have pretty high expectations of each other.
But you will grow and expand and mature.
You can stay small and protected OR risk a little more to grow.
It’s totally up to you.
Come grow with me?
To more love,
Crystal
