Five Minute Friday: True

I’m linking up with the Five Minute Friday community today.  The prompt: true.  Take 5 minutes, more or less, and let the flow (and truth) flow freely.

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Writing from a true perspective is conflicting.  It’s easy and hard.  Simultaneously.  Gut-wrenching, almost, yet liberating at the exact same time!  How is that possible?!

To be true means that nothing has to be masked behind colourful exaggeration or creative use of decorative adjectives.  It is being yourself and ignoring the negative critiques.  Honest people will accept the constructive criticism—things that will help with improvement & growth.  But fear of rejection and of potential backlash causes truth to be buried deep.

Writing truly is risqué.  This is a call to be transparent and open about yourself and your (oftentimes) raw, unprocessed emotions and feelings.  Don’t get me wrong—it’s not about completely baring every little detail or over-telling a story.  It just means that if you felt anger or _______ (pick your feeling) about something, you’re not afraid to say so.  Even if you can’t explain it in the moment.

Truth is liberating.  There is freedom in being able to just be yourself.  Stress exists when you focus on the struggle to make the best impression.  You start second third and fourth guessing yourself.  Suddenly everything comes into question.  Do I look okay?  Will they notice this or that?  When you’re able to just be true and not get caught up in the extra, it’s much more relaxing.  Yes—please do give your best effort at all times.  Yet be yourself.

While the stories I tell and the experiences I share on this blog are authentic, I usually put some effort into making them a bit more attractive.  My last few posts, however, have been written from a deeper level of true.  Like the ‘scared-to-hit-publish-because-it-might-be-too-much-and-will-my-readers-get-it’  kinda true.  Yet those are the posts that make the deepest impact with me.

Because they’re real.

  • Beth

    This feels like a safe place to be after sharing a post that was about being myself (being real) and sharing what was true for me today. Thank you!!! I needed the reassurance. Blessings to you.

  • http://www.jhmglobalscotland.org/ Anna Marie Hopewell

    Loved reading this Sabrina! I wrote my first FMF today and how ironic that the word chosen was; TRUE. I went through all the stages you described above – but finally hit post anyway. Lol. Thanks for making sense of my madness and confirming that hitting ‘publish’ was the best decision I’ve made in awhile.

  • http://GrittyGrace.com Martha Brady

    well said sabrina. debi! not sure that’s even funny. crazy girl. hope you’re starting to feel better.

  • http://www.whimsywords.blogspot.com/ Julie Wilson

    Oh, I am always second, third, fourth guessing myself! Thanks for the reminder that myself is what I should be! :)

  • http://www.debistangeland.com/ Debi Stangeland

    And you write true because you ROCK! You really nailed this one sister. It’s honest and right and refreshing. Thank you for taking this angle with our prompt today. You really did it justice. (Oh, and maybe you’ll have triplets and then a whole new level of crazy can begin!) Just kidding. You know I am. Bwaahhhh!

  • Richelle Wright

    popping over from 5mf.

    i agree – it is a challenge to write 10% true… i think it’s because our writing often serves several purposes: we write for ourselves, but we do also write for others. the real trick is to not get the two confused. i think real is a better adjective [than true] for the best writing – and our trick is to figure out how we are best real. :-) sounds like you’ve done just that.

    congrats, by the way.

  • Janet

    “Truth is liberating” – but it doesn’t make it any less scary. I was literally shaking when I finally got the courage to invite my fb friends to my blog – because I knew that many of them only knew the surface-me – and letting them into the real-me was hard. Gut wrenching is right… Coming over from FMF. Thanks for showing me I’m not the only one….Janet

  • Elizabeth Heironimus

    I’m joining you from FMF tonight. So, I had to read some of your previous writing before commenting, nice hook! I read your “Caught off Guard” and “Red” posts. Congratulations! Maybe you’ll get a boy this time! (Completely kidding!!) I so understand the “helpful” comments. We have six, boy, boy, girl, boy, boy, boy. My last pregnancy was full of “Oh, maybe she’ll finally get a sister!” or the best “She NEEDS a sister!” (Said in front of the only girl, of course!) GRRRR!!!
    God knew we needed lots of boys and he knows if you need a boy or girl.
    Thank you for writing!
    Praying for a healthy pregnancy, delivery and baby!
    Blessings!