I’m taking a two week break.

Tomorrow I’ll take an overnight flight to London, UK. From there I’ll spend a day at Heathrow airport (which will be weird to pass through my home country but not actually see it) before boarding another overnight flight to Uganda.

I’m taking a step into the unknown and tingling with both apprehension and excitement.

I should have known it was coming. Back in January I wrote a post for SheLoves Magazine called No More Safe and Comfortable Please in which I talked about my desire to live a bigger, more purposeful life. I was itching to climb out of my safe little box. So I prayed about it. And my prayer was answered.

So now I’m going to Africa.

I’ve been told that I won’t come home the same, that I’ll experience more culture shock in coming back to Canada than in landing on African soil.

Good. I don’t want to come home the same. Every experience I’ve ever had that has made me feel scared and out of my element has always been a good thing.

So I’m taking my journal and hope to bring home some amazing stories and insights to share with you. And I’m praying that I will be able to contribute something meaningful while I’m there.

The plan

I’m heading out to Uganda and Burundi with a group of seven girls from North America, Luxembourg and South Africa. who have, for the most part, come together via SheLoves Magazine.

Over the first couple of days we’ll be visiting two ministries, the first being a home for women who have been rescued from prostitution, and the second, an orphanage for children living with HIV Aids.

We’ll then attend the five-day Amahoro Africa conference in  Kampala, at which I’ll be part of a global conversation about community, justice and mercy. I’ll also be helping to facilitate three creative writing workshops!

From there we’ll fly on to Burundi where we’ll meet the villagers of Bubanza. Earlier this year we made a huge impact on this community when our SheLoves sisterhood raised $15,000 to build a well. The closest well used to be a three-hour walk away, the water a dirty brown. And soon we’ll see God’s grace at work as we watch clean water pour from our SheLoves well. What a privilege it is to have an opportunity to see one small “ask” on this side of the globe in action on the other side of the globe.

The unknown

Whilst I’m aware of the plan for this trip, I’m not prepared for what it may do to me.

Having been raised in the UK in a middle class home, my images of Africa Ias a continent rather than individual countries) come from the media, beginning with Bob Geldof’s massive fundraiser in the early 1980′s for famine relief in Ethiopia. And every image thereafter was along the same lines: starving babies, neglected orphans and even mass genocide. I grew up aware of it, even writing songs about it, but not really connected to it any way.

And like many, I grew up with pity in my heart.

But I know there is so much more to Africa than those images we see in the Western world. That there are women just like me, families just like mine and people with big dreams that aren’t just reserved for the Western Hemisphere.  I can’t wait to write about Uganda, Burundi and an all encompassing experience.

I’m excited to connect with the people, to dance by a well in Bubanza and to bring home a heart full of Africa.

Watch this space—and I’ll see you in two weeks.

Image credit: African sunset

Last night I was looking at the books I currently have on my nightstand and I had to smile at how every one of them represents one pocket of my life.

Now to be clear, I’m not simultaneously reading all of these books. Some I delve into for occasional insights, like when I need writing inspiration (Bird by Bird) or another perspective on how to parent my children (Hold onto your Kids.) Others I’m attempting to read from front to back within a reasonable amount of time (usually 3 weeks, given that I read in bed at night and tend to fall asleep with said book in hand, having only read 2 pages!)

But I’m smiling and shaking my head at the same time because in typical Claire fashion I’m trying to grow at a rapid rate in very area of my life and I appear to be going for all areas at once.

Here’s why I’m reading these particular books:

1) Tribes by Seth Godin (because I desire to build a strong writing community)

Tribes is about changing the world through leadership and building a community around something you are passionate about. As anyone who reads my blog regularly will know, I am passionate about building community around writing and helping others to achieve their writing dreams. This book is reinforcing my belief  that leading such a community is not about micro-managing but rather inspiring, motivating and providing an engaging space for people to connect.

“The secret of leadership is simple: Do what you believe in. Paint a picture of the future. Go there. People will follow.”

2) The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman (because I love stories)

Okay, so I only just started reading this book but so far I find it to be an eloquent and fascinating read. Set in 70 c.e. (a.d), the book follows four  Jewish women whose lives intersect during the Roman siege known as the Masada massacre. Within the story’s main framework lies the four fascinating subplots of each of the women and the events that leads their paths to collide in Masada, where they have come seeking refuge.

“I wept to think that life went on even when so much had been lost, that rain still fell and myrtle grew between the rocks.”

3) Girls with Swords by Lisa Bevere (because I desire to step into the space God created me to occupy)

4) The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown (because I need to be reminded that I am enough)

The subtitle of this book is this: “Let go of who you think you’re supposed to be and embrace who you are.“

Phew. Don’t we all need that? Someone to tell us we don’t have to be perfect and that there are opportunities for growth in being the imperfect people we already are?

This book is beautiful in its truth and simplicity and is based on years of research by author Brene Brown about the criticism that comes from within us and from the world around us.

 “The dark does not destroy the light; it defines it. It’s our fear of the dark that casts our joy into the shadows.”

5) Hold on to your Kids by Gordon Neufeld  & Gabor Mate (because I want my voice to be stronger than that of the boy who takes my daughter out on his motorbike when she’s 16 20)

There’s a growing trend towards young people looking to their peers for direction, values and identity more than they look to their parents. That’s not okay with me, so I’m reading this book.

“We liberate children not by making them work for our love but by letting them rest in it. We help a child face the separation involved in going to sleep or going to school by satisfying his need for closeness.”

6) Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott (because I love to write)

This is just a great little book I think all writers should have on their nightstand. Packed with wisdom, humour and inspiration, Lamott’s book is a kick your butt road map to getting words on the page via life lessons and writing lessons.

“Don’t look at your feet to see if you are doing it right. Just dance.”

That’s it, friends. But tell me—which books are on your nightstand?

Are you a risk taker?

Do you step out of your comfort zone with your writing?

I’ve learned to. And I think it has pushed my writing, as well as my sense of self, to the next level.

I’ve been writing for SheLoves Magazine for about two years now. Our mission is “To mobilize and empower women, so we may transform our world together.”

Pretty big goal, huh?

And I have to tell you, this scared the bejeebers out of me at first. Not only because I didn’t know what my place could be within this mission, but also because I didn’t know how I—l’il old Claire with one hubby, two kids and a cat—could really mobilize and empower anybody.

This was way out of my comfort zone.

I was used to making up stories, writing blog posts, banging off articles about fitness, health and parenting and dabbling in the odd poem.

But not this. Not revealing my heart, my fears and my weaknesses so that other people would know they’re not alone. Not contributing the part of me that is my share of the big picture of who we are as a movement of women.

That was kind of scary.

In fact my first article didn’t run. There were a few reasons, but one of them was that it wasn’t me and my story—it was too impersonal.

I had to go deeper and share my “stuff.”

The power of a story

People connect to stories. Real stories. Not the Facebook updates that reveal who we are on a good day, but the stuff about who we are through good and bad.

And since SheLoves Magazine launched three years ago, the number of women being empowered to start their own movement around the world has been staggering. And by movement I don’t mean a feminist crusade, I mean people connecting, inspiring and encouraging one another to find their unique value and purpose in life.

It’s powerful stuff.

Stepping out of your box

When I stepped out of my rather small box to write for SheLoves I found three things happened:

1. I discovered that I love to write non-fiction, which I had never even considered before.

2. My writing really improved as I drew from the well of my emotions and pushed myself.

3. People connected with me. 

When we write we only have our experiences and our emotions to draw from. A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post on this site called  “What Sets you Apart from Other Writers”  in which I said this:  ”if my blog posts have a personal touch that connects readers to me [people] are far more likely to read them.”

We like to know we’re not alone, in our struggles, deepest yearnings and endeavours. We want to link arms and walk forward together; no one wants to be the one left behind.

Sharing the real me has been a risk, but it sure has taken my writing to the next level.

The right risks for you

You may be reading this thinking that you either would hate to share your “stuff” for all the world to see, or that you don’t really have a platform from which you could do so. That’s okay; taking risks with your writing isn’t just about going to a deeper place. It’s also about trying different genres, or pitching your work to a publication that will challenge your writing and research skills. It may even be just starting a blog.

The key is to avoid staying in that place of comfort and to step into the great unknown. If you come to a dead end, go back and try another route.

I’d love to hear your experiences of taking risks with your writing. Do you have a story to share?