listen with conviction

I saw this post on Stephen Satterfield‘s instagram. It spoke to me in a way I must have needed that day. I created a screenshot and looked at it every day since.

You can see the pic isn’t all that much to write home about, though I am a fan of sunset photos.
No, what got me was his caption.

If it’s in your head then you gotta let it out. If it’s in your chest then put it in the air. If it’s in your heart then put it in the world. Don’t be scared. Even if you are. Find your center and sit there. God don’t need to pray, just us. Listen with conviction.

I’m still mulling over these words, figuring out how to apply them to the place they piqued inside me.

If it’s in you, get it out into the world. (But also) listen with conviction.
Isn’t that why we write?
Isn’t that why we read?
Isn’t that why we converse?
Isn’t that why we have relationships with family and friends?

Don’t be scared. Even if you are.
We tell Baby K how brave she is when she does something that makes her nervous. She replies that she isn’t/wasn’t brave, she is/was scared. We explain that being brave is doing the thing even though you’re scared.
This feels similar yet different. Yes, be brave and do the things that frighten you, but also don’t be frightened about expressing your truth.
The world will kick your ass and send you running. And that can be frightening, but if you’re sitting firmly in your center, you have nothing to fear.

Did these words find me off center?
Perhaps.
They did remind me to pay attention. To myself. To the world around me.
If we’re planted firmly in our own center can we express ourselves and listen to the world around us without fear?
Perhaps.
What do y’all think?