This is what maturity looks like. I’m becoming the adult I want to be.

Unfurling is something that happens all around us in nature – the plants and the critters are constantly putting on a display for us to see. It’s miraculous, and it’s entirely ordinary. And then there are human beings. Humans are the only living creatures able to thwart the unfurling process by thinking they aren’t ready. Thinking that who they’re becoming is somehow wrong.

What would it take to unlearn this?

I talked with the lovely and lively Britt Bravo recently about her newfound peace with acceptance and embracing what is. She shared her experience on reversing the act of clamping down, and allowing herself to unfurl.

This is such an important lesson for us all. And it’s a toughie. Especially for women like us.

The ingredients for acceptance : Calling a truce with my inner critic. Placing fear at the sidelines. Stopping the struggle.

This is agreeing to unfurl.

Britt is unfurling by accepting her aging and embracing the adult she’s becoming. She’s letting go of stories that used to define her, and allowing herself to integrate parts of herself that seem to be at odds. Some of those old stories aren’t easy to dismiss or move beyond, as you probably know from your own experience. The silver lining is that unfurling enables us to access parts of ourselves that were hidden; and these new aspects can be like meeting a new friend.

Transformation is a high-stakes experience: in committing to it we agree to release ourselves from comfort zones in favor of experiencing the fulfillment of living what’s true for us NOW. Some of the phases we go through on this journey are challenging, but we don’t have the option of skipping to the next.

And we often don’t realize that we’re through a rough patch until we pause and look around, realizing that the landscape is entirely different. We have found a new way. We made important changes, shifted ways of being and stepped more fully into our adult selves. As Britt notes in this chat, “Someday is now”.

Have a listen, then tell us in the comments who YOU are becoming. Which phase of unfurling are you currently in? What are you learning about acceptance and embracing?

Unfurling With Britt Bravo from amy kessel on Vimeo.

About Britt

In her words:

I’m a blogger, podcaster, blog coach, trainer, and big vision consultant for artists, writers, creative entrepreneurs and do-gooders. I started blogging in 2005 with the launch of my personal blog, Have Fun, Do Good. Since then, I’ve written for the Huffington Post, WEtv’s WE Volunteer blog, BlogHer, NetSquared, the Stanford Social Innovation Review Opinion Blog, Worldchanging, Sparked, and the Global Center for Entrepreneurship’s blog. In 2012, I started a new blog, VegCookbook Club, where readers cook through vegetarian and vegan cookbooks together each month. I also produce my own podcast, the Big Vision Podcast, and the Arts and Healing Network’s podcast.

I love to cook, collage, write letters, interview big visionaries, and bring groups of people together, online and offline. You can learn more about me at www.brittbravo.com, and follow me on Twitter at @bbravo.

Britt’s next blogging eCourse starts on Oct. 16! Find out more: Juicy Blogging E-Course: The Art & Play of Blogging

Others in the Unfurling Series

Also…

Registration for Playing Big, Tara Mohr’s global leadership program for women, closes at midnight on October 9. Playing Big is a six-month, in-depth program for women who want to play bigger in their work and in their lives, created and led by women’s leadership expert Tara Sophia Mohr. The Playing Big journey includes inner work to help you overcome fears and clarify your vision as well as practical training in skills such as communication and negotiation. Past participant Ariane Hunter had this to say: “From day one of the Playing Big course, I felt things begin to shift within me like I haven’t experienced before. It was the most transformative process I have ever engaged in.” If you are longing to play bigger in your work and your life, click here to learn more about Playing Big and see if it’s the right fit for you!

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