What keeps you from your deep power? What keeps you small, underpaid, even invisible?
My friend Dena Crowder, expert in guiding you “home to your power,” is passionate about tackling the critical territory of visibility and value.
I adore Dena. We have a bunch of things in common, including Life Purpose energies, theater, and writing. She’s a character, deeply intuitive, and great fun.
In the upcoming online interview series: Embodying Your Soul’s Purpose with Dr. Terra Christoff, Dena will address visibility and value. I’ve signed up—(it’s free)—I hope you will too. Dena’s interview alone will be worth it! Opt-in for the series here.
(Remember opting in to someone’s email list need never be permanent. Stay as long as you are receiving value; unsubscribe if you are not.)
Visibility and value had been on my mind—
Viewing the film To Walk Invisible made me think deeply about these exact things—visibility and value.
I bring you the Bronte sisters.
Theirs is not literature I am deeply familiar with—with the exception of Jane Eyre, which I have seen rendered in at least three different movie versions. I’ve never read Wuthering Heights. But the film To Walk Invisible makes the Bronte sisters unforgettable in a whole new way.
To Walk Invisible brings the Bronte sisters and their stark reality to life. It gives tangible shape and reason to their writing—many of the whys and wherefores of their style, material, etc. are answered.
This film sticks with you for weeks.
For me, it was not just the excellent acting, and the cinematography giving body to the darkness and shut-in nature of their lives. It was also the family situation and their relationships—especially to their brother, Branwell. He fell into alcoholism and never reached the artistic achievement he longed for.
The Bronte sisters walked invisible partly because women were not successful writers in their time. Writing under a male pseudonym made selling their work possible. But the other, more gripping emotional reason for remaining invisible— their work unknown to any but each other—was not to outshine their brother. They could not bear to diminish or shame him. Their need to protect him was so strong they were willing to remain invisible.
What might have been…
In fact Branwell was equally brilliant. Flashbacks of the four of them playing imaginary games as children brought this home. But for his choices, Branwell Bronte might also have been a literary genius.
In my family,
Women were expected to shield, protect, and never out-shine the men in their lives. The expectation was acted out on all sides, if never clearly expressed. I’m sure that’s one reason To Walk Invisible made such an impression on me. On the one hand, it seems crazy that they hid their success from their brother and father. On the other hand, I understand it perfectly.
What keeps you from stepping into your visibility and value? From speaking up, asking for what you want, including charging appropriate rates for the good you offer in the world?
Powerful ghosts…
Fear of outshining the men in my life is one of my ghosts. By that I mean it isn’t a logical obstacle—it makes no sense—but my choices are still charged with its echoes.
Dena’s interview will help me uncover more—I know it and look forward to it!
Coach’s Challenge:
My challenge is twofold:
1) Sign up to hear Dena through Dr Terra Christoff’s interview series here.
2) Watch To Walk Invisible. See what strikes you, not just about visibility and value in the Bronte sisters, but in your own life. Leave me a comment if you feel inspired to do so—I always love hearing from you.
