Wisdom from Emily Dickinson: Lifting Up Ourselves and others.

What do you think when you hear “rise” or “lift” or “soar”?

The word “rise” and “rising” have been popular lately. There are books by Brene Brown (Rising Strong); Tiffany Reese (Strong Women Rising); and many books honoring the Maya Angelou poem, “Still I Rise” in their titles and messages.

Today in the front pages of the novel, “Keeping Lucy” by T. Greenwood, I found a quote by Emily Dickinson that includes the phrase “called to rise.”

I didn’t believe it could be accurate. After all, she was writing in the middle decades of the 19th century. 

What I found was this:

“We never know how high we are

  Till we are called to rise;

And then, if we are true to plan,

  Our statures touch the skies—”

Emily Dickinson

She did say it!

She even went further:

“The Heroism we recite

  Would be a daily thing”

I am starting a blog challenge today – posting daily in May. My initial thought as I sit in my parents’ home in Flagstaff, Arizona is “Are you kidding me? This is so not the time to do a month long challenge. It’s hard enough to finish these in the best of times.” 

Yet it may be the perfect way for me to rise – and allow my stature to reach up, touch the sky and write. Write. Write.

I hope you will read, read, read, and see where we come out, a month from now. 

I trust in writing – showing up at the page and sharing what I discover along the way – will help us all be lifted up. 

Julie Jordan Scott is the Creator of the Radical Joy of Daily Consistency Course which helps people practice consistency and completion daily in order to experience a more incredible life experience. She also founded the free, private facebook community for writers and creative people at all levels of experience: the Word Love Writing Community. Join us!