"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly ... who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly." ~ Theodore Roosevelt
It is from this quote that author Brene Brown derived the title of her book, "Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent and Lead." If all goes according to plan, approximately 32 single people who love books will dare greatly in search of a partner at my second "Speed Dating for Single Book Lovers" event on February 14, 2014 at The Brickhouse Art Gallery in Sacramento at 6:00 pm. The event is free (details are below).
To be a single person who is willing to be vulnerable enough to admit that you want a partner and daring enough to go to a speed dating event to find one is amazing. In all honesty, I would not want to be a single woman in these times. We've become a critical, cynical society. We Tweet, Facebook and blog other's shortcomings -- I'm even guilty of doing that. To be willing to put yourself out there and go on the equivalent of 16 blind dates -- albeit, very short blind dates -- in two hours is indeed valiant.
Truthfully, though, you cannot find love without being vulnerable. It just can't happen. You have to be willing to meet people, share a little something of yourself, invest time, and face rejection at any point along the journey in the hopes that you will find and receive a love that's worthy, affirming, and joyful. Nowadays, everybody's got their guards up. No one wants to be that vulnerable person, or at least not first. But, as Brene Brown would be the first to tell you, vulnerability is the sine qua non of finding love. I salute these brave souls who are coming to the event.
And at the risk of tooting my own horn, I'm daring a little greatly myself. Those of you who read my blog regularly know that I put on this same event five years ago and blogged about how I desperately needed Baracks for my Michelles -- the African-American women of substance and style I knew would be attending the event. It was by the grace of God, some called-in favors (including a favor from The Outraged Citizen, in which I all but begged him to attend), and one guy who went outside and called all his boys to come, that I had even a reasonable amount of men for the ladies. To be honest, I didn't want to chance it again. I'm anxiety-ridden enough as it is; I didn't want the responsibility of having to round up all those African-American men of substance AGAIN and the possibility of failing, even if I would have been daring greatly.
But it's been five years, and one of the speed daters, The Outraged Citizen, found his partner at that speed dating event. She's a fabulous lady, they've been together since, and that is cause enough for celebration.
So I'm sending out a prayer to God and the universe to once again send me enough single African-American men of substance, men who really do love books and African-American women (or men of any race who love books and African-American women), to come to this FREE event. Although I expect a predominantly African-American crowd, this event is open to single people of all races who love books. Black Man Not Blogging (BMNB) will again help me chaperone, and I'm going to do my best to have those purple tulips, starched white tablecloths, candles and low lights with some background jazz going. Just the right environment to talk about books . . . and dare greatly in the name of love. Here are the deets:
Speed Dating for Single Book Lovers
Friday, February 14, 2014 6:00 pm
The Brickhouse Art Gallery
2837 36th Street at Broadway
Sacramento, CA 95817
Cost: It's Free!
Single = Not married, not separated, and not in a committed relationship.
Dress is casually elegant; no jeans, sneakers or club gear, please.
Bring a positive vibe. Space is limited. RSVP at speeddating4singlebooklovers@gmail.com
Co-sponsored by underground books, The Brickhouse Art Gallery, and Should Have Been There Events
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