New York City is a 2 part process

New York City is a two part process.

step one: get here. 


step two: act like it. do things that you can't do when your not here, start something new, sink your teeth and savor the taste. 

Do someone a favor- reach out and reconnect

What were these guys thinking? What ever it was they didn't let it get in the way.

Knowledge is important, wisdom is valuable, feeling is a must but intuition is boss. 

10 years either side.

I just watched this and thought ten years ago, when I was their age how would I have answered? And would I be happy with the way I spent my decade?

I couldn't have imagined that I could have created the life that I have lived. I would have said I wanted to be a dancer on broadway and married to my boyfriend. A life that i could have been happy living but I was never brave enough to imagine I could have the life I truly desired and so never dared dream it out loud, not even to myself.
If I had any idea that ten years later I would be where I am, with the friends and memories that I have  I never would have believed it.  Somehow I have been blessed to continually stumble upon another rung of the ladder and keep climbing.

So what about in ten years from now?
I want to not worry about money. Easy answer. But as soon as I had it  I realized that worrying about money doesn't need to be tired to how much I have; it's a choice that I can make right now to not worry about money. So that's the plan...

Where have you been and where are you going?

And on that note Bon Voyage to dear Toby who headed south today to share his beauty, passion and spark around our world. Blessed are those who cross your path and see the real you.  Really going to miss your texts mate, please take care of you.

Your parents are going to screw you up.

Your parents are going to screw you up. Their parents did it to them and there will be something in your children that you will miss read too. It happens. Because they too are human. And when, moments or years down the line they make the effort, however slight, pay them the forgiveness they have earned.

Often, at the same time you will need to graciously give them some forgiveness on credit. Or good history or a personal reference or the smell of hope. They will need this; as they have the eyes that see how everything they did came from love. Or fear or ignorance that they wish they were not bound by.

Forgiveness on credit is for them and there for is not about you.

They need the space it creates to grow and learn new ways and responses. For you, as you are today, are not what they have always known; you have grown through many versions of yourself. And you are used to being watched by their eyes (or absence of them) as you grow.

But learning how to have a new convocation with your now grown child is a new thing for your parents, probably a first. And you know what they say about the old dog with the new trick.

It can. With kind words, patience, treats and its own will. But its owner can always choose to be happy even if the dog just sits all day long. Sitting is still something to be thankful for.

*this is in no way an attack on my parents or the people who played parental rolls in my life. 

So I published this post, copied the link to my Facebook status and directly under it was this clip. Not directly related but intruding thoughts about parents needs, purpose and potential. I love these synchronises.

This is such a great reminder that people are doing rad things in the world. 

Amazing right? 

Embrace the beauty of the curvy woman but remember she is airbrushed too.

Pizza looks great in the commercials right? Have you ever heard the process that it takes to get that shot? It includes gluing on the pepperoni so it's just right and nailing the majority of the pizza to a board so the cheese stretches perfectly as 'you' grab a slice. It may not be a ripe juicy Mc Donalds tomato bouncing through a refreshing stream of clear water but it is staged and air brushed all the same. 

This following story has been blowing up on facebook today. It's fostering a sense of sisterhood and providing men a  platform to endorse diverse body types.  While it's awesome and maybe a glimpse of the direction we are heading in as we constantly redefine 'beauty' please don't assume that because she is plus size/ "real"/ not stick thin she has not been airbrushed. 

For so long 'perfect' has been sononomous with 'skinny'. But I think pushing images of airbrushed people of any size and calling them 'real' to distinguish them from skinny is no better. No more productive for evolving on any level. Healthy choices are.

Use this icon to remind yourself to take a moment and embrace yourself, not as an example of what you are susposed to look like in your 'real moments'.

None the less the story has connected with so many people for a really good reason.

A while back, at the entrance of a gym, there was a picture of a very thin and beautiful woman. The caption was "This summer, do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?"

The story goes, a woman (of clothing size unknown) answered the following way: 

"Dear people, whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, seals, curious humans), they are sexually active and raise their children with great tenderness.
They entertain like crazy with dolphins and eat lots of prawns. They swim all day and travel to fantastic places like Patagonia, the Barents Sea or the coral reefs of Polynesia.
They sing incredibly well and sometimes even are on cds. They are impressive and dearly loved animals, which everyone defend and admires.

Mermaids do not exist.


But if they existed, they would line up to see a psychologist because of a problem of split personality: woman or fish?
They would have no sex life and could not bear children.
Yes, they would be lovely, but lonely and sad.
And, who wants a girl that smells like fish by his side?

Without a doubt, I'd rather be a whale.

At a time when the media tells us that only thin is beautiful, I prefer to eat ice cream with my kids, to have dinner with my husband, to eat and drink and have fun with my friends.

We women, we gain weight because we accumulate so much wisdom and knowledge that there isn't enough space in our heads, and it spreads all over our bodies.
We are not fat, we are greatly cultivated.
Every time I see my curves in the mirror, I tell myself: "How amazing am I ?! "

(The girl on the picture is French model Tara Lynn)
Last comment: I'm not putting down thin people, being a thin woman myself (BMI of 22 maybe?) just saying that being large doesn't equate to being unattractive.

some of STEVE JOBS' wisdom in a speach titled "HOW TO LIVE BEFORE YOU DIE".

When we pass away the amount of people that know we have passed is usually correlated to the amount of people that we impacted during our life time. That is not to say that the empire of our legacy wont be greater after we die (Van Gogh is a golden example) or manifest though others. Or that the collective respect and adoration from millions of people is anymore valuable that from a single person.

Almost instantly news of Steve Jobs passing was global news. Messages of love, respect and gratitude began circulating on the very creations of his vision; iPhones, iPads, iTunes. Personally I heard the news while using my beloved macbook. Even if you didn't have a Apple Mac product in sight when you heard the news the world around you would be radically different without this mans vision and creation.

Practically he provided us the tools to express ourselves and connect with each other (in pretty font). But he (and Mac) also birthed a new playing field; one so expansive there was enough room for us to all dream bigger. Mac raised the status quo and we live in a better world because of it. 

This is the commencement speech he gave at Stanford University in 2005- filmed by Ted Talks

Family

Family is just a good excuse to be friends.

Kieran Christopherson- the magical music man

This is a dear friend of mine Kieran Christopherson. Not only is he a talented musician he is a great person and passionate about life.

He  has a articulate and beautifully honest touch to saying what he sees and feels. His lyrics leave him nothing to hide behind and make you realize there is someone that feels how you feel and has the courage to stand and face the situation.

This is my chill out music. My go-to settling and road-tripping tracks. When I need to feel like the world is going to be ok I listen to Kiz.

His shows are always full of smiling people so you are sure to be in good company if you are lucky enough to catch him live. He plays simple yet poetic folk/ rock. The intimacy you will feel watching him perform is organic, he is a gracious and loving man and a whole hearted member of his community and the world.

Kieran is the real deal; working as a youth facilitator, helping other young people find their own voice Kieran found his. Now he writes and performs music with his friends- for the love of it and each other.

He has just put out some new songs and you can check him out at the following links:

myspace.com/kieranchristopherson

Facebook Page

soundcloud- listen and download

Youtube

My current favorite songs are Into the night and Lullaby for the ones that matter...

Photo given with permission by another talanted friend; Michael Norton @ Michael Norton Photography

If you can't have the ocean you should have car racing

Tonight I am in small town Iowa, America, visiting my brother and watching dirt track car racing. The track resembles the organized chaos of an African market; with people and cars crossing paths and flying in every direction.

It's lit by a handful of light towers and I wonder if it is strange to race around the track without headlights. I think it must be like little boats bobbing their way to their destination when a lighthouse is their only light source.

Growing up by the ocean its rhythm was integral to my own and these days I feel disorientated in myself when I have been away from it for a while. Despite being hours from the ocean, sitting in the stands tonight I feel closer to it than I have in months. Mostly it's the weering roar of the cars as they lap the track kicking up the dust. The sensation of their rumble  running in and through my body is undeniable and joyful. Being out in the elements, even though the focus is on something far from natural, I  feel connected to the the world around me, with the canopy of the open sky and the dust and burning red sun set.

I stepped out of the stands and down to the fence line- as close as I could get to the action. It takes me back to the ruggered Victorian coastline. Standing out on a rock that boldly juts out into Bass Straight, with my palms to the sky as though I am flying, the waves crash all around me drenching me with their spray. As they envelop me I am minuscule and insignificant and it takes all my settling in myself to not be tossed around and swept away by their rhythm and power.

At the track I instruct myself not to think about what this is doing to the environment, my to-do list and being cold. As a result I surprisingly find peace in watching cars race around a dirt track and learning about this new world, with its own unique culture that I have stumbled into. It's beautiful.

Awesome.

There is a bit of a theme of AWESOME being injected into my life at the moment. I have an awesome new friend, I'm spending time with my awesome uncle, 1000 awesome things blog brightens my day several times a week with a little thought on awesome in my inbox and now this...

THE AWESOME FOUNDATION  

Check it out and judge for yourself. But if you have a dream, a vision, a light bulb moment or the inkling that you need to be doing a touch more with your lovely self your going to dig this. Its not just a way to kick start what ever you have (or want to have) going on, it a great way to check out awesome things happening in your community... AWESOME!