Your Life is Calling

Rt. 66 in Mt. Olive, Il.

“A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself. What human beings can be, they must be. They must be true to their own nature. This process we may call self actualization”
- Abraham Maslow

“Everyday spent not living your purpose is wasted.”

-T.D. Jakes

Now is a time of rebirth. This past weekend was Easter and Passover, both traditions having a focus on new life. I love this concept because it brings out the hope of possibilities. We see rebirth in nature too. Spring time is the environmental equivalent of New Year’s without the pressure of resolutions. Here in Indiana, the daffodils and lilacs are in bloom, the robins are chattering and the trees are getting dressed in green. Breath it in people, Ahhhh. Time to start again.

First, can we just have a moment to appreciate how lovely that is?

In the spirit of breaking through the past, and saying yes to new possibilities, today I want to talk to you about the call to adventure. I recently had a wonderful experience of attending an event where Oprah Winfrey spoke about LIVING YOUR LIFE PURPOSE. It was fantastic for so many reasons. To begin with, does anybody else love roadtrips like me? You just never know what you will experience. This adventure included but was not limited too: Rt. 66, a giant pink elephant(and not just any pink, Pepto bismol Pink, takes the awesomess up a notch, doesn’t it?), homemade cake batter ice cream, Native American holy ground, the St. Louis Arch, and oh yeah, did I mention Oprah?!

My favorite part was learning from someone who has dedicatred their life to improving the world. Oprah’s theme was all about expressing your gifts and using them to make contributions to the world. Each of us has been called to adventure, called to live our potential. Most of us say no to that call out of doubt and fear but no worries, a common MOMENT2SMILE theme is that you can say yes right now, or now, or how about now? It is never too late to start living your life more fully.

Plus, here is some good news, we have everything we need to get started within us. It goes something like this. Step one, get the hell out of your own way. Step two, Enjoy. You have been given gifts, start unwrapping baby! Knowing what your gifts are and making your contributions to the world can be some of the most joyous experiences of your life because you are perfectly authentic. It is all of the walls we have built up over the years that get in our way. Anyone out there afraid of failure? Do you have doubt in your dreams? Or the big one, unworthiness of love just as you are? All lies, excuses, B.S. What better time than now to breakthrough? Take action today, and everyday afterward to start LIVING YOUR PURPOSE. Believe in your abilities & your vision, have faith that the world wants you to make your contributions and say yes to opportunities that come your way.

Keep the faith and have a lovely day.

The Path to Your Dreams is Rarely a Stroll

Leaves looking up to the trees.

“If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.”
-Frank A. Clark

“It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.”
- Edmund Hillary

“First, have a definite, clear practical ideal; a goal, an objective. Second, have the necessary means to achieve your ends; wisdom, money, materials, and methods. Third, adjust all your means to that end.”
- Aristotle

Growing up, we would often go to the Indiana Dunes and climb Mt. Baldy. It is a fairly big sand dune which to a kid might as well have been Everest. It was always the same, a daunting look at what was ahead and the immense pride at my accomplishment at the top. Oh and the view from the top was always worth it, especially on a clear day when you could see the Chicago skyline. That is not what I am here to talk about today though. Today, I want to talk about the climb up. It was rough. It sucked. I was tired. Covered in a lovely mix of sweat and sand. Sure, You would always start out strong, almost leaping onto the sand hill, and easily take the first few steps up. Your feet would inevitably sink into the sand and slide down a foot or two. And then it would hit me, I forgot how hard this is. I would lift my feet and trudge upwards. Slide down a bit, Sigh. Up two feet, slide down one, up two feet slide down one. Why does my family enjoy this? Child torture really. It went this way all the way up the dune. I would persevere though, partly because I wanted to reach the top and partly because my family would not let me live it down if I gave up. Good old peer pressure. I thought about Mt. Baldy the other day when I was working on my thesis. The up down pattern is quite similar, I make progress forward, take a step back. Progress forward, take a step back. It can be quite frustrating because I want to just accomplish and be done. I want to just skip to the view. How silly it would be for me to expect this from the sand dune. There is no escalator to the top, well actually, there is an easier path that goes around the dune, but we will leave that alone for these purposes. My point is, we expect the ups and downs with the dune, it goes along with the territory. Literally. How about if we also expect the ups and downs any time we are trying to reach a higher position in our lives?

Whether it be exercising more, eating healthier, working towards a promotion, or just plain being a better person, we work towards goals in an up & down motion, sometimes even side to side and all around motion, but at any rate, it is not a straight shot to the top. We know this. Anything worth achieving is going to be a challenge but the adult mind set, the ability to see where we want to be, can be both a blessing and a curse. A blessing in that we are able to picture our goals clearly and analyze our current position, formulate a plan and close that gap between the two. A curse if we beat ourselves up for not being what we wish to be, always keeping the focus on not being good enough and in the end, sliding back down, staying in the same position or giving up the goal all together. You will not be _______ overnight. It does not happen like the flip of a light switch, and that is a good thing. As Rev. Geraldine Colvin says, “You do not just go through challenges, you grow through them”. Expect the obstacles, be kind to yourself when you slide back down into footsteps you have already taken. You will achieve everything you KNOW you will in due time, and when you get to the top, the view will be worth it.

Much love

Judgement: Harmful or harmless?

Worn out green light bulb

I have a confession to make. I judge people. I try not to but I do. Just the other day, I was on campus and there was a woman wearing a santa hat. Side note: I do not know why she was wearing the hat in March but in her defense it was cold out. Admittedly, the first thing I noticed was the out of place hat and the second was that she was clearly in a bad mood, arguing with someone on her cell phone. The fuzzy white ball at the end of her hat was bouncing around with every shake of her head, and then I judged her. I thought to myself, “Santa would want you to take off that hat. I am pretty sure there is a prerequisite of jolliness to wear such an accessory.” Now obviously my judgment was not helping either of us, and yet there it was, blatantly standing in my head, right next to my craving for chocolate peanut butter ice cream.

Yes, I know on some level it is human nature to judge. We continuously take in information for a purpose. Biologically we have evolved over hundreds of thousands of years to survey our environment in order to ensure survival. That kind of judgment can be a good thing, right? Such as,”Hmmm, that individual in the dark alley with the metal object in their hand looks a bit suspicious, maybe now is a good time to cross the street.” So why does judgement have such a naughty reputation?

Judgment serves to separate us: good vs. bad, right vs. wrong,
us vs. them. This can come in different forms, two of the most common being: feeling better about yourself by putting someone else down (happens just about every time I watch Jersey Shore), or in the form of self inflicted torture in which you compare yourself to others and then come to the conclusion that you are not ______ enough. (smart, fit, successful, funny, etc.)
Can you say not helpful behavior?

I am not suggesting that you are a heathen for judging, because then I would be a heathen and clearly I am a delightful human being (o: but it is obvious that judgment is a sticky subject. One that can have its place but has the potential to waste our precious energy and lead us off track. Where do we draw the line? Is it the source of judgment? If it comes from a place of love than it is welcome but if it has anything to do with Snookie it is bad? Maybe it is dependent on how long you allow the judgment to hang out in your head? If it is temporary, than it can serve a purpose (especially if it leads you to proactivity towards your dreams). After all, we can all use a little fire under our rear from time to time. Then again, if it has roots and makes itself at home, it can become like a poison. I just do not know.

I do know that self awareness seems to be key. Keeping ourselves in check, to evaluate the judgment and acknowledge its existence in our minds. What is this trying to tell me? Is this situational or tied to a pattern? Is this harmless or harmful? Is there information here that can help me grow? My conclusion is that most people are just trying to do the best they can with the lessons and tools that they have, including ourselves. In my experience, judgment has a way of making me forget that tid bit. Maybe we could keep that in mind as well, like a fire extinguisher for out of control judgment. I think I will store mine by my craving for chocolate peanut butter ice cream.
Please do not judge me.

Have a lovely day.

Serendipitous Forces

Luminous Field in Millenium Park - Chicago, Il.

You know those moments when everything in your life is flowing nicely, and you look around to appreciate the glory of contentment and just when you are about to get comfortable, some unexpected surprise/s turn/s your world a bit topsy turvy. Whether it comes in a domino effect or a straight on wrecking ball, there is nothing left to do but take a moment to get your bearings(Quick shout out to J. Black) and start again. That is where I have been chillin since my last post.

Moment before show time.

Despite my preference for prior notifications, Life just tends to throw you curve balls when you are not looking. A bit rude if you ask me. In times like these I wish I were more adept at baseball. Where I lack athletic grace however, I more than make up for in resiliency and optimism. I find it comforting that life is in constant motion, that experiences pass in time. If things are challenging, no worries, they will pass. Everything just has a way of working itself out. It is also helpful to remind myself of all of the serendipitous energy swirling around my perceived turmoil. Beautiful experiences love to hang out in the unexpected. There are always seconds of inspiration happening at any given moment, just a bit harder to see them when your eye is on the wrecking ball. I may catch a look of a couple smirking at each other on the train, the sunlight on the pine trees at dawn, the wind banging cotton ball snowflakes against my face as I try to rush my newfoundland through her walk. I see these moments and know they are fleeting, that it would be ideal to appreciate them for what they are because they will float away just in time for the next moment to arrive. I think that is why I love photography so much. It helps me to capture the feeling or inspiration before it fades. Of course you cannot catch all of them, life is made up of snapshots mostly untaken, but the beauty is there to be admired nonetheless. We can atleast try to take in as much as possible.

Mime checking out his reflection in "The Bean"

Dr. Cornel West describes the term tragicomic as the ability to laugh or find the joy in the face of adversity. I read this recently and was touched because it highlights the relationship between joy and sorrow. I like to think of them less as enemies but more like dance partners. Each serving a purpose, sure the joy gets all of the attention in her flowing bedazzled gown and snazzy moves but sorrow is the framework that allows you to fully appreciate joy, especially during those impressive lifts. We need both in every life in order to grow and reach our highest potential. Often challenges push us to a path we may have never chosen previously, but in the end it was the direction we needed to head in for the next stage of our lives.

Mimes performing for a crowd (o;

The photos for today depict one of those unexpected fabulous experiences where life meets you where you are standing and brings the entertainment too! So glad I was able to notice it and even happier that I had my camera! Hope this post finds you well (o;

Sidenote: The photos are in Millennium Park in downtown Chicago by the sculpture commonly known as “The Bean”. It is a sculpture made with highly reflective metal in the shape of kidney bean. It gives some great photo opportunities! The city is running a show over the next couple of weeks(February 10-20th 2012, no charge) at night called the Luminous Field. It is a light show set to music, and the night I went there was a group of performers dressed in white with matching umbrellas. It was a lovely experience and if you are in town during this time, I would recommend catching it.

View from underneath "The Bean" Chicago, Il.

A show called the Luminous Field in Millennium Park Feb 10-20th, Chicago, Il.

Moving Beyond Tolerance

Covered Bridge- Crown Point, In

Hello! I will be without internet for a few days but will post whenever I see the opportunity.

Today I am writing from my favorite place in the whole wide world…the beach. I can hear Lake Michigan’s waves kissing the sand in the background and feel immediately at ease. As I have been taking it all in, I have been thinking about a topic that keeps presenting itself to me: the correlation between seeing eachother and seeing ourselves. It started with a conversation I had a few months ago with my friend Kit. We were sitting in the car preparing to go get something to eat(sidenote: this tends to be one of our favorite activities, yet another reason to love the woman) when we began talking about different cultures and the need for increased tolerance in our world. Kit surprised me by saying that she questioned whether tolerance was even a good thing. She explained that tolerating differences in others might not be as effective as celebrating the differences in others.

“Tolerating” has the goal of acceptance, while celebrating has the goal of not only accepting those different than us but getting to know them, seeing them for who they are, and creating the opportunity to build an authentic connection and possibly even love. To “accept” is a bit more hands off, you can acknowledge others, say “to each his own” and move on without ever really seeing the person for who they are and in turn they miss the opportunity to really see you. What could have been a moment of connection passes, just like each wave that hits the shoreline in front of me.

As an alternative, what if we set out to learn and love the immense variety in our world? Are you familiar with the Zulu saying Sawubona/Ngikhona ? It is a greeting. Sawubona means “I see you” and the response, Ngikhona, means “I am here“. Isn’t that lovely? By my seeing who you are, I bring you into existence. And by you seeing who I am, I exist as well. We need connections to others because those connections help us to learn, to evolve, to love. The more I see others, the more I see myself. It reminds me of something that Martin Luther King used to characterize as the “Beloved Community“. Not just existing with one another because you happen to live in the house next to me or we parked next to each other at Target, but taking the time to see each other whenever we have the opportunity. It is the beloved community that made the Civil Rights movement of the 60′s so powerful. Standing up for justice as one loving entity. Taking a curious stance in our fellow neighbors, opening ourselves up to the experience of getting to know someone if only for a moment, opens our hearts and knocks down the initial dominoes to creating more love in our lives. In the end, isn’t that what we all want?

On a side note, this is my 100th post. I would like to take this time to thank you for reading Moment2smile. It is a pleasure to connect with each and every one of you. May you have a beautiful day!

Sawubona (o;

Follow that Artist

Bob at the Dunes with Lake Michigan and Chicago in the Background

“Problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them.”
Albert Einstein

“Sometimes you’ve got to let everything go – purge yourself. If you are unhappy with anything . . . whatever is bringing you down, get rid of it. Because you’ll find that when you’re free, your true creativity, your true self comes out.”
Tina Turner

“But, if you have nothing at all to create, then perhaps you create yourself.”
Carl Gustav Jung

Have I ever told you that my brother is creative? He is a musician and uses his words and beats to express his thoughts and share them with the world. He is pretty amazing. Of course, artists in general are inspiring because they show us the way. Artists create not because they love it(although I am sure at times they do) but because creating is who they are. It is not a matter of choice, it is a matter of being. Love, hate and all of the feelings in between are just tools that they use to mold their creations.

What can we learn from this? Do not be afraid to think outside of the box. Always have hope for the beautiful way. While you are at it, redefine what is beautiful. Take notice in the little things. Believe in ideas that no one else can see and find ways to bring them into fruition. Do not be afraid to feel. Express what is within you. Relish in the inspiration that surrounds you. Acknowledge your gifts as gifts and then give them away. Own who you are in all of your glory.

In this moment, We are shifting our perceptions to the realization that we are all creators. Yes, even lefties (reference to brains not hands). We are moving towards a whole brained existence. Know that you have a part in creating the community, relationships and life that surround you just like you have part in creating the thoughts, emotions and dreams within you. In a world that feels increasingly out of control, artists lead the way on how to use our visions to take back our power and be the change that rocks this world.

Much love to you all and hope you have wonderful weekends filled with creativity!

Go For The Good Stuff

One of my favorite couples (o; Don't you love it when you see people who are happy?

“Since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special attention to those who, by the accidents of time, or place, or circumstances, are brought into closer connection with you.”
-Augustine of Hippo

“When we get too caught up in the busyness of the world, we lose connection with one another – and ourselves”
-Jack Kornfield

“a good friend is a connection to life- a tie to the past,a road to the future,the key to sanity in a totally insane world”
-Lois Wyse

Make it a point to smile today. Look people in the eye when you talk to them. Give a hand shake. A pat on the back. A hug. Connect. We all need it just like we need sustenance. And just like food, the high quality connective moments are more satisfying than the to-go versions. Facebook. Twitter. Emails. Texting. All good in their own right but some times you need the old fashioned homemade goodness of a face to face encounter to remind us that we are in this together. That we are part of something bigger and that we do make a difference in this world in our own uniquely beautiful way.