Links of the Day

Just wanted to share some wonderful links!  Have a spectacular day!  ^_^

The Way of the Peaceful Parent at zenhabits

A World Worthy of Its Children by Pablo Picasso

Coolest Blanket Forts at Grosgrain Fabulous

We are all lucky!

Last night - actually, early this morning- I spent hours at We Are Lucky, one of the coolest and most inspiring sites I've seen.  The creator decided that instead of spending a fortune on a space flight, he would give £1000 each to strangers with only the instruction to spend it on something good ("good" being their own definition.)  I couldn't read any of the stories without a smile and some tears.  


I'm amazed and energized by the generous compassion of each Lucky person.  Seriously life changing things happened. Go check it out yourself because I don't want to spoil any surprises and because it really is worth your time to be overflowing with inspiration!


I cannot make any financial donations right now, but I pray daily for opportunities for service to share my time, or simply a hug or smile.  I believe that money is not meant for material gain, rather it is a medium for helping others.  


Paying It Forward is everywhere!  Some related stories are the World Domination Summit, and Lissa Rankin's experience with the $100 she received there.  Doug Eaton gave away money for his birthday.   Inspired by The Birthday Project, thousands of people have done random acts of kindness on their birthdays and touched countless lives.  Now I'm definitely planning on dedicating my birthday to others!  


I love the quote, 

Remember, there is nothing "random" about kindness.  

BE INTENTIONAL.

We are all lucky to be ourselves, each with our own talents and the ability to help others.  As Lucky recipient Matt said, "... if helping others wasn't beneficial to us as a species, there would be no reason for it to feel good."

"When you feel helpless, help someone."

- Aung San Suu Kyi

If you need a little boost to your day or need some hope, seek for positive energy - you WILL find it!  I needed some positive people to influence my life so I asked the Universe to help me find them.  I have met some absolutely fabulous people since asking, I would not be where I am today if I had kept my narrow pessimistic view of my community. 

A huge hug to everyone and Good Luck!

Superhero of Awesomeness!

I watched an episode of Hug Nation earlier today and was inspired to write a bit about Awesomeness.  (Because of Hug Nation, I believe hot pink chakra must exist because every time I watch John, I feel a beam of bright pink glitter radiating from my computer screen and energizing my soul!)

John talked about his experience at Comic-Con, where a lot of people were dressed up as their favorite character.  He shared his idea that people should dress up as superhero versions of themselves!

I totally agree - we should celebrate what makes each of us special!  We should celebrate diversity and creativity and energy.  The world needs more YOU and less THEM! (the rude, judgmental THEM that says "you spent how much time on that crazy idea?!?")

You are a superhero!  In every little smile, in every big hug, in every time your light brightens the world... Listen to you inner hero and show the bravery you contain.  Boldly go where no one has gone before in service, kindness and spreading joy!  Blind those with grumpy glares with over-exposure to your pure awesomeness!  Do what you do best!

Summertime... and the livin's easy...

I've been so busy doing summertime things lately!  Water fights, hanging out with neighbors, exploring new parks... and loving every second of it!  Summers are too short and winters too long here so I gotta make every second count.  Which means I haven't been blogging much... but hopefully you are also out enjoying the summer and too busy to notice ^_^

Or maybe it's the Mercury Retrograde?  Gala Darling has written a nice little Guide to Mercury Retrograde Survival.  I haven't felt any huge effects so far... but I have accomplished, well, next to nothing this week!

I am a firm believer, however, that weird things happen during full moons!  It seems like everyone, especially myself, just feels out of alignment.  Like those old V-8 commercials with people walking around sideways.

Any mysterious stories about your Mercury Retrograde or Full Moon experiences?  Or anything super cool you have done this summer?

Brene Brown:The Power of Vulnerability

I just watched a TED talk from Brene Brown that has answered a lot of my questions that I brought up in a recent post.  She explains that the key to living wholeheartedly is determined by how we react to vulnerability.

People sometimes numb Vulnerability.  I am a typical example of this.  Sometimes I think that burying an emotion will smother it until it disappears because denying something is so much easier than actually dealing with it.  And of course, it never really disappears.  It just grows darker and more painful.  Even worse, you can't selectively numb emotions  When you try to desensitize from your pain, anger, or regret, you also diminish your ability to feel joy, compassion and love.

In her years of research, Brene has discovered that people who are truly happy believe what makes them vulnerable makes them beautiful.  And they realize that vulnerability is the birthplace of joy, creativity, belonging and love.  This way of thinking is very rewarding but also takes courage.  She explained that one definition of courage is "telling the story of who you are with your whole heart."  By showing courage, we let go of who we think we ought to be and embrace who we are, and are able to connect with others.

She concludes by sharing four ways that we can accept our own vulnerability leading to a strong sense of love and belonging:
1. Let our selves be seen
2. Love with our whole hearts
3. Practice gratitude and lean into joy
4. I AM enough

To feel vulnerable is to feel alive!  Please make the time to watch this talk, it is about 20 minutes long.  Brene is very intelligent and funny, she opened my heart and mind with this topic.

I hope with all my heart that you feel worthy of love and belonging, because you are!
 

Can't Stop Love!

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Late Night Thoughts

I'm not really sure what I want to say here... just wanted to share some thoughts...

But first, I do want to say thank you to all my readers, it means so much to me! ^_^

Writing is difficult for me.  I have a hard time expressing myself, and I write at a 3rd grade reading level lol.  Which is kind of weird because I love reading nice thick books.

I don't know what I'm doing.

I don't have a map of which path to take.  I don't even know where I'm supposed to end up.  I have always had a hard time listing definite goals and I guess it is all catching up to me now.   I carry a constant prayer in my heart that the Universe will give me a hint (or shove) in the right direction.  Maybe I'm not patient enough.  Maybe I'm not listening hard enough.  I don't know what else to try.

I am working on self love because I have not been kind to myself for a long time.  And I really want to have an awesome life, full of creativity and love.  I want a billion dollars so I can give it all away.  Some days I feel like I am SO CLOSE to SOMETHING... but I can't quite figure out what or where.

That's one reason I created this blog.  To help me figure myself out, out loud.  And hopefully help someone in a similar situation.  I have so much energy inside, bottled up, I just don't know how to best direct it.  I am so scared to make the wrong choice, I am frozen.

Yet, I am inspired daily, reading about my heroes, people who refuse to conform and who are improving the world in powerful ways.  It's stories like theirs that keep me going.

And that's what I have to do, just keep going... just having faith in the Universe and believing in myself that I will make a positive impact.

Please don't misunderstand.  I don't mean for this to sound negative... I am actually very happy most of the time.  I just get a bit confused... thanks for listening :-)