Sunday, January 11, 2015
Joe Rogan's "Society Trap"
Been saying this for years...thanks Joe Rogan for saying it BETTER
(viewers: mind the swear words).
Bartering.
Contributing in a meaningful way.
Becoming individuals that develop and act in unique ways.
Investing our time in something we are passionate or connected to.
Wearing what makes you comfortable.
Living outside of a machine.
Doing what you want to do and expressing what's in your mind.
Never give up
A monkey is electrocuted on power lines above a train track in India. What happened for the next 20 minutes is nothing short of miraculous and awesome, not only because of the outcome, but because of our ability to see our own humanity in the acts of another species that is not so far removed.
Love each other.
Always give your best effort.
Help others in need.
Never give up.
Friday, January 9, 2015
Rumi's water drop...
Perhaps the reason why we are so often drawn to a body of water, the shore, the place where earth and water collide.
You are a small piece of everything
and everything is a small piece of you!
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Dreading work every morning?
You're not alone but that doesn't mean it's "normal" or that you should just "get used to it" the way many people do. When you're hating your job, sometimes it's easy to remember times when people complained about theirs and chalk your job-loathing up to standard fare, but the reality is there are some people who actually LOVE their jobs. They not only wake up excited about working but sometimes they don't go to sleep because they can't STOP working the night before...and not out of deadlines, stress, or job security pressures, but because they enjoy what they do and believe in the mission and purpose of their work.
I'm not saying everyone has that. It would be a lie. But I do believe we are all capable of it.
I started a job once and months later (while absolutely MISERABLE) I found a note from my first day to a friend telling him it was the worst first day I'd had in my life and I knew I should start looking for a new job. It took me about 7 months from that first day email to become so depressed by my coworkers and my boss that I felt like a failure. My self-worth was down, my hopes for future opportunities were low, and my self-esteem and belief that I even had the skills to do my job were nearly non-existent. By month 8 I'd had enough and started to REALLY re-do my portfolio and send resumes and do that dreaded networking thing where I actually ASKED people for their HELP (*gasp*) and 9 months after I entered hell, I exited... On my own account and because I knew I needed to change my position in order to change my life.
What a difference a job makes. Your coworkers can put you down or bring you up. Your boss can support you or bowl you over. Responsibilities can break you down or help you build skills and confidence. A lot of this has to do with them, but a lot of it also has to do with you...how you feel about the situation, the work, the environment and, as I've found, about your life and how your job fits the life you want.
This is where it gets tricky because I think most of us dream of being a millionaire chilling on a beach with a cocktail, but in practice that isn't REALLY the thing that would make us wake up and feel passionate about life each day (at least not EVERY day). Family, friends, travel, sports, other hobbies...those big LIFE things, that are actually the things that tend to bring us the most joy? You guessed it; When they are suffering, we suffer.
I think oftentimes those things suffer because of how we feel at work, and then how we feel at work suffers from our personal life suffering. It becomes cyclical by nature because when we are unhappy, we see unhappy things, and we breed unhappy outcomes and we see the negativity. Likewise, however, when we are positive and we are happy, we find it easier to look past faults and to see the greater good in things and this is why if you wake up every morning and you are dreading work... 1) it's not just WORK that is suffering by the time you get to this point and 2) you need to change it before the backlash on the rest of your life becomes toxic.
Now yes, you may argue that you can't just change jobs every time your bf breaks up with you and you've eaten gallons of Ben & Jerry's, or every time that a shooter has entered a school, mosque or gas station, or every time that you've cried because you have way too many hormones flying, because these things, though they affect you, are not necessarily work-related, so it's important to analyze things properly. What I'm saying is, not wanting to get up in the morning is not the same as dreading going to work in the morning...capisce?
So once you realize it's not just that you're hungover from a Thursday night out or dead tired from enjoying a Lord of the Rings marathon that you started at 5pm the night before that is making you want to stay in bed, it's time to get cracking on changing your situation...because even though a lot of people do it, no one really WANTS to wake up and hate what they do every day. No one wants to go do something that they don't believe in or that doesn't inspire them or that doesn't make them feel like they are accomplishing something every day. You have the power to change it. Changing your job changes your life...when you find the right one, it'll change it for the best.
For more on this topic and ideas on how to change jobs to find a happier life, check out the Forbes article that inspired thisrant post!
I'm not saying everyone has that. It would be a lie. But I do believe we are all capable of it.
I started a job once and months later (while absolutely MISERABLE) I found a note from my first day to a friend telling him it was the worst first day I'd had in my life and I knew I should start looking for a new job. It took me about 7 months from that first day email to become so depressed by my coworkers and my boss that I felt like a failure. My self-worth was down, my hopes for future opportunities were low, and my self-esteem and belief that I even had the skills to do my job were nearly non-existent. By month 8 I'd had enough and started to REALLY re-do my portfolio and send resumes and do that dreaded networking thing where I actually ASKED people for their HELP (*gasp*) and 9 months after I entered hell, I exited... On my own account and because I knew I needed to change my position in order to change my life.
What a difference a job makes. Your coworkers can put you down or bring you up. Your boss can support you or bowl you over. Responsibilities can break you down or help you build skills and confidence. A lot of this has to do with them, but a lot of it also has to do with you...how you feel about the situation, the work, the environment and, as I've found, about your life and how your job fits the life you want.
This is where it gets tricky because I think most of us dream of being a millionaire chilling on a beach with a cocktail, but in practice that isn't REALLY the thing that would make us wake up and feel passionate about life each day (at least not EVERY day). Family, friends, travel, sports, other hobbies...those big LIFE things, that are actually the things that tend to bring us the most joy? You guessed it; When they are suffering, we suffer.
I think oftentimes those things suffer because of how we feel at work, and then how we feel at work suffers from our personal life suffering. It becomes cyclical by nature because when we are unhappy, we see unhappy things, and we breed unhappy outcomes and we see the negativity. Likewise, however, when we are positive and we are happy, we find it easier to look past faults and to see the greater good in things and this is why if you wake up every morning and you are dreading work... 1) it's not just WORK that is suffering by the time you get to this point and 2) you need to change it before the backlash on the rest of your life becomes toxic.
Now yes, you may argue that you can't just change jobs every time your bf breaks up with you and you've eaten gallons of Ben & Jerry's, or every time that a shooter has entered a school, mosque or gas station, or every time that you've cried because you have way too many hormones flying, because these things, though they affect you, are not necessarily work-related, so it's important to analyze things properly. What I'm saying is, not wanting to get up in the morning is not the same as dreading going to work in the morning...capisce?
So once you realize it's not just that you're hungover from a Thursday night out or dead tired from enjoying a Lord of the Rings marathon that you started at 5pm the night before that is making you want to stay in bed, it's time to get cracking on changing your situation...because even though a lot of people do it, no one really WANTS to wake up and hate what they do every day. No one wants to go do something that they don't believe in or that doesn't inspire them or that doesn't make them feel like they are accomplishing something every day. You have the power to change it. Changing your job changes your life...when you find the right one, it'll change it for the best.
For more on this topic and ideas on how to change jobs to find a happier life, check out the Forbes article that inspired this
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Love is my religion...
Given the recent events around the world naming religion as the reason for hatred and violence, I figure it is the perfect time to post what religion is TRULY about...loving one another. We may disagree. We may argue. We are not perfect. But whether religious or not, the most human thing we can do is LOVE.
Christians protect Muslims in Egypt to allow them to pray in peace during the Egyptian revolution...
Christians protect Muslims in Egypt to allow them to pray in peace during the Egyptian revolution...
...and Muslims protect Christians in Egypt during their mass.
Love is religion and these religious groups know that religion is Love.
One Stitch Closer...poetry for life
"Do not let this universe regret you."
I advocate being passionate.
I advocate jumping first, and you'll figure out how to land when you get there.
Everything is possible and nothing is off limits. - Azure
I LOVE LOVE LOVE these GAP-sponsored stories about real women making a difference in not only their own lives but in the lives of others. SO awesome. <3
Sunday, December 21, 2014
Empowerment Plan
An assignment to design something to fill actual needs.
A coat becomes a sleeping bag.
A sleeping bag inspires a reaction.
A reaction makes the sleeping bags into a whole system to help women in shelters become skilled workers to make more coat/sleeping bags to help others who are in a position they know far too well and to help these female workers get a leg up in the world and start anew.
GOOD ON YOU, VERONIKA!
Way to make a difference
not only with your own ingenuity, but also by listening to the needs of others in order to expand that invention into a whole new level of awesome!
#WomenInspire
For those afraid that children have lost the meaning of the holidays...
...Don't worry: they haven't.
The folks at IKEA asked a bunch of kids to write letters to Santa asking what they wanted for Christmas. THEN they asked the same kids to write letters to their parents. THEN they asked which letter they would send, if they only got to choose one.
The folks at IKEA asked a bunch of kids to write letters to Santa asking what they wanted for Christmas. THEN they asked the same kids to write letters to their parents. THEN they asked which letter they would send, if they only got to choose one.
This is what happened:
They haven't lost the true meaning of Christmas, have you?
*Family. Time. Love.*
Happy Holidays Everyone!
Amidst Tragedy, Peace is Still the Option
There is turmoil in this world. It has existed, it does exist, and if we do not choose to be positive and take the actions that we can in peaceful ways to bring enlightenment, education, and knowledge to everyone we encounter, then we are abusing the gift we are given every day which allows us to do so and turmoil will continue to exist.Peace is a smile or a helping hand. It is a silent protest for human rights. It is a somber ceremony of light to remember lost lives and to hope for better days to come. Peace is love. Love yourself, love your neighbor, love your enemy, whomever he or she may be.
Love is the answer for every question. Why? Because love is the greatest thing you can give to someone. It comes in all levels. It comes from all animals on this Earth in some form or another. It comes in all shapes and sizes and ways. It comes in small gestures and in grand designs. It comes in bits and spurts, and all at once. Love is peace, because when we show love for others, and when we receive love from others, we have no choice but to love them in return and to wish them well. Loving others and receiving love from others gives peace to us all.
So..."peace be with you." "LOVE be with you."
Share it with the world. And let there be peace.
Holiday Cartoons Teach the Best Lessons...
"It came without ribbons. It came without tags.
It came without packages, boxes, or bags.
Maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store.
Maybe Christmas, means a little bit more."
-How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Happy New Beginnings to All!
This post was born from the Google recap of 2014. Love it or hate it, it is the brief history of 365 days on this planet. It is the conglomerate of anyone with internet access and a google search bar. It is what our internet lives have emerged as...
The end of one year brings the beginning of another. Some would find this monotonous...trivial, maybe. Some would find it pointless. Why do we bother marking a rotation of the sun? Maybe it's to remind us that we aren't the center. Maybe it's to remind us that we are alive. Maybe it's to remind us that time is real and fake. That in the triviality of our lives, we can still find meaning and hope.
I love the end of the year. It brings excitement. It brings joy and celebration and happiness for what is coming. I hope to be able to carry these emotions with me through all days but, when I've reached the point where I almost almost empty of them, I can look forward again, to the coming of another start. A new year, a new day, a new hour. There is newness and excitement in every moment, if we choose that perspective. It's all about perspective really. The Chinese started the new year months ago...we could choose to "start over" any time we want.
I think there is a great feeling of community and sharing that occurs during the start of the calendar year that we all celebrate together as human beings. The beauty that comes with a celebration around the globe for 24 hours of "new beginnings" as midnight creeps across the planet is not only fascinating, but also liberating, not only breathtaking, but binding. We are human. We are ending and beginning all at once and all at different moments. We are global. We are not the center of anything. We are tiny specks that exist for small moments in the greater existence of the universe, and we celebrate THAT.
Let's celebrate the lists of things that we care about and the lists of things that we hope for and the list of things we've accomplished. Let's celebrate lists! I love lists! I love the lists that come out at the end of the year to review what we've experienced, for better or for worse. To review what we have come through and enjoyed and survived gives us fuel to go forward. You can look back and still choose to move forward. That's the end of the year. That's the beginning of the year. THAT is the grand celebration of life! So celebrate life with all of the fervor you can muster, this year, this month, this week, this moment...because life is precious. Humanity and our planet are precious.
Our ability to simultaneously stop and start, die and live, end and begin is a miracle that we are privy to whenever we so choose. So cast aside your worries and your negative experiences as rules, and view them instead as lessons for the future. Let your love and hopes burst to the front of the pack and let your mind be at ease knowing that you are beginning something fresh and new.
The end of one year brings the beginning of another. Some would find this monotonous...trivial, maybe. Some would find it pointless. Why do we bother marking a rotation of the sun? Maybe it's to remind us that we aren't the center. Maybe it's to remind us that we are alive. Maybe it's to remind us that time is real and fake. That in the triviality of our lives, we can still find meaning and hope.
I love the end of the year. It brings excitement. It brings joy and celebration and happiness for what is coming. I hope to be able to carry these emotions with me through all days but, when I've reached the point where I almost almost empty of them, I can look forward again, to the coming of another start. A new year, a new day, a new hour. There is newness and excitement in every moment, if we choose that perspective. It's all about perspective really. The Chinese started the new year months ago...we could choose to "start over" any time we want.
I think there is a great feeling of community and sharing that occurs during the start of the calendar year that we all celebrate together as human beings. The beauty that comes with a celebration around the globe for 24 hours of "new beginnings" as midnight creeps across the planet is not only fascinating, but also liberating, not only breathtaking, but binding. We are human. We are ending and beginning all at once and all at different moments. We are global. We are not the center of anything. We are tiny specks that exist for small moments in the greater existence of the universe, and we celebrate THAT.
Let's celebrate the lists of things that we care about and the lists of things that we hope for and the list of things we've accomplished. Let's celebrate lists! I love lists! I love the lists that come out at the end of the year to review what we've experienced, for better or for worse. To review what we have come through and enjoyed and survived gives us fuel to go forward. You can look back and still choose to move forward. That's the end of the year. That's the beginning of the year. THAT is the grand celebration of life! So celebrate life with all of the fervor you can muster, this year, this month, this week, this moment...because life is precious. Humanity and our planet are precious.
Our ability to simultaneously stop and start, die and live, end and begin is a miracle that we are privy to whenever we so choose. So cast aside your worries and your negative experiences as rules, and view them instead as lessons for the future. Let your love and hopes burst to the front of the pack and let your mind be at ease knowing that you are beginning something fresh and new.
If you let your life be trivial, you've forgotten that the beauty is in the details.
Happy new beginnings to all!
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