Sept. 14: A chance to air my views

Well, as luck would have it, the next two posts are supposed to require some thought, and "real" writing, and where am I? On vacation with family. Yes, a more thoughtful blogger would have planned ahead, I do realize that.

I'm not going to bail completely, but maybe tread more lightly than I had planned, and circle back around for a more "ranty" post later. The challenge for today: What has happened lately in the media that make me want to rant?

Well, there is always something, right? If it's not some social issue, there's popular culture or politics. So many diverse opinions, so loudly stated, one can't help but take issue with not only the message at times, but also the delivery method.

A couple of weeks back, the VMAs and the Miley/Robin Show got everyone chewing on a variety of topics ranging from the obvious (foam fingers? teddy bears? Beetlejuice suits?) to the more nuanced (a little white girl dancing with large black women all around? what's that about?). It was very interesting to read the various takes on the performance, and for a few minutes it seemed like everyone forgot that the ability to provoke and enflame is pretty much standard fare at the Video Music Awards. And of course, it's all pretty much died down now, and the media seems to have largely moved on.

A blogger I follow posted the video below, soon after the VMAs. There wasn't an overt written correlation to that performance, but for me the link is clear. Women as accessories to men, or women as "female wallpaper" in a male setting aren't issues I have had to deal with on a daily basis. And yet, they are issues in many settings, and as a woman who cares about how women are perceived, the video below bothered me greatly, and stayed with me.



Rather than a rant per se, I am left with many questions about why women conduct themselves in certain ways; why when so much progress has been made, and so many options are available to women they would choose to relegate themselves to riding on surfboards, climbing under plexy desks and sculpting their faces and bodies in the quest for youth and beauty.

I am sure there are many--men and women alike--who would say these are valid choices that women make, and who am I to judge those choices? I think Narelle on her blog said it excellently when she penned: "It is about women and the radical disavowal of responsibility, the profound unwillingness to be at the source of our lives."

I am grateful to live and work and love and participate in a place and with people who value me for who I am. I have no doubt that culturally and socioeconomically I am blessed with many circumstances that encourage this freedom. But I am also sad. I am sad for women who feel the choice to be valued as a person and not a thing is somehow beyond them, or that they might not even be aware of their voice in this conversation.

What's your thought as you watch this video? Did you have a strong opinion about Miley's performance at the VMAs? Did you think Robin Thicke should have taken a bit more of the pushback in the aftermath?

Jen and I (and now my mom and Lisa too!) are blog challenging throughout September. You can catch her blog over at Stuff Jen Says. If you want to write along with us, give me a shout and I'll send you the blog prompts.

Monday morning inspiration

Feels like a long time since I've done my Monday morning inspiration! That whole month of alphabeting kind of got in the way... It was a good break from the "usuals," but as I thought of items to share that have crossed my path recently, a few immediately came to mind:

Hointer. OK, so cool new companies might come along fairly frequently these days, but this one really caught my eye. Cool use of technology to hit a niche market and I am intrigued to see where it goes long-term. Right now you can only buy denim/jeans this way, but who knows what the future holds? Next time I'm in Seattle, I'm checking them out!

Back Bay Pottery. It's not every day I find an Etsy shop where I want one of everything. Well, maybe not EVERYthing, but quite a bit. Rainbow beads? Sure. An owl spoon rest? Well, if you insist.

rainbowbeads

Corgis are on my mind. I've even set up a board on Pinterest for the occasion, and just might have started following too many Corgi-loving Instagrammers, too. I'm trying not to get too carried away, as adding a new pup to our household is not at the top of anyone's list. I've been in this spot before and it didn't turn out so well (Ruby, dear Ruby), so we'll go in with eyes wide open... like these sweet Corgi pups! Ha.

corgipuppy

corgirunning

Also on my mind... are reasons to blog. I've mentioned Narelle at Solid Gold Creativity before, as her posts are often thought-provoking. This one jives with some of my thoughts post-A-Z challenge (I have a reflections post still to come...), about why blog in the first place?, and the connections made possible through blogging.

As often happens, soon after reading Narelle's blog post, this quote then made itself known to me:
"No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise for the writer, no surprise for the reader. For me the initial delight is in the surprise of remembering something I didn't know I knew. I am in a place, in a situation, as if I had materialized from cloud or risen out of the ground. There is a glad recognition of the long lost and the rest follows." -Robert Frost

I'll leave you with one last rainbow for the day; this rainbow salad from Food&Wine practically leaped out of my computer, grabbed me by the shoulders and shouted, "Make Me! Soon!" So I shall, and I'll tell you all about it too. The entire slideshow of vegetarian dishes is really quite enticing, it's got me quite inspired to try a few.... beet gnocchi, anyone?

I hope your Monday is off to an inspired start, and the rest of the week follows appropriately!

Why choosing Light as my OLW 2013 was the best choice, ever

Because every day I am shown opportunities to share Light, receive Light, Be Light.

This blog post.

This video.



This quote.
I said: what about my eyes?
God said: Keep them on the road.
I said: what about my passion?
God said: Keep it burning.
I said: what about my heart?
God said: Tell me what you hold inside it?
I said: pain and sorrow?
He said: ..stay with it. The wound is the place where the Light enters you.
-Rumi

This picture.

For more on OLW, see here.

Monday morning inspiration: Color and compassion, not necessarily in that order

It was a lovely weekend with rain and wind (lest spring come too quickly!) and the wind made the temperatures feel chillier than it really was. Bombing around the lawn for the first mowing of the season, hat and gloves on, I felt positively ice-cube-ish. Brrr.

But I will persist in my "spring is coming" mantra--after all, March 20 *is* this week!

A few inspirations crossed my path this past week, and will make heading into another week just a bit brighter. I can't remember the first time I saw an image with the words notsalmon on them, it seems like it must have been years ago now. But I never really persisted in knowing what that means, where it comes from... and then I finally clicked through. Her name is Karen Salmansohn, and she makes motivational art and blogs about things like finding 15 minutes a day to build discipline, and all those kinds of things you ignore until one day you decide things really do need to change, and need a word of encouragement to do so. I like her!

I read this interview with Peter Levitt recently and found his perspective refreshing. Of course, I was also intrigued, as he lives on one of the Canadian Southern Gulf Islands near the island where my parents live. Small world, and all. Saltspring is home to many artists, and Peter is a poet. A number of the things he said stayed with me after the interview:

"When things get tough, if we just take care of what is right in front of us, we find the creative means jump forward."

"We are an enormous resource of energy and creativity, and it is just waiting to be used in every way it can. So, finding how self flows through self to self in all its various expressions becomes an important part of living as a whole person, no matter the nature of the activity."

"Often, people think of precepts or discipline or vows in a somewhat negative light, but really these are just ways to love the world as it deserves."

This video speaks for itself. Take the four minutes to watch it; it really shows how little we know from our casual observations, what's going on in people's lives, and reminds me of that famous saying: Be kind, because everyone is fighting a great battle.

pantone

The story of Pantone. As you might imagine, I gravitated toward this story from the headline alone! Me and my colors... My favorite quote of the piece: “God created the world in seven days. And on the eighth day, he called Pantone to put color into it.”

I hope your week is filled with color and compassion!

Midweek reminder: We don't always experience things we would prefer

I shared this passage with a co-worker who lost his sister in a car accident a couple of weeks ago. When I stumbled across it on a blog I read with some frequency, I was struck by the relevancy, and how one horrible split second can change everything.

"I long for heaven. There the good that I'll experience is not temporary or fleeting or fading or tainted by trials. Here on earth, any good is temporary. Car wrecks taint life. Things are taken away from us. We don't always experience things we would prefer. My emotional investment and the focus of my faith can't be the things of this life, but my hope has to be in that imperishable inheritance that's kept in heaven for me. So many dreams and things and relationships throw me off and distract my longing for heaven. I need to hold out for what's best; I need to hold out for heaven."

I believe in living your best life, right here, right now. I also believe that--thankfully--this life isn't the only life possible. Balancing the two perspectives takes effort, for sure. But, it's an effort that brings peace and solace during any ordinary day, and is especially worthwhile on those days when the world stops in a crisis.

Monday morning inspiration

ere's Monday! (Say that like Jack Nicholson in The Shining. Go on, I dare you. Your family will think you're as nuts as mine thinks I am!)

This weekend we had one day of fog, one day of mixed (gray-sun-gray); some rest, some work, some joy, some ho-hum. Usual weekendness... nothing too out of the ordinary. Just what I needed!

And while we all scurry off to another week, I thought I'd share few lovely odds and ends I collected over the weekend. It seems to be a new tradition with me; since I did it last Monday, I'm rolling with it for week 2. (Remember, Seth and I both come from the school of "once is a habit, and twice is so ingrained you couldn't possibly NOT do it.")

When I saw the video below, I was a little dumbstruck by the talent in the room. I can honestly say that the chances of our family and friends--much as we love them--singing thusly at a wedding, well, it just wouldn't be possible. But if you happen to be so blessed, I say go for it! So very very fun.

 

I have followed the blog of Jay and Katherine Wolf for some years now, always inspired by their strength and courage in the face of obstacles to Katherine's complete recovery. Katherine had an undiagnosed AVM burst about five years ago, and her resulting stroke changed their lives completely (understatement alert). I found this new PSA that Katherine is a part of, which warns of the signs of a stroke, quite engaging.



This blog from an Australian writer is one that consistently causes me to pause and reflect on all things leadership and "inner life." Her post this weekend about an individual who "...gives her giant kaleidoscope a quarter-turn and sees possibility" was no exception. Loved it.

I spent some time in Pinterest this weekend and naturally came away with 16 new craft ideas, 33 new recipes and a bundle of pretty outfits to pine for. Such is the life of a pinner. But here were a few pins in the "just because" category, that made me smile or sigh.

taste

bottle

pinata

airdog

hummingbird

For this week: If you haven't been feeling well, I hope you beat whatever bug's been ailing you. If you aren't especially energetic, I hope you find that perfect cup of coffee with an extra shot (or a nap)! And if you need a word of encouragement, my tip of the day is to offer a kind word to to someone else and see if that does the trick of coming back around to you too; it often does for me. Not rocket science, but it's amazing how often I forget that...

Have a great week!