spark of life

Today I faced the cloud of doom I call mediocrity yet again. Great relief to find I'm perfectly happy to make the stance not to fit in that "comfortable" bracket. I have my pride. Hurray! 

So is it worth hanging on to what we believe in? I think so. If we sell out, cop out, lose out, or 'smile out' then what the heck are we doing here anyways? I hadn't planned on becoming a planet drone with a Wallmart sticker across my face. In any case:always a good thing to figure out what we want to define us and if we don't get too excited about what we currently see: to devise an Evil Plan to remedy our situation! We have times when we get discouraged. We look at other people who just pop dazzling electricity like a regular bowel movement. But in all things amazing: we too can share something worthwhile by just finding our own voice. (Read here why we can and why it matters.)

As my friend Ivan Campuzano says: "Doubt is just a word that explains the desire not to participate in life". So: in short: we need to simply do what we need to and want to. This also means doing crazy stuff and stupid stuff which could be embarrassing stuff. It's all part of it. Ivan has written another beautiful post about "sharing your gifts". Read it here and decide to pursue at least 2 of his list today. Sign up for wild water rafting, singing lessons or finally go and knock on the neighbors' door to say hello.

Because changing our perspective and adding onto it with unhampered enthusiasm shapes the world. Literally. What excites you? And then: how can you help other people feel more awesome? Because making other people feel better about themselves always make you feel better too. (I see daily proof of this when tending my goat and cattle herd. Evidence stares you in the face below. I love it when I see them smile. They can you know.)

Yes my friends: we can do it! Hang on to that spark of life before thinking about retirement and settling for something. Today's the day.

beauty of disconnection

“Smile, breathe and go slowly.”
– Thich Nhat Hanh

Sometimes we take a while to figure things out, it might even be a few years or a decade. It's always interesting to me to see common denominators in various media, and in chats with friends. A while ago I wrote about our increasing difficulty to focus on anything for a longer period of time as we are distracted pretty much every minute. Today I read a post on Ivan Campuzano's blog who did an interview with Leo Babauta, creator of zen habits and mnmlist about a book about the VERY thing. It was written publicly, online, in small bursts, with feedback from readers throughout the writing process. I will share it on the right on my blog for you to read by downloading it for free (also you can find the link by clicking on the picture above).

I recognize myself in Leo's words here: "By focusing on one thing at a time, small changes, little baby steps, I’ve been able to change a bunch of habits: I quit smoking, started running, began eating healthier, started waking earlier, and became more organized. And I’ve accomplished a lot more, taking on one project at a time and using the power of focus and the power of play to accomplish things" How right you are Leo!

One of the things Leo mentions early on too is how beautiful it is to disconnect from the hubbub. I have found since we moved onto the farm out into the Wop Wops (a.k.a. middle of nowhere) that it's been easy and addictive to disconnect from the City, work and any general conundrum. It creates peace and the ability to find balance. My husband has found the same. We could not picture ourselves living in a city or town again, nor would we want to. We certainly feel blessed with where we are living.

Solitude can be a rare thing nowadays as it's harder to do and worse! anti-social. However, by choosing to pull the plug on social get togethers and remembering who you are and what you set out to do, it can be a very healthy thing instead. It is positive to meet and see uplifting people from time to time, just allow for time for yourself too. Claim your space to breathe and think, because trust me, others will always find something to distract you, whether they do it lovingly or not.

"This stuff works. And it’s tremendously liberating to discover that you can find focus, you can simplify, and you can change your life. - Leo"