I just returned from a much needed trip that unleashed several unexpected hot spots for inspiration. The kind of vacation that makes you re-think what’s truly possible in your life and that redefines your role in it. All in all, the travel of a lifetime. Have one of those lately?
I’m excited to share with you the details. But for now, check out this photo I took:
Can you guess where this was taken?
How about with my iPhone in a plane overlooking the sun setting on my way back to California? Guessed right or are you surprised?
It’s a great re-[mind]-er to me to stop, pause and really see the extraordinary in the ordinary. Sometimes we need to be up high to see what’s glowing down below. Hope it brings you a shot of inspiration for your Wednesday.
how to forgo your people-pleasing ways by saying, “No.” And I of all people know the importance of doing so. But sometimes instead of automatically saying it, what if we linger a bit? Just like my yoga teacher says in corpse pose. “Lay on your side and stay there for a few minutes before you get up.” Take your time to experience what the question is asking. Take your time to sit with the unknown. Too often we say, “No” to new experiences because of fear, because we’re afraid to open ourselves up to failing, to be uncomfortable or to being vulnerable. Giving yourself time to let the words settle in your mind and body can give you an entirely new perspective and maybe even encourage a new answer, one you weren’t expecting.
my hair’s mousy and my voice is quiet and high. But I am grateful for all the things that I wanted to wish away when I was a teen. It’d be hard to label every single imperfection of mind as imperfect because I see how they perfectly make me “me.” If you find something about you that you particularly dislike, maybe you just haven’t found the meaning and beauty behind them yet. I have two crooked pinkies, for example. They make me imperfect, yes. But my great-grandma had them and so does my grandma and my dad. Maybe imperfection isn’t the right word. Maybe it’s being unique.
Yes we don’t know what tomorrow brings. Yes we don’t know if that decision we made yesterday was a good one. But the courage it takes to choose when we don’t know is enough of a reason for me to be grateful for this mystery we call life.
1. Paths that could lead to anywhere. The whole point of life is to walk toward the unknown. We make decisions, we take steps, we live our life outside of comfort zone without any guarantees, without any knowledge of where we’ll end up, and that is both the beauty and mystery of life itself.
3. Closed doors. We’re so focused on waiting for an open door that we don’t notice the ones that are not open. On Visionaries, James Cameron said, “Doors don’t just open for you. Every once-in-awhile one will open a crack and you have to recognize that that’s the moment…You have to push it the rest open and you have to know that that’s the moment to step through. It’s a question of being prepared. Knowing what you want, moving toward it so that you are prepared in that moment to step through the door.”
next to a tree, I feel tiny and small. But trees don’t just make me feel petite, they remind me that I shouldn’t be too big for my britches-that it’s not all about me. That whatever I do on earth has a domino impact on those around me. And that while my mind would like to remind me that I am the most important thing in the world, I know that my life is like a falling star, bright, special and brilliant, but just one of many and quick to be gone.