Salute the Short!! Lovin' Mama Earth...

Recently, I was listening to a podcast by Hiro Boga, a business strategist who relies in life on what she calls "energy alchemy". Energy alchemy is essentially recognizing that the power of the Universe lies within, and if we tap into that power, we can conjure amazing things. 

But this post isn't about energy alchemy, at least not directly.  

When Hiro touched on our connection with the earth, it broke something loose inside of me. I've always had a very deep love for nature, and while I am in no way a salt of the earth survivalist, munching on roots and digging pit latrines, I am a rainbow-laced environmentalist. I love to be outside. I love dense forests and steep mountains, bubbling streams and raging squalls. I love to lay in the grass - sans shoes - and soak up the sun. I have an affinity (or, some would say, obsession) with trees. I am absolutely convinced that each and every one of them has a soul. I also think they have gender and sometimes classify whether they are male or female as I drive down the road. 

I be silly that way...

As I listened to Hiro talk about our connection with the cosmos and our planet, I started thinking about relationships. I often think about the cycles of nature and how we, as human beings, factor into them. The biggest contribution we make is something we rarely think about: breath. We breathe in and out and give life to millions of organisms. By default - by simply existing - we enable life on this planet. Yet, these self-same organisms also enable our lives through breath. We have a deeply intimate connection with one another, a relationship where give and take occur without question or demand. It's a beautiful allegory for relationships in general and how easy it is to give without even batting an eye.

A smile.

A hug.

A dollar.

An idea.

A laugh.

A shoulder to cry on.

A slow dance.

A high five.

These things are simple, and often times, reflexive. We give them to others without deep contemplation. It is in these uncalculated, off-the-cuff moments that the true nature of who we are shines. Perhaps it is a quiet and inconspicuous nudge to be more present, and to live by the instinct in our hearts. Clearly, it is in our nature to give (breathe out), just as it is in our nature to receive (breathe in). It is a kinetic reality that bursts with philosophical truth. When we give, someone else will receive, and vice versa. Therefore it is never selfish to take what others have to offer. Rather, it is charitable, for it grants them the privilege of contribution, and most importantly, it allows them to enter into relationship. 

Truth is all around, present in the simplest things. Look a little closer and you'll see it peeking out at you...

   

Jump on the Soul Train

It’s been about three weeks since I last posted on my blog and there are really no excuses.  No justifications.  I’ve been busy, and writing took a backseat. Sounds a little crazy, given that writing is the same as breathing for me. However, in order to write well one must live well. We do write what we know, after all. Sometimes life is less about pondering and scribbling and more about engaging and living. This has been my focus for the last fortnight and a half: engagement.

With that said, a lot of changes have occurred since we last shot the breeze.  You may or may not know that I work for a law firm as a Paralegal. I am also a writer (obviously), and a Top Notch Creator. I have a lot of different interests, but the endless cycle of 9 - 5 has really begun to take its toll on me. Add to it, the fact that I am sick of working in the legal field, and you’ve got yourself a Toxic Cocktail with a multitude of dream-killing side effects.

Salute the Short!

Every so often I will bang out a short, concise little blurb, and today be one of those days, mon! 

Short of the day:

Compassion

We all get it for the most part. We dig it, compute it, and have a pretty decent handle on what it means. Compassion is the thing you do when someone you know is hurting. You reach out to them, feel their pain or understand their plight, and offer up a nugget of wisdom, love, or even a good swift kick in the butt (hey, we all need one from time to time). Compassion is the tool we humans use to help guide others out of darkness and into the light, preferably where a giant sun, a white sandy beach, and a cold Corona awaits. 

Oh, and a hammock. No good fantasy is complete without a hammock.

Perhaps this is why "compass" lingers so casually inside our word, like an inconspicuous ninja ready to kick out the kindness. Through love, consideration, and relate-ability, we lead our friends, family, and even foes, away from dank and dirty mindsets on to new horizons. 

When it comes to life, it's easy to lose the way, but our fellow hominids are here to help us out. Never be afraid to reach out to someone who is hurting, and never be afraid to ask another for assistance. Often times we forget the importance of self-compassion and heap all our love and joy onto others. Remember that we all deserve love and acceptance, especially in our darkest hour. 

Compassion is a vehicle for wisdom. Through it we experience the great diversity of life.

Who am I, or Who I am?

Who am I?

Who the heck am I?

Who in hell am I?

 

Who dat?

It’s a pretty typical question, and one that everyone, at some point in their lives, has asked themselves. Identity is an integral part of human nature. Even as kids, we focus soul-hard on the idea, trying to figure out who we are, where we stand, and what we’re doing on this crazy and colorful planet. Philosophers have spent entire lifetimes trying to divine an answer to this question, each pulling out his or her own personal conclusion—Plato had his Cave, Aristotle, his logic, and Freud, his mother.  Curie had her science, Dickinson, her prose, and Earhart, her courage. These philosophers and innovators were perceptive, but they were also artists, and their work emerged by virtue of one very important element: a novel impression of life. 

Little Miss Alignment

I’m sure some of you are familiar with the Mr. Men and Little Miss characters created by Roger Hargreaves. They are fabulous books that teach kids about the many different personality traits that run through the human race. My daughter has several of the books, as well as a few hard plastic and soft plush dolls. Her favorite characters are Mr. Bump and Little Miss Daredevil.

My favorite character is Little Miss Alignment.  She's a great--

Wait... You've never heard of her?

Well, I guess I can understand that, because she's not really a Little Miss character, at least not one created by Hargreaves. Little Miss Alignment is the side of humanity that governs balance and symmetry. She is the voice of truth, that soft whisper that gently reminds us to listen to our gut and clear our heads. 

IT'S BACK... Plug-a-way Friday is Here!

Yep, it's that time of the month again! Plug-a-way Friday has arrived. That means I'll be raising hype about new chizz, because new chizz is fun and often times delicious. Incidentally, I'm super excited about this month's plug because it involves one of my favorite things in the whole wide world:

FOOD

Which happens to be the best thing since sliced bread... Oh wait, bread is a food... 

Man, now I feel like a real loaf.

Hmm...all this talk about bread is making me hungry. 

*digs around in drawer for carbohydrates* 

Okay...

Carb craze mollified. I'll bring on the food-dom now.

Doing the Double Red Flag Wave

This post is about something I, and much of the world, like to call the "Little Red Flag". You know, it's that weird vibe you get when something isn't quite kosher, the gut instinct that tells you to forget about exploring the basement, chuck the flashlight, and get the hell out. You may have heard Dory from Finding Nemo make reference to it...

I actually have a great story about the Little Red Flag and why it's important to listen when it starts to wag. Ready? Here goes...

Power Struggle

Photo by Wilfred Paulse

"Your choice has bearing on every event that occurs in your life, even those it seems you did not consciously motivate.”

- Marve Atchison, White Daughter

There's an article circulating on Facebook right now about a kid named Brian Hoeflinger, an 18 year old who had graduated high school in Toledo in 2013. He was out with friends partying after graduation, decided to drive home intoxicated, and got into an accident that, unfortunately, took his life. His family has since created an organization called "Brian Matters". It was established to teach kids the dangers of drunk driving. This particular story struck a chord with me because it reminds me of an analogy I use in my novel White Daughter to explain how negative events create positive consequences. In the book, I recount the story of a little girl who is hit and killed by a drunk driver. Rather than persecute the man who killed her, the mother of the child decides to institute an organization to help alcoholics get clean, demonstrating that profound results can emerge from dire circumstances. Although the details differ slightly here, the thing I like most about Brian's story is that his parents have chosen to focus on the fact that his death resulted from choice. They do not shy away from this truth, which is something that really resonates with me. In retrospect, death always arrives from choice. We might one day choose to walk across the street at the exact moment a person runs a red-light, ending up in a collision that ultimately leads to our demise.

Mercury's Proverbial Moonwalk...

Ah, the power and beauty of Retrograde. A period when confusion and frustration run amok and people rip their hair out at random. Yep, it's that time of year again! Whenever Mercury Retrograde rolls around, people freak out. 

Why? 

Because Retrograde is evil and causes major problems! 

My hair dryer blows up and I have to drive to work with wet hair!

Traffic is abysmal!

My boss didn't get my email and now I'm fired!

I told my boyfriend I liked his new haircut and he thought I said, "Your hair looks like a mole's butt..." 

Everything goes to shit during Retrograde!  

It's evil I tell you!  

EVIL!!

Life By Seven: What It's All About...

Life By

Photo by Melanie Hughes

I figure, since this is a relatively new blog, I'd better give you an idea of what the heck "Life by Seven" means.   To the laymen (which is pretty much everyone that isn't me), Life by Seven is  embracing your "virtue".

Photo by Tom Simpson

Yeah, I know, it sounds random and weird, especially since virtue is typically categorized as a religious concept only ever achieved by heavenly sages and incorrupt saints. Nonetheless, virtue is the foundation of the Life by Seven curriculum (that be a fancy word for livin'). 

I exist by virtute. 

This means I strive to live for myself, because I know that doing so promotes a clean existence, one devoid of social static and what Marie Forleo has coined "Compareschlager". When we focus on ourselves and work to nurture that unique perspective, we experience something amazing: extreme pleasure. 

Mawwiage

Mawwiage…
You Keep Using That Word...

I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means...

In case you were wondering, mawwiage is what bwings us togevah today. I didn't get a chance to upload a post last week because I was in New York for a weddin' (as my Southern uncle likes to call it, much to my father's bemusement). The weddin' in question was my best friend's, and of all the people in the world she could have picked to officiate the ceremony, she ended up selecting the craziest of the bunch. Yup, you guessed it: 

ME !

RA RA SIS BOOM BA! It's Plugaway Friday!

Photo by Thomas Hawk

Okay, I know today is NOT a Friday, but the real Friday got a little hectic, giving me no time to log on and post this article. So I'm going to go all Lego Movie on you by quoting Wyldstyle and say, "Today will be known as Plugaway Friday, but still on a Sunday!"

Commence Post:

Every third Friday I'll be picking up my pom-poms to plug random persons, places, and things, because deep down, past all the crazy, philosophical hoopla, there is an annoying cheerleader just waiting to pull a double tuck back-handspring. Now keep in mind, if you don't particularly like cheerleading, you might want to beat it because I'm about to build a one-woman pyramid. However, if you love to learn about fantastic new people, places, and yes, even stuff, then look no further! You have entered the Great Domain of Pluggery, where men and woman come to eat crumpets, drink tea, and discover the finer things. 

By the way, it's BYOTea. 

What's Your Definition?

Photo by Liz West

Self Rendering

I am of the firm belief that there are certain words in the English language (or any language, for that matter) that actually feel how they sound.  

Tenderness. 
Cattawumpus.  
Hysterical.  
Elegant.  

These are the kind of words that embody their definition, so when we say them or think about them, their meaning is not only understood, but also felt.  I was mulling this over the other day and it occurred to me that the same idea can be applied to people.  We have the capacity to embody our own definitions.  We have our own meanings and concepts, and they touch and inspire, or rob and raze, all based on how we define ourselves.  It is self-perception that we share with the rest of the world, a concept that is, again, not just understood, but also felt.  

Clean It Up and Clear It Out!!

Photo by Agapale Camil

Springliness is Next to Godliness

I am in the midst of an existential crisis.  Most people call it Spring Cleaning, but in my house it has come to be known as the "Big Spill".  While this is usually a pretty simple concept, it's a little more involved in my case, as this year's "spring clean" is a reflection of a shift in consciousness. Technically, it happens to all of us.  Every spring we get that one wild hair and it drives us to clean up and clear out.  It's not just a symptom of being cooped up all winter, either.  On an unconscious level, we all know that springtime is a period of fertility and renewal.  We also know that a tree must release its dead fruit before it can bloom.  Life is the same, and so the concept of springtime echoes through each and every one of us, pushing us to celebrate by letting go of things that no longer serve our purpose.  Negative thought patterns, misused emotions, and that ratty, old Slayer tee we only ever wear at night (hey, the thing is so worn in it feels like Egyptian cotton!) are cast aside in order to create space for new ideas, new emotions, and cleaner garments.  We clean up and clear out because we're getting ready to cultivate new energy and new vocations.