focus on the strawberries.

we've all been in the same situation:

long flight, crying baby, helpless mother, eye rollers galore, sensitive & compassionate human traveling who empathizes with said helpless mother.

hell, i've been all of them.

do you notice how the first question we ask the crying child (who often can communicate most powerfully through crying),

'what's wrong?'

when someone's having a bad day, week, month, we continue to ask 'what's wrong?' thinking we'll get to the root of the issue.

when things aren't going your way, you ask yourself 'what's wrong?'

why do we bring attention and focus to all of the things that are making us upset, sad, angry, resentful when we are already all of those things?

what if when we traveled with crying children, we instead focused on the AWE-some earth we see below us, or the clouds we get to fly through, or the sky in which we are so high?

what if instead of steaping in all of those things we no longer want to feel, we brought attention to all of the things that just are?

or, better yet: what if, instead of making ourselves more of what we already are (angry, resentful, yucky), we declare all of the things we want to feel or be when we get through it?

because, for the most part, we do. we get through the sadness we feel when we lose something or someone (and yes, it often takes time), we get through the blowout fights with spouses, we get though the crucial conversations with best friends, co-workers, managers. we do...we are, after all, very resilient beings.

what if, just like the crying child on my flight today, we focused on the beautiful strawberries in the book that the mother used as a distraction, or the opportunity we have to travel (and come home to a family I adore), or the choice we can make to sit in our sorrows or overcome with more zeal?

i'd much prefer to focus on the things i'll learn or the feelings i'd like to feel instead of pouring more salt into the wound.

no, that doesn't mean i'm giving two thumbs up to ignorance or not feeling the pain, i'm just convinced that gratitude and happiness can overcome a whole lot of 'bad' in the world.

and since i'm all about increasing the gratitude and happiness metric, next time, i'll ask, 

'hey, what's right?'

maybe that will give space to talk about how red the strawberries are, or how blue the sky is. 

dot.com

It’s funny…this idea of branding yourself.  I always find myself coming to a standstill.  It’s not about what I want to create for myself or for others or how I want to be perceived - I am more clear than ever before about this (thank you trip to Vancouver, my husband and the incredible people around me!)  I get stumped by things like ‘what should my email be?  what should go on my business card?  or the worst…what should my website be?!’  These questions come up every time I say ‘I’m going to launch my brand.’

So, as I declare that I am launching my website in the next 3-6 months, I’d love for you to share your resources and inspiration.

'i want to live a simpler life.'

these are the words i woke to this morning from the love of my life.  from the man of my dreams who has piles and piles of t-shirts of every color, sneaker boxes piled chest-high in our bedroom, iphone charger cables to supply an entire basketball team.  the man who wants our son to have crazy-colored plastic toys spilling out of his toy box and in his play pen.  these words sent to me, the woman who gets rid of anything in sight that she doesn’t like or that’s out of place, the woman who cleans out her closet every 3 months (only to make room for new pretty things) so she can clean out her closet again in 3 months, the woman who forces this man to throw away hole-infested t-shirts, underwear, and shoes.  the woman who asked her parents to buy silas a wooden woodpecker walker for christmas.

we are a funny pair, but these words could not have been more beautiful music to my ears.  i yearn to live a simple life.  if i didn’t have to drive the babe to the sitter every day, silas would be in a baby seat on the back of my cream and orange single-speed bike and my and my boys would be cruising the city, seeking adventure, inspiration and sunshine on our days off.  this life is the one that gives me goosebumps, inspires me, lights me up.

i would love to say that everything in our material possession are things that we truly love.  things that will last a lifetime.  that’s the life i want us to create.  simplicity is beautiful.so babe, i’m committed to a simple (and beautiful) 2013 that will last our lifetime.