The New Vision: Fall

I'm not a very fussy person. 

While I like my space to be (hygienically) clean, I don't mind a bit of clutter. 

I like things strewn around my apartment; I believe it adds character, my character. I let piles of things grow on my desk like moss in a humid forest, until all of a sudden I have no idea why I've kept so many receipts, magazines, and old gift cards. 

While I can deal with clutter, and the organized chaos, sometimes I hit a moment when I have to organize, and rearrange. A few weeks ago, I found myself tearing everything off of my bulletin board. I sat on my carpet and flung off every scrap of paper until I could see the cork again.

It was approaching a new season, and I needed a new vision.

This time, I positioned everything a bit neater than the way I sloppily tacked things on during spring. I found new photos; I gathered new items that were speaking to me. Black and white is the theme; everything is a bit moodier, and more serious.

During summer, I embraced a different kind of me. I was a loosely based version of myself, like reading a book and recognizing someone, but realizing that the name has changed, and maybe the mannerisms, but you can swear you know who they are talking about. The change wasn't bad, it was different. Probably the most different I've felt in years. All summer, I floated around like a large fish that was brought home from the store and had to make decisions based on the size of its tank.

I'm ready to get back to the ocean.

Below is this week's mantra and focuses on the new season. Enjoy!

"That whole time of year, autumn, I find exhilarating. A passionate season. The others are so bland. In the fall, you see opportunities for change. Real change. Possibilities present themselves. None of the renewal and redemption cliches of spring. No. Something darker and more primal and more important than that.” ― Alice LaPlante via Goodreads

Back in Business

Helloooo!

Sometimes a vacation feels more than a couple of weeks away.

When I returned home from Greece, I felt like I'd been away for over a month. I came home to a completely different routine, to a different me. Before I left, I was a bit of a mess. I had tired panda eyes, and a slightly dropped spirit.

In Greece, I spent two weeks violently shaking my hair underwater like a happy sea monster. I relished in taking sweaty naps in the afternoon, and cold showers at night. I glued my forehead to car windows that took me down highways that snaked around cliffs of yellow flowers that smelled like a freshly perfumed French woman.

I carried around two notebooks, writing down everything I saw. I reconnected with my fictional characters that I sometimes set aside, like that game you played as a child, when someone yells "Freeze!" and you don't move until someone says you can. I thawed them out, and their stories started up again.

Before I left, I went to dinner with my best friend, and she took some photographs of me in Roncesvalles. While I stood in the cubbyhole she picked, she asked me to use the space around me; to embody the newfound freedom that I badly wanted to embrace.

So I did, and when we found the best shot, I hesitated to post it. She told me to own it, to stop caring about the rest.

While away, I began reading Dr. Brene Brown's, Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead. I first came across Brown's Ted Talk on vulnerability and I couldn't get it out of my head for days. I've always struggled with vulnerability. I've even been told that by a few people. But Brown believes that being vulnerable makes you stronger, even if at first, you feel weaker.

This week's mantra comes from her book. It is a quote I can re-read 100 times and still feel something. Hope you do too!

"Perfect and bulletproof are seductive, but they don't exist in the human experience. We must walk into the arena, whatever it may be— a new relationship, an important meeting, our creative process, or a difficult family conversation— with courage and the willingness to engage. Rather than sitting on the sidelines and hurling judgment and advice, we must dare to show up and let ourselves be seen. This is vulnerability. This is daring greatly." 

I have a bunch of travel diary posts coming up. Stay tuned! x

Weekly Mantra - Right is Right

This week felt like I was running on a treadmill, in front of a swimming pool, when all I wanted to do was go swimming. The imaginary lifeguard said, "Keep running. You can swim on Friday at 5 p.m."

Sometimes a busy week makes the anticipation for the weekend even more sweet. I am looking forward to hanging with the duchess, going for a picnic, and wearing grandpa sandals this weekend. Why? Because I can.

This week's mantra I grabbed from a New York Times Haiku. It's simple, to the point, while also not really meaning anything. It means whatever you want it to mean, in whatever emotion you are feeling right now. Happy Weekend! x

New Weekly Mantra - Actions, not words

It's as simple as it gets. You've probably heard it before, but lately, it is single-handedly the only piece of advice that I give to others when they need counsel.

In a word heavy communication environment (read: text, email) the below advice is more important than ever. When you find yourself analyzing words, or saying, "But they said or wrote this," remember the following:

image via HQlines

New Weekly Mantra - Who Can Say What's Best?

This week's mantra is all about going for it.

I don't know what "it" is. It could be that scarf that you walked by six times and didn't buy; it could be that plane ticket that will set you free; it could just be a cup of coffee when you just read in the news that coffee will kill you. The below quote identifies that you know what's best. YOU. You can hear that little sound in your stomach, or see the flashing sign that no one else can.

Here is this week's mantra:

“But who can say what's best? That's why you need to grab whatever chance you have of happiness where you find it, and not worry about other people too much. My experience tells me that we get no more than two or three such chances in a life time, and if we let them go, we regret it for the rest of our lives.” - Haruki Murakami (via Good Reads)

Although the author expresses in the quote that we only get a few chances in life, I disagree. I hope that as long as we keep choosing what's best, the opportunities will continue to present themselves. 

New Weekly Mantra - Are You Embarrassed Of Your Interests?

I was out with a friend for lunch recently and we chatted about our interests.

She said that she thinks people must find her boring because she likes yoga, knitting and drinking tea. I said that people must think the same thing of me because I like to sit around and write stories, and read cookbooks to find new recipes.

We both agreed that we prefer our low key hobbies to hitting the town every night, or getting all gussied up. It's a sign of age right? Getting older must yield to a more relaxed schedule, we believed. 

But the real problem with the conversation was that we were concerned what other people would think of our interests.  

This past week, I was embarrassed to tell an acquaintance on Saturday night how I spent my Saturday afternoon. The truth was I spent the day creating my own sandwich recipe to enter into a contest. Instead of hiding it, I ended up telling my story and I wasn't met with any condemnation. (Surprise!) 

If spending my afternoon creating a recipe for a contest I'll never win is the key to my happiness, so be it. It's my weekend. And if knitting, yoga and tea makes my friend happy, then power to her. 

Besides, the people who criticize my interests aren't really going to be invited over for a sandwich party, and I'm sure my friend will only make scarves for people who will appreciate them. 

This week's mantra comes from Julia Child (who learned to cook when she was 32 by the way) and reminds us that no matter what you love, keep at it.

"Find something you’re interested in and keep tremendously interested in it."

Weekly Mantra - The Attitude

This week's mantra is about choosing to see things differently.

While the concept seems simple enough, sometimes changing your perspective can feel like the most challenging task. It may be easier to react negatively or lash out, but choosing to consistently see things in a better light will make all the difference.

Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens. - Khalil Gibran

Weekly Mantra - Yes Doubt

There are the small decisions (do I want seeded mustard or plain?) and there are the big decisions (if I take this job, date, trip) where will it lead me?

It seems at the middle of my twenties, I assume that every decision has to affect my future. What will this be like in 5 years, in 10 years? Am I wasting my time? Should I be pursuing something different? How will my day-to-day decisions affect my greater future? Am I on the right path?

Decision-making can be paralyzing. It can involve a lot of self-reflection, over-analyzing and list-making. It can involve research and overzealous opinions from others (I wouldn't do that if I were you. What will you do after? What about your future? It's time to get serious. It's too late to have fun). 

Despite the pressure, I realize that life will happen even if I abstain from choosing. And not choosing is a choice unto itself.

I read an article in the online teen magazine Rookie (wish they existed when I was a teen) called The Great Unknown and it gave me this week's mantra. Live it.

"In reality, every decision you make can have (and probably will) have some positive and negative consequences: you picked a great college, but your awful roommate made your first year hell. You took the job you always wanted, but you are getting paid a lot less than you asked for. The objectively right decision is a myth. You can only consider what’s best for you right now. And decisions are what you make of them."(Danielle Henderson)

Weekly Mantra - What a pretty afternoon...

While ignorance can be irresponsible, sometimes over-thinking can be equally detrimental. The mind loves to trap small thoughts and repeat them, over and over and over until they become the only thought. The nagging thought. The world is ending thought.

It's like a snowball rolling down a hill. It will keep growing with every spin...if you let it.

This week's Not A Model mantra comes from Calvin & Hobbes. While in jest, they seem to get it right. In a way, they indicate the power of positive thinking and choosing your thoughts as opposed to letting your emotions get trapped in your mind and cloud your outlook.

Enjoy! x

http://dailydoseofstuf.tumblr.com/post/42883867930