Real.
At breakfast last weekend my wise and witty five-year-old second cousin was explaining about her attempts to problem solve with one of her friends at recess. She was having a disagreement on the playground and so she told her friend to,” Build a bridge and get over it!” Her bold honesty and the line she used made me smile. If only building personal bridges was as easy as a five-year-old makes it seem.
One of my favourite bloggers Penelope Trunk formerly known as Adrienne is in the midst of disruptive grace. She has started a new relationship, moved to a small community and is trying to process all the new challenges she is facing. I love Penelope’s blog because, like my five-year-old second cousin, Penelope is a “straight shooter”. You don’t have to dig through mud and musings to understand what she is saying. It is all there in bold, bright and honest 12 point Times New Roman Type. If Penelope doesn’t like something she tells you why. If she is afraid, scared, confused, happy or excited she tells you this too. It is brilliant, at times bold and always blunt.
For those of you reading this post that don’t follow Penelope’s blog she has recently moved to a small town. As a blogger, a writer and creative soul she seems to like the “celebrity” of blogging without the personal, real life connection that holds you accountable to your ramblings. She has moved to a small town and people seem to be talking about her and knowing her business. She is meeting real people, the people that deliver her mail, and the people at the swimming pool, not the abstract on-line peanut gallery.
It is the beautiful thing about small towns and small communities, that they know your business and hopefully find ways to help you and to support you. Not to judge, condemn or criticize but as members of a healthy community realize we are all human. We all have struggles and crosses to bear. I think Penelope is having a hard time adjusting to the fact that these people know her as a real person. She is just another person in the town. She isn’t a celebrity to them.
Penelope is on an exciting journey. She is a little lost as she tries to find her way to found. I worry that all the faces in the crowd, the strangers that post and comment on her blog, all these voices on the Internet will lead her astray. It is clear she likes the control she has over her “blogosphere”. To some degree she is safe and in-control in this space or world she has created. She has forbid her mother from commenting or posting on the blog and yet she writes about her mother. She writes about her personal relationships and people read. I read. It gets consumed and then, like The GAME, pretty much forgotten.
We the viewer, forget Penelope and her struggles but Penelope she doesn’t. She goes on living her life, processing, thinking, wondering and sorting things out. She shares, shares and then shares some more. It isn’t about the viewer it is about her. Her quest to find a way from lost to found. I hope you make it their Princess Penelope or Awesome Adrienne. I also hope you turn off your computer, go find your “Farmer” (the screen name of her new husband) and hold onto him, because he is real. Real things are worth building bridges too.
“But I’m convinced that the less we hide ourselves when we are lost, the faster we will get unlost. The world provides a mirror for us to see ourselves more clearly, if we give the world a chance to reflect back to us what is there.”
Prime Goal Continued…
It isn’t a good sign when your own customers or your own team are attacking you. This year the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) website got upgraded. Rather then tell their customers, they just let them experience this frustration. I even called a customer service representative and expressed my displeasure. Not that it did any good. They pretty much did the same thing when they switched from bankcards without chips to cards with chips. Rather then let their customers know people only figured it out when their cards stopped working. Then they had to go to the bank to get a new card. Customer satisfaction wasn’t or doesn’t seem to be high on the list of NBK goals.
Apple has created raving fans, who support the brand. They look for ways to improve the product and for the most part Apple listens. It is almost like their customers have become additional employees. A prime example of this is Jonathan Mann, who wrote and published on YouTube the song,” iPhone Antenna Song.” This song could have been done from the Apple Public Relations Department. NBK hasn’t done that. They have in fact created customers who repeatedly feel the need to bash the brand. Although when you hear stories about other international banks it does make you feel a little bit better. Perhaps International banks, work in a way that works for them. Caring for their customer isn’t their prime goal.
“You can have
anything in life you
want, if you’ll just
help enough other
people get what
they want.”
Zig Ziglar
As you may have heard recently the Jet Blue flight attendant Steven Slater snapped after a flight from Pittsburgh to New York. Telling off the passengers, taking two beer, opening the emergency exit and jumping down the slide. He has become somewhat of an Internet celebrity for his actions but he seems to me to be just a sad fellow, who lost site of his own personal prime goals. He clearly lost focus on what his companies prime goal was!
The formula for how to determine prime number is 2n – 1 but how do you determine that a company is prime or has a prime goal with you in mind?
“People with goals succeed because they know where they are going… It’s as simple as that.”
-Zig Ziglar-
Prime Goal?
In hockey you have players who will toss an elbow to help their team win! Those elbows may only be felt by one person but they will be seen by many. They send a clear message about the need for respect, the need to back off.
Enforcer is an unofficial role in ice hockey.
The term is sometimes used synonymously with “fighter“, “tough guy” or “goon“.
An enforcer’s job is to deter and respond to dirty or
violent play by the opposition.
When such play occurs,
the enforcer is expected to respond aggressively,
by fighting or checking the offender.
Enforcers are expected to react particularly harshly
to violence against star players or goalies.
We aren’t talking about just bumping into some here! Once you toss an elbow there isn’t a need to say much more. The check says it all, there is or was a need to protect someone on the team. Taking a hit for the team or doing things for the team means doing things that could be contrary to your natural inclination. It isn’t helpful to dwell on the hit if your prime goal is a pretty, perfect win!
Skate with your head down on the blue line and eventually someone will make you pay for it. Go after a team member and the coach will send out the teams enforcer to help you understand they way we play the game, what our prime goal is…
“Enforcers are different from pests, players who seek to agitate opponents and distract them from the game, without necessarily fighting them. The pest’s primary role is to draw penalties from opposing players, thus “getting them off their game,” while not actually intending to fight the opposition player
(although exceptions to this do occur).”
-Wikipedia-
Pests are different and sometimes difficult. They never actually toss a punch but they create such a mess that eventually someone needs to deal with them. I don’t play organized sports, so dealing with a pest on ice isn’t something that I can even imagine. In yoga the pest is what they call the,” monkey mind.” Losing your focus because you are focused on something outside of your peaceful practice requires that you gently let the outside thought go and remind yourself to return to the present pose. No matter where you are staying focused is critical for success.
There were Swedes to the left of him.
Russians to the right.
A Czech at the blue line looking for a fight.
But what’s a Canadian farm boy to do?
What else can a farm boy from Canada do?
-Hit Someone, (The Hockey Song) By Warren Zevon-
When caring for someone or something you listen carefully, you support where and how you can and you react differently all depending on what your prime goal is. Watch actions on the ice but instead of judging what you see, what you hear perhaps you should judge what the end result is. Did their actions lead to an overall “win”?
Appearances are deceiving, “Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer than They Are“. Think about what your prime goal is and what someone else’s prime goal? If you have different goals perhaps you shouldn’t be playing on the same team…
”I don’t like hockey. I’m just good at it.”
-Brett Hull-
Pioneers!
There has to be this pioneer, the individual who has the courage, the ambition to overcome the obstacles that always develop when one tries to do something worthwhile, especially when it is new and different.
-Alfred P. Sloan-
In the downtown core of Victoria, British Columbia in 1843 Canadian pioneers built Fort Victoria. It was built as a trading outpost for the Hudson Bay Company. As the city grew Fort Victoria expanded to meet the needs of the community, with the fur trade and the gold rush Fort Victoria was the center of pioneer life. To generate revenue for Fort Victoria and to recognize these entrepreneurs the names of these Canadian pioneers were etched in cement blocks around the walls of the fort. The fort was demolished in November 1864 but these historic blocks and the outline of the fort can still be seen in the streets of Victoria today.
The traditional meaning of the word pioneer, as define by “Word Reference” is, “the first colonists or settler in a new territory.” As I think about international teachers preparing for their adventure to a new country I am amazed at the pioneer spirit they consistently display. It is awesome the strength and spirit shown when people embark on the journey of living overseas. Accepting a contract in a foreign country to leaving your home, family and familiar way of life to embark on a new adventure truly does embody the pioneer spirit.
Word Reference also defines a pioneer as someone, “who helps to open up a new line of research or thinking in technology, research or art.” A more modern day definition for instead of breaking physical ground, cutting wood or digging for gold they find themselves designing new computer programs, creating new art or discovering new medical treatments. From the pioneers of the past to today’s “developers” “builders” “teachers” “entrepreneurs” ”hackers” “designers” and “trailblazers” all look for ways to break ground on new frontiers.
Pioneers faced or face incredible challenges for their survival or the survival of an idea, concept or dream. They were or have to be relentless in their quest. People rave about Steve Jobs as a pioneer and as Apple celebrates the launch of new smartphone technology and an eReader that finally makes me want to read a book on a screen I must agree that he and his company are pioneers.
I have been reading recently about another pioneer who was key in not only the development of Apple but more importantly perhaps shared his pioneering computer skills to empower others, Steve “Woz” Wozniak. According to the novel “The Hacker Ethic”, by Pekka Himanen, Woz came, “from a group that was what you might call beatniks or hippes-a lot of technicians who talked radical about a revolution in information and how we were going to totally change the world and put computers in homes.” In accord with the hacker ethic, Woz openly distributed blueprints of his computer to others and published bits of his program. His hacker-created computer inspired the larger personal-computer revolution, the consequences of which are everywhere around us.” He used his gift, his drive to be a part of a team that changed the way we communicate, learn and process knowledge and information.
“Woz” time as purely a “pioneer for profit” was short. According to “The Hacker Ethic” he retired from Apple at the age of twenty-nine, six years after its founding. “He owned shares valued at some one hundred million dollars (even after having sold a considerable number of his shares at an extraordinarily low price to fellow workers because he wanted to spread the wealth more fairly within the enterprise.) Thanks to his financial independence, Wozniak has been able to freely choose his actions…After leaving Apple, Wozniak decided to go back to college to fulfill the formal requirements needed for realizing his dreams of teaching new generations of hackers.” The focus on the importance of sharing knowledge is a characteristic of many successful pioneers.
Having solid partnership to address problems and find solutions is not about making one single person more powerful it is about helping the entire pioneering community grow. Your neighbor’s problems are on some level your problems because we are all connected in some way. Pioneers just aren’t afraid to take the lead, to ask the tough questions and break new ground to improve our global community.
Pioneers also seem to have the common characteristic of being solution oriented. A farmer doesn’t complain about the cow he just finds a way to milk it. An engineer doesn’t complain about the client she just makes changes to the building designs. Pioneers know that complaining isn’t going to solve a problem. They understand the proverb that,” a problem shared is a problem halved” but they communicate with other pioneers about solutions.
It is interesting to me how people become pioneers. Are they just born with this drive? Does their environment demand this from them? Were they forced into the family business or did they willingly sign up for a challenge? Does God inspire them with an idea or is this part of their psychological profile?
“The way of the pioneer is always rough.”
-Harvey S. Firestone-
| Photos of the bricks around Fort Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia 2010 | |
| Photos by Christine Oastler |
“Once an organization loses its spirit of pioneering and rests on its early work, its progress stops.”
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Artist’s Life.
I have been reading Julia Cameron. In both the Artist Way and Finding Water: Preserving with Art, Cameron talks about the process of creativity. She talks about the types of people artists need to be careful of and those precious people that they need to surround themselves with. It is interesting that on the artistic journey there are people we have all met and either we run from or run too.
“Creativity flourishes when we have a sense of safety and self-acceptance. Your artist, like a small child, is happiest when feeling a sense of security. As our artist’s protective parent, we must learn to place our artists with safe companions. Toxic playmates can capsize our artist’s growth.”
-Julia Cameron-
The Crazymaker! You know them, they take you so far off your desired goal, your writing, your painting or even or daily job. They try to walk into your world and instead of supporting the artist, their friend or their teammate their goal, whether they realize it or not, is to creative havoc! The over share, they spread gossip, put doubt into your heart, they subtly attack your work. When they leave you often feel sad, frustrated or just lost.
Crazymakers aren’t always easy to spot. The initially may appear friendly or even fun but with some training or just a little time you will soon be able to spot a Crazymaker from a distance. Then a strong artist figures out how to keep the Crazymaker at a distance. Cameron’s description and comments commonly heard from a Crazymaker is a great guide to detecting such a species.
“Crazymakers break deals and destroy schedules. Crazymakers expect special treatment. Crazymakers discount your reality. Crazymakers spend your time and money. Crazymakers triangulate those they deal with. Crazymakers are expert blamers. Crazymakers create drama but seldom where they belong. Crazymakers are often blocked creatives themselves. Crazymakers hate schedules-except their own. Crazymakers hate order. Crazymakers deny that they are Crazymakers.”
-Julia Cameron-
Relatives or known associates of the crazy maker, the meddler, the pusher, the judge and jury. A Crazymaker can bring out your inner critic and make her mean, nasty and almost ruthless. As an artist who wants to grow it really isn’t an option. You need to protect yourself from the types of people who break boundaries, the type of people who read letters, files or journals without asking, the type of people who “borrow” your keys and return them when it suits them. They tell you things you don’t want or need to know. The type of people who as Cameron states,” Go for the jugular.” Who will claim they are not what is making you crazy when you point out “there broken promise or a piece of sabotage.” Cameron makes the very valid point, which is critical to remember as you try to make time to create.
“What creative work are you trying to block by your involvement with a Crazymaker!”
-Julia Cameron-
Dealing with Crazymakers takes work! Check out this post about The Crazy Makers in Your Life.
Friends and Family: Wise artists have friends. Friends to keep us healthy. To pull us away from our laptops, paint brushes or pieces of artistic perfection. These friends are important. They knock on the door. They call. They turn on the lights so you aren’t sitting in the dark writing. They listen as you ramble about your latest artistic project. They offer a few words of interest or encouragement and then promptly change the topic. They know that you need to remember there is more to your life then just your art. They help keep you balanced and as Cameron says they influence and subtly remind you to,” Keep the drama on the page!”
Believing Mirrors: Cameron, who lives, breaths and is deep into the Artist’s Life, talks about the “Believing Mirror.” A person or persons who offers kind insight, ideas and new paths for your talents. Who helps you or a project get unstuck. Someone who has wisdom, experience and the grace to share and share kindly there knowledge. Cameron explains that, ”For many of us believing mirrors take a little getting used to. Often we have grown up surrounded by fun-house mirrors that reflected our dreams to us as egotistical, grandiose, even preposterous. It takes generosity to not diminish the dreams of another. True believing mirrors are always generous.”"How do you know if you have encountered a true believing mirror? There is a feeling of excitement and possibility. These may be a positive comment that we can cherish and replay. There will be no hint of cynicism, no suggestion that your dream is crazy. There will be the ring of sincerity and blessed optimism. Believing mirrors are believers, first of all, in the basic good of life. Setting aside chic skepticism, they are upbeat and encouraging. They believe in the college try. What’s more, they believe in trying again. They are realists. They expect good things but they know good things take work. They assume you will do the work because your dreams are good and worthy. They will help you if they can.”
Who are your believing mirrors?
Quiet Angels: Oh the Angels, the sweet, sweet Angels. You may never know you have quiet Angels with you. They are light little warriors who don’t work under the cover of darkness. They just support you. If given two options the Angels will make the choice to support you. They don’t ever push but they do put things in your path to help promote your growth when you are ready to grow. They find ways to prevent headaches that you never knew you were going to have. They are more then gifts from God they are your own personal superheroes! If you are lucky you will never know the Angels existed. They humbly help and leave you with the gift that you did it on your own!
The EGO: Amongst all these other people there is your EGO. Kicking around, fighting to protect your sense of self. The EGO isn’t a bad thing. You need a little EGO to keep you sane. Keep you focused and help you keep moving along on the right track. Too much off anything is a problem. Too much EGO and God will find a way to keep you humble but some EGO is necessary. It is what makes an artists stand up and say,” Hey! I sent you my work! Do you like it?” It is what stops you from drifting away into creative la la land.
Can you teach someone in your life to not be a Crazymaker? Can you be both a friend and believing mirror? How do you explain to people what kind of support you need as an artist? That is a whole other post…
“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.”
-William James-
“Great talent finds happiness in execution.”
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe-
~Handle With Care~
In times of transition there is something to be said for consistency. Each year the leaves fall, the flowers grow, the snow settles on the ground in the winter and melts in the spring. As a traveler you accept that like the seasons change, people will come and go. If you stay in one place for a long time you and your routine become the comfortable constant. Like our environment needs sustainable solutions, our lives need a certain level of emotional sustainability.
As people move in, move on and move around in my world this weekend the phrase handle with care is about more than fragile extra baggage. Care is a four letter word that means so much. How do you show someone you care when they aren’t there? Someone said to me this weekend,” she took better care of me than I took of myself.” The concept of getting someone means you don’t use the same lines over and over again. You keep things fresh, you understand when someone isn’t always easy to please and find ways to quietly care. You take care of yourself so that you can take care of someone else. You say what you need to say because you care…
“When you love someone, you say their name different. Like it’s safe inside your mouth.”
-Jodi Picoult, Handle with Care-
“..there was not much distinction between losing a friend and a lover: it was all about intimacy. One moment, you had someone to share your biggest triumph, and fatal flaws with; the next minute, you had to keep them bottled inside.”
-Jodi Picoult, Handle with Care-
http://www.travelwithoastler.com/blog/2009/06/12/the-greatest-day-of-the-year
A little cool news…
A little cool news from Kuwait! ( It is 42 degrees Celsius right now! )
The photo from the post “My First Sand Storm” been used in the Journal of Physical Chemistry, from the University of Iowa. The article is about, “several newly discovered reactions on atmospheric dust particles that may play a role in the chemistry of the atmosphere.”
The cover, with my photo is at http://pubs.acs.org/action/showLargeCover?issue=347720576
The video about the article is at http://pubs.acs.org/page/jpclcd/vicki-video.html
The words I heard…
The other day I was at a store. I was frustrated with the information I was receiving. Then the man behind the counter said to me,” Lady, I have a clean heart.” Meaning he wasn’t lying. He wasn’t hiding anything. My anger melted away. Replaced instead with a warmth and kindness. I like the expression and the feeling of a clean heart. So pure. So simple. Yet admits the business and busy of our day there are moments where we all need to stop to make sure our heart is clean. This week I read an email. The author made the valid point, “You are either dirty or you are not.” Your heart is either clean or it isn’t! Check out this video for a little techno reminder to keep your heart clean.
“Diamonds are typically formed deep beneath the earth’s surface. They are made up of pure carbon which has been placed under immense pressure for millions of years.” In Lisa Bevere’s book, “Fight Like A Girl” she writes about how relationships that have had challenges are stronger because they have withstood and grown from the pressure. The other day I read the words in a Facebook status,” Apply some pressure.” Perfect words to read! They reminded me that carefully applied pressure will lead to the creation of something beautiful, from dirty carbon to a shiny diamond.
This weekend I sat in a coffee shop and the quote from Denzel Washington’s character in the movie The Great Debaters was given to me. Great quotes are like little gifts. When I heard, “You do what you have to do, so that you can do what you want to do.” I could only smile. In the midst of the pressure of the end of this international teaching year keeping focused is important…staying focused on what is truly important is critical to personal and professional success.
As you travel along with me on my adventures these are just the words I decided to read and hear this week! Stay strong!
“A wise man told me don’t argue with fools because people from a distance can’t tell who is who.”
Jay-Z
Your Soul…
Re-examine all that you have been told…dismiss that which insults your soul.”
-Walt Whitman-
People will attack. You will be attacked. If you risk… growing, learning, laughing, loving or caring it is bound to happen that you run across someone who for whatever reason wants to hurt you. Sometimes they mean it, other times it is just there pain that pours onto your page like spilled paint. You can’t control someone else’s pain or attacks but you can control your response to the pain. With God’s help you can meet hate with compassion, hurt with humbleness and hate with grace.
Protect your beauty and your beautiful soul!
tr.v. dis·missed, dis·miss·ing, dis·miss·es
3. a. To stop considering; rid one’s mind of; dispel: dismissed all thoughts of running for office.
5. Sports
Just Christine
“When I was 10, my best friend was 80 years old. His name was Mr. Boggs. His house was my refuge.
He and I discovered my creative dreams and he inspired me to tell stories about what I saw in the world.
Mr. Boggs because very ill and went into the hospital.
My mother explained that because of his age and health, he probably wouldn’t be coming home.
I vowed to create something for him every day that he was in the hospital, and sent him handmade books, cards and posters.
He did get out of the hospital, and when he did he said to me,” I think you saved my life.
No one else called or even wrote and I had to get out to see you.”
-Make Your Creative Dreams Real, Sark-
Sometimes I think I should password protect my sight and site. Sometimes I think I shouldn’t write and other times I just want to protect myself and hide. Then I remember the words of those those people who have enjoyed the stories. Those that have been inspired. There is a lot of things I could give up. A lot of things that change in life but the wonderful words, they will never change.
I don’t know who you are and why you are reading this but that’s okay. I just like the fact that you are reading. Somedays I don’t even know why I am writing, it just feels right. A wise man told me that,” writing is your outlet.” He is right about a lot of things. I like the fact that he never asks or implies I should hide the words. When you get someone, you really get someone, you want to give them what they ask for and figure out how you can help them. You want to add to their life not take away something that is important to who they are. You find away to ask great questions, instead of making dangerous and bold assumptions. You look to learn more about them, to understand their world, to support their world.
Yesterday I added a car to my world. Today as I drive around in Kuwait I don’t want to hide. I want to explore! I want to remember why I first fell in love with this country, perhaps you could say I want to see some arab magic. I am getting more comfortable with driving and I am hopeful that I find soon I find the magic again.
“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.”
-Roald Dahl-
Creative Genius
The Mad Hatter: Have I gone mad?
[Alice checks Hatter's temperature]
Alice Kingsley: I’m afraid so. You’re entirely bonkers.
But I’ll tell you a secret.
All the best people are.
— Theodor Seuss Geisel-
Easy to be Heavy… Hard to be Light!
Watch, O Lord, with those who wake or weep tonight,
and give your angels and saints charge over those who slumber.
Tend your sick ones, O Lord Christ,
Rest your weary ones,
Bless your dying ones,
Soothe your suffering ones,
Pity your afflicted ones,
Shield your joyous ones,
And all for your love’s sake. Amen.
Night Prayer of St Augustine
As you travel along life brings you surprises. Sometimes those knocks at the door or email messages are filled with joy. Other times they have sadness and sometimes a little fear! When you are a happy person, a truly happy person, the sadness and fear is felt but processed in such a way that negative and darkness can be turned into positive and light. If you are a happy person being attacked it sometimes takes a little more work.
I am reading “the Happiness Project” by Gretchen Wilson. I could go on and on about this book and if we have tea together I will but today I feel compelled to quote her because her words truly touched my soul and brought me a deep level of peace.
“At first, it struck me as odd that among the prayers for the “dying” and “suffering” is a prayer for the “joyous.” Why worry about the joyous ones? Once I started trying to give positive reviews, though, I began to understand how much happiness I took from the joyous ones in my life-and how much effort it must take for them to be consistently good-tempered and positive. It is easy to be heavy; hard to be light. We non-joyous types suck energy and cheer from the joyous ones; we rely on them to buoy us with their good spirit and to cushion our agitation and anxiety. At the same time, because of the dark element in human nature, we’re sometimes provoked to try to shake the enthusiastic, cheery folk out of their fog of illusion-to make them see that the play was stupid, the money was wasted, the meeting was pointless. Instead of shielding their joy we blast it.
Why is this? I have no idea. But that impulse is there…The joy of the joyous ones wasn’t inexhaustible or unconquerable.
I started to make a real effort to use my good cheer to support the joyous ones I knew.
Joyous people love to share joy! It actually seems make them feel a little un-well not to find creative ways to spread sunshine but a wise woman once told me, ” What is comforting to you might be considered annoying to someone else.” Finding the right way to support and care about a person, an organization or a country is a fine art. This summer at the Ted Global, one of the questions to be considered is do you think kindness is an art?
If you take the example of foreign aid as a kindness than to much caring can leave a nation dependent on aid that might not remain consistent. Does kindness need to empower to be kind? Does all kindness need a response? People who aren’t used to kindness sometimes react with fear, anger or hate. Other people are wise enough to humble accept kindness. Some work to graciously protect those who are kind to them. Kindness doesn’t often have to be matched in terms of being considered equal in value. True acts of kindness aren’t about buying love or keeping score. Mutual kindness, like the word sweetheart, are just simple and beautiful. Confucius urges his followers to “recompense kindness with kindness.” The Word reminds us to,” Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”
In our world joy and kindness are important. To be celebrated, an art to be carefully shared. Always protected and perhaps somehow built into everything you do…
Proof of Love
“There is no love; there are only proofs of love.”
-Pierre Reverdy-
There is a romantic notion that love or faith don’t need proof! That they just happen. They just appear but in reality, in our daily lives, that isn’t the case. Both need effort, attention and random acts of goodness so that they are able to stay strong and grow! If you don’t water a plant, don’t put some thought into planning a trip you will soon find yourself with a dead plant and a vacation that doesn’t match your expectations! Oh some might say just having expectations sets you up for failure or disappointment but if you don’t have any expectations or standards you are just going to wander along getting mixed up in whatever mud and muck happens to blow your way!
Loyalty to a person, a team, a company or to a higher power isn’t something demonstrated once and then forgotten. Like great art is created layer by glorious layer, loyalty and disloyalty are demonstrated to you over time. Small acts that consistently show you who or what you are dealing with! Little test happen everyday. Test that let you know if you are working with a team player or with someone who is so concerned with their own work and goals they forget the bigger picture. Cindy Lauper, sings about the beauty within a person. How the world you live in can make you crazy if you don’t have courage. Sometimes it takes more than courage it takes effort, support and being surrounded by people who don’t put you in uncomfortable situations. Being around people who have your back and understand the importance of tactful honesty. Surprise is important to keep variety and happiness in your life but there is something to be said for consistency!
As you get older you realize that there is no point traveling to a country you don’t really want to see or playing a game unless you are giving it your all. As a writer I am coming to realize that with balanced kindness and compassion words do need to fearlessly flow across a page. Be it on the soccer field, at your job or with the people in your life once you know what to look for it quickly becomes clear what people find important.
You with the sad eyes
Don’t be discouraged
Oh I realize
It’s hard to take courage
In a world full of people
You can lose sight of it all
And the darkness inside you
Can make you feel so small
But I see your true colors
Shining through
I see your true colors
And that’s why I love you
So don’t be afraid to let them show
Your true colors
True colors are beautiful,
Like a rainbow
Show me a smile then,
Don’t be unhappy, can’t remember
When I last saw you laughing
If this world makes you crazy
And you’ve taken all you can bear
You call me up
Because you know I’ll be there
And I’ll see your true colors
Shining through
I see your true colors
And that’s why I love you
So don’t be afraid to let them show
Your true colors
True colors are beautiful,
Like a rainbow
Where did you go?
And so he asked, “Where did you go?” I am a woman who travels so I get asked this question quite a lot. During my day I write stories in my head so sometimes I get lost in the ideas. I listen for wonderful words where ever I go but don’t like driving or conversations that go in circles. If you listen carefully funny phrases find you when you least expect it!
When I stop posting regularly on the blog people sometimes wonder if I have disappeared from plain site but I haven’t. I am still here, typing away, writing things and seeing things with a new set of eyes. I am “write” here and like a beautiful waterfall, hidden in the mountains of Jamaica or the back room bar in Belgium with more brands of beer then you could imagine being in the right place is important.
Gifts
The last week I have been blessed to be given a great number of gifts! Gifts came in all colors, sizes and shapes. There were gifts of words, wit and wonder. Gifts of laughter in an elevator and the gift of honesty. Several gifts of time were given to me by unlikely gift givers. The Kuwaiti government gave us all two extra days to celebrate Kuwait Independence Weekend! A three day weekend suddenly became a five day weekend. When found time arrives I smile. Time is precious. For far to long I haven’t been as mindful of time as perhaps I should be. I am looking forward to choosing how the gifts of time will be spent!
From the random and unexpected strawberries at the door to the gift of true friendship, a gift that never stops giving, there are moments where the simple beauty of those in my community just amaze me. It has been said,” The conscious brain can only hold one thought at a time. Choose a positive thought.” The same is true with your heart. Love can’t live in the same heart as hate. I like that I am surrounded by people who get that and remind me to keep giving!
the lululemon manifesto
- Drink FRESH water and as much water as you can. Water flushes unwanted toxins from your body and keeps your brain sharp.
- A daily hit of athletic-induced endorphins gives you the power to make better decisions, helps you be at peace with yourself, and offsets stress.
- Do one thing a day that scares you.
- Listen, listen, listen, and then ask strategic questions.
- Write down your short and long-term GOALS four times a year. Two personal, two business and two health goals for the next 1, 5 and 10 years. Goal setting triggers your subconscious computer.
- Life is full of setbacks. Success is determined by how you handle setbacks.
- Your outlook on life is a direct reflection of how much you like yourself.
- That which matters the most should never give way to that which matters the least.
- Stress is related to 99% of all illness.
- Jealousy works the opposite way you want it to.
- The world is changing at such a rapid rate that waiting to implement changes will leave you 2 steps behind. DO IT NOW, DO IT NOW, DO IT NOW!
- Friends are more important than money.
- Breathe deeply and appreciate the moment. Living in the moment could be the meaning of life.
- Take various vitamins. You never know what small mineral can eliminate the bottleneck to everlasting health.
- Don’t trust that an old age pension will be sufficient.
- Visualize your eventual demise. It can have an amazing effect on how you live for the moment.
- The conscious brain can only hold one thought at a time. Choose a positive thought.
- Live near the ocean and inhale the pure salt air that flows over the water, Vancouver will do nicely.
- Observe a plant before and after watering and relate these benefits to your body and brain.
- Practice yoga so you can remain active in physical sports as you age.
- Dance, sing, floss and travel.
- Children are the orgasm of life. Just like you did not know what an orgasm was before you had one, nature does not let you know how great children are until you have them.
- Successful people replace the words “wish”, “should” and “try” with “I will”.
- Creativity is maximized when you’re living in the moment.
- Nature wants us to be mediocre because we have a greater chance to survive and reproduce. Mediocre is as close to the bottom as it is to the top, and will give you a lousy life.
- lululemon athletica creates components for people to live longer, healthier and more fun lives. If we can produce products to keep people active and stress-free, we believe the world will become a much better place.
- Do not use cleaning chemicals on your kitchen counters. Someone will inevitably make a sandwich on your counter.
- SWEAT once a day to regenerate your skin.
- Communication is COMPLICATED. We are all raised in a different family with slightly different definitions of every word. An agreement is an agreement only if each party knows the conditions for satisfaction and a time is set for satisfaction to occur.
- What we do to the earth we do to ourselves.
- The pursuit of happiness is the source of all unhappiness.
Pride, Passion and Protect
It is Saturday morning. A perfect time to post! I woke up this morning and the letter P, must have been popping in and out of my dreams because I was pleased to be inspired this morning. I have started writing a book and the words come from all kinds of places. They peak around corners and suddenly pop into my life. They are placed on postcards. The words arrive but have managed to find away to keep themselves in proper perspective. All the good letters and words know to be supportive and focused on us getting published!
I feel it has made the blog have a little less pop because the wit, words and wisdom are living in another place for a while. I’m okay with that because the important things need to be protected. Protected from games and people. Not because of pride or prejudice or even to make any sort of point. It isn’t personal. Protection is important for a sense of peace. Nobody’s perfect but people who understand peace and peace of mind get what you do to protect yourself. They don’t push or pull they just are polite.
Not to long ago I would have pushed to make this post about travel or traveling. There are a lot of ways that the letter P can tie into travel. From packing to parking. Planning to pit-stops. Passports to airports. Watching passion and pure joy as people experience the thrill of winning or the pleasure of a perfect party is one of the perks of travel. The letter P puts in more than an appearance at a party. They don’t put on a show they just enjoy the power of play not power plays. Whether perfect in pink or playing and performing on stage the letter P practices so they know how to gentle rock your world.
Hope you have a day filled with peace, pleasure and parties or whatever you find pleasing to do on a Saturday.
Fascinated by What Frustrates You!
Now the next word is fascination.
Be fascinated with life and people and drama that is live and in color every day.
Cinemascope.
Fascination goes a little bit beyond interest.
Interested people want to know does it work.
Fascinated people want to know how does it work.
To be fascinated instead of frustrated.
It is just a little trick to play.
The next time you’re tempted to be frustrated, see if you can’t turn it into fascination.
Instead of a frown, it puts a smile on your face. Now sometimes you look a little weird, but so be it.
He says, “How can he smile?”
I don’t know.
He must be somebody different.
It is early Friday morning. The best time to write. This quote came into my life and it has inspired several thoughts. There is so much in Kuwait that you could get frustrated with. So much to learn, to try and understand. You could spend your days being frustrated with people, situations, the weather or traffic but wouldn’t it be more enjoyable to instead be fascinated by things. The things that fascinate me about Kuwait. Now there is the start of an article…
My other random question for the morning is do you start to write on the new idea, the inspiration that came to you, or do you finish up projects that are under-construction. If you think about it the only way things get done is when construction continues. Perhaps I need a system for this and perhaps it is a question best asked to my fellow writers of the world.
So on that note, good morning sunshines. I am glad we fascinate instead of frustrate each other. Thanks for the attention!
The Rules?
Monopoly has rules! Euchre has rules and so to does the Game of Life, the real one not the board game. So what are the rules? Does someone else define the rules? Should you define your own rules? Recently someone told me I wasn’t playing by the rules or at least his rules. There is a book that I have been told should be purchased so that woman should follow the dating rules! At school there are rules, in business there are rules. From chain of command to using your air miles on flights rules are everywhere. Rules have reasons. From the time a meeting should start to the time a meeting should end. Rules are important. Rules keep order. There are lots of rules. From the rules of the road, which often aren’t followed in Kuwait, to the rules of the heart, which come to think of it sadly aren’t followed in Kuwait either. Rules keep you safe and depending on whose rules you follow you can sleep peacefully at night.
Surprises…
“Surprise is a brief emotional state that is the result of experiencing an unexpected
relevant event. Surprise can be neutral, pleasant, or unpleasant.
Accordingly, some would not categorize surprise in itself as an emotion.”
-Wikipedia-
Life is filled with surprises, good and bad. When you were young each day was kind of a surprise. Everything was new. As you get older, and wiser you start to think about your career path and goals. The surprises in your life are different.
Sometimes people look for little ways to amuse themselves. Like a little boy playing with his toys, the surprises are simple and silly. Other times wise men who are ready to lead look for ways to inspire all the people around them. The simple and silly is important but it is also important to know when the surprises need to be about reaching big goals and dreams. When the surprises need to be about being selfless and helping other people reach big goals and dreams.
Today I came home to find surprises on my door step. Nothing big in size but grand in gesture. A thoughtful and practical gift for the art room. It is nice when the surprises aren’t about me but instead about the art. It is great to be a part of a community that consistently supports the arts. That support isn’t surprising because it is just a constant. Just the way we roll!
I like the surprises that are about kindness, communication and that lead to an evening of dancing. Sometimes the best surprises don’t come from other people. They appear when you do something that you didn’t think was possible, you try something you have never done before or you say something that needed to be said. It is fun to surprise yourself.
I hope today you have a day filled with good, kind and wonderful surprises. I hope you surprise someone else and yourself!
The Letter T!
The letter ” T ” tenaciously followed me around, stood behind me and walked with me! I forgot it in an email I wrote, it got painted in my classroom and when times got challenging it reminded me to try. I drank tea, as the little boy I now tutor and I talked about the and bugs. From talking to toasting Thursday was all about enjoying where the letter “T” would pop up next.
I am reading Steven King’s book, “On Writing” a Memoir of the Craft. He talks a lot about where he gets his ideas. Like fossils in the ground he finds them and then determines, from these pieces of fossils, if he can put together the bones of a story. I get my ideas from people. From talking and time, from watching and listening. I am surrounded by such creative people so ideas seem to be everywhere these days.
There are lots of times where I have to protect the writer and the words, where I have to protect myself. So I walk away from the big loud voices. To sit with the calm and quiet. The big loud voices are fading into the background, almost getting lost in the backyard. I don’t hear them say good morning anymore. They might yell,” We should do this again sometime.” but eventually they will stop shouting.
There were all these ideas floating around in my head last night. Actually there have been lots of stories floating around in my head. It was a mistake not to write them all down, but I was tired and perhaps my head a little swelled as I made the transition from place to place. Learning new things and new systems takes time to embrace. I am very clear in my head of both the things I want to embrace with grace. However, I am less clear about the things I need to un-embrace or let go. I have been working on this piece of writing, forcing a take-away line, something the reader will remember. I can’t figure out what the overall message is so I need to walk away until it becomes clear.
There is boldness in beginning. When I decided to start writing more often I got business cards, then to keep me going I built a writing room in my apartment. As I get published I need to thank those that inspire. I need thank-you cards, for there isn’t just one to thank, there are many. It is nice when you passion pays but I truly believe it also pays to be passionate.
It is Friday now, book club is coming today to talk about the Lemon Tree and then my list of things to do takes shape.
I hope the letters in your day are kind!
Good Stories and Interesting Words
I’ve been wrapped up in writing this new story. Not a travel story and not quite a people story but an interesting story. This story has made me think, made me laugh out loud, made me grumpy and made me grow. It is very, very interesting how this one story has had a life of its own. In fact it makes me think that the story behind the story is almost more interesting than the story itself!
It has a few more stages to go through but it is nice that this story has reached a new stage. Why now that I think about the next phases the story has to go through I do believe that the story behind the story is more interesting than the story itself.
Energy!
Every country, city, town and adventure I have been on has had its own special energy. Some places make you want to dance. Other places inspire you to go on long walks on the beach or spend hours laughing at cafes. I don’t know if I can describe the energy of Kuwait. I’ll have to think on that one a little more.
When traveling you meet people who have different energies. At times people give you energy and at times they take energy. Putting someone in your life, even for a short amount a time, means that on some level you have chosen to give them the gift of your energy. Even when you aren’t with them they cross your mind. That act of letting them be important, if only in your thoughts, still takes energy. You never know who is thinking about you. What they are thinking about you and what energy and light people are sending to you. The flip side of that is you never know who you are taking energy away from.
Like a city that never sleeps energy isn’t static. It shifts, it changes and it grows. I am more careful of the countries I travel to these days. I am also more careful of the energy around me. Who gives to you and who takes away from you? Interesting questions on a day filled with so much fun and energy.
When You First Wake-Up!
When you first wake-up, in the morning, after a nap or in the middle of the night there is a quiet energy around you. A calm and peacefulness that if you carefully press into this moment you are able to write with clarity and truth. In these moments your inner critic is not awake. Writing or any art for that matter is a very self-involved task. Spending hours with your thoughts, your ideas, your words, your paint, your music is an act that by nature shuts other people out and forces you to focus inward.
The process of creating does not have to be isolating. Artist who publish and sell their works share their gifts for money but often giving words or paintings as gifts to friends is another way to involve them in your world. To let them know you care. Friends, family and loved ones who take the time to listen to your story ideas, help you edit are truly precious to an artist. Writer’s groups provide a community of reciprocal support. Their feedback is very valuable and a good writer’s group should be protected and gentle cared for. However, friends, family, your loved ones, are just happy to support you, to give you the gift of their time, those are the people you know care on a different level.
I also find when I first wake-up I am very humble, very hopeful. Like as I rested a quiet calm spread over me like a warm blanket; the ego went to sleep and hasn’t woke-up to remember all the bold, brash and boastful that I did or had done to me. The human mind amazes me. When you first wake-up you remember what is truly important, without your ego getting involved; able to appreciate people for the strength, their gifts and how we are all put on this earth to learn and grow. Remembering how to truly share. If you work hard you can stay that humble and hopeful all day long.
A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself.
What one can be, one must be.
-Abraham Maslow-
Art attracts us only by what it reveals of our most secret self.
Jean-Luc Godard
There Has Been
There has been a lot of music in my life the last couple of weeks. The wonder of Christmas Music. The great iTunes gift from my parents. The mass amounts of downloaded Bon Jovi. Tonight there was no music. I wrote without music. Suddenly the sound of silence was actually a sound. What I mean is after there was so much music, when the music stopped the silence had a sound. A quiet gentle whisper. A sound that will always travel with me. No batteries, no power cord, no lap top required. Just a quiet gentle whisper. What a beautiful sound.
Kuwait City, KUWAIT
Christine Oastler is a freelance travel writer, teacher and artist, currently living in Mahboula, Kuwait. Born and raised in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, Christine obtained her Bachelor of Arts at Trent University and her Bachelor of Education from Queen’s University. Currently traveling around the Middle East she finds herself riding the odd camel and embracing a new culture!