You know when you see a kid in the playground acting like a complete jackass to all the other children and you’re all ‘where is your mother?!?’ That’s how I felt with this guy working in the hardware store. I can’t even remember what I was shopping for, the experience with the clerk was so distracting from my task at hand. He was on the phone and didn’t look up when I came in. His conversation was clearly personal and not at all urgent and he rattled along, casually cussing, before finally saying that he should probably go as though
Give a Shit
Add a Little Enlightenment to Your Workout
I am not free until we’re all free. I was first introduced to term Bodhisattva when I read The Places That Scare You by Pema Chodron for the first time when I was about 21. A Bodhisattva is on a path to liberation but that liberation does not make them immune to the mess of life and death, despair and defilement, and all the other splendors of the human experience. Their path is one for the sake of all beings. Their enlightenment comes as all beings attain enlightenment. They stick around for us. The Bodhisattva comes back again and again
“I Want You to Like Me.” Why it matters what other people think
I don’t give a damn what other people think about me. Just kidding. I totally care. But liberating oneself from the fear of judgment from others seems to be a hearty goal for many. How many times have you heard that you shouldn’t care what other people think? How many times, when struggling to move forward with something, when creating something, when wanting to share yourself or your art with others, have you thought to yourself… Why do I care what people think so much?! I shouldn’t care what others think. Not true. Of course you care what other people
Does My Uterus Make me Look Fat?
I have a short article up at Beams and Struts. It’s actually not really an article. It’s an angry rant— about beauty. Check it here.
We get it…You’re a FRAUD…now what?
When I was 19, I started a hair salon with a good friend and heaps of community support. We were total frauds. We didn’t know a thing about business (really? We have to collect sales tax? We shouldn’t just randomly close when we want to? We should mark up our retail products so that we make money off them? Promising topless hair cuts to cute boys at the bar is wholly inappropriate? Even if we’re kidding?) We didn’t have hairdressing licences yet, both having lost our apprenticeships when the salon we were at went bankrupt. We had ambitions. We had heart. We were
What and how do you lead? Your passion + your flavour = your mission
We’re all leading something in some way. Maybe it’s a company, a project or a team. Could be a family, a clique or culture. A new Renaissance. A Revolution. Evolution. Maybe your heart’s leading your way or your mind’s leading your work or your ideals are leading your art. Maybe you quietly sneak up on your mission, plodding away, one foot in front of the other. Maybe you explode into it, the shrapnel of your passion slicing through doubt and mediocrity. Maybe you pace or sprint or skip or lurk. Maybe you lead with logic or intuition, with an army
Making a Living vs. Making a Killing
Making a Living. Making a Killing. Let’s let them settle into our skin and feel what’s there when wearing them. When someone makes a living, it’s modest, it’s what helps them live, pay the bills, feed the kids. When someone makes a killing, it’s huge…they’re cleaning up…it’s exciting, dumbfounding…wow, that’s a lot of money! They KILLED it! But fiscally, in terms of pure numbers, there may not actually be such a discrepancy. I see these terms being more about the act behind the result, a living not necessarily being less nor a killing being more. I am interested in the spirit of
Clumsiness + Heart = Skill
I was freaked out and annoyed. She was overwhelmed and exasperated.I was entitled. She was bitchy. I was shocked. She was ashamed. I was gathering my courage. She apologized. And from there we fumbled, stumbled, listened, shared and rocked that conversations like a couple of adults who give a shit. At the first stage of caring, it’s all about me. Selfish care. My wants, my needs, my view. Me me me. But before we point and scream ‘Narcissist!’…this stage of caring is crucial. It sets the foundation for the next stage of caring. Us. Our Care. My family, my community, my country. My peeps, yo. What’s important to us matters, let’s
Give a Shit…the New Cool.
Gone are the days when cigarettes and direction-less rebellion make you hot news. If you’re congratulating yourself on your $800 handbag and turning your nose up at your neighbour, you’re stuck in the 90′s. cynicism so passée. If you’re just looking out for yourself, you’re about as uncool as those kids you sat next to in home-room who yelled out the answers with enthusiasm. Things are gettin’ real here on this planet of ours. Waking up is happening all over the place. Wanna role with the cool crowd? Get out there. Lead something. Give a shit.
Self-Care for Martyrs
Calling all martyrs, people-pleasers and action addicts… Life’s busy right? Hectic…overwhelming? Does your energy, your effort and your time go into meeting demands and caring for others? Maybe you’re a parent or in the business of being of service. Maybe you’ve got heaps of friends or a large family. Hell, let’s be honest, even if none of those are true, you’re likely stretched…lots to get done or be responsible for and not a ton of time to rest, nourish and care deeply for your wellbeing. We’re just not in a culture that rewards that. A few months ago, I took
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