"All external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure, these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart." ~From his Stanford commencement speech. Steve Jobs, 1955-2011 1 Comment Eve Ensler gives one of my favorite TED talks. ***Trigger warning: descriptions of domestic violence.*** If you are reading this in blog-posts-by-email, click here for video.  I spend a lot of my time in Leonie-land, and in Leonie-land there’s lots of references to wild donkeys (unicorns, too, but not in this case!) I’ve raised a few eyebrows on Facebook complaining about errant or unruly donkeys.
What is this about? Leonie’s secret tip for accomplishing a lot is wildly pursuing a task when inspiration first hits -- this is riding ze wild donkey. As a Human Idea Factory who also has a PhD in Procrastination, I took to this idea despite my natural resistance. And I’ve been pondering the taming of donkeys and the concept of finding the *right-sized* donkey ever since. Yesterday I told a friend that our bodies are meant to be lived in and enjoyed (she was talking about dancing, wouldn’t you know). I often think one of our biggest problems with being present to our lives in each moment is our disassociation from our bodies. We tend to live in our heads much of the time. But.. here's a new thought: do we embrace, appreciate and embody our minds, and how they work? Despite being in our heads all the time, I don’t think we do. And we should! Our beautiful minds, different as they are, should be lived in, exercised, marveled at, and enjoyed! Just like our bodies! I recently watch this amazing TED talk with Temple Grandin, (which made me to run out and rent Temple Grandin the movie. I planned on seeing it but had never quite gotten to it). I was so inspired that I knew I wanted to write a little something about embracing how our *own* minds work. Before I go on, would you spare 20 minutes to listen to Temple? What kind of thinker are you? Do you fit into one of her models or, like me, feel there might be another model or overlapping ones? Do you know how to structure your life to make your personal brand of thinking work for you rather than against you?
Or: Yep, Sara Really IS Crazy! How did this overblown Soul Spackle Summer of Self-Love and Re-Launch Giveawaything come about anyway? Well, see, I wanted to get my new site finished, but I needed some serious incentives. Some seriously FUN incentives. And a deadline. So here's how I went about this madness, rocking my goal into fun-land, and how you can, too!
You rock, bold one! This post, giveaway, Summer of Self-Love? Brought to you by the Goddess Circle, it is Love Bunny and Wild Donkey Powered. I don’t usually talk politics on my blog. And what I have to say today, while having its roots in my concern for human rights and the upcoming election Stateside, is really much larger than that. It’s about democracy, which provides you with personal power, and it’s about using that personal power to stand your ground. There is one issue I want to speak to, as it is the thing that made me sit up and take notice this October. On October 20th, millions of Americans, myself included, participated in Spirit Day. Meant to bring awareness to the recent suicides of gay teens who had been bullied, the message was for anyone who found themselves persecuted that there is a veritable army that will stand up to that tide of hatred. Yes, we wore purple, both in real life and online. And that’s easy — that by itself doesn’t change hearts and minds. But bigger than that, we joined a call, clear and loud, to end bullying. It’s not just about being gay, lesbian, bisexual, Muslim, or even purple. It’s about being human. I looked around that day, witnessed the sea of purple, and my faith in my fellow Americans was restored.
The “It Gets Better” videos gathered in response to the suicides were meant to bring comfort to teens going through similar pain. So much love was poured into them. And yet with each one I watched, the message that was ringing in my head was not one the average 13 year old poised on the edge of taking her own life was going to be receptive to. It’s one much better suited to someone in pain, yes, but with enough strength left to rally. I know my message cannot bring those kids back from the brink. But maybe, just maybe, it can keep kids from approaching the brink to begin with. See, the voice inside my head was screaming You have to STAY! You can’t change the world for all those who suffer this after you, unless you stay to change things! We need you!  Mosaic created from my digital vision board folder, sources varied, copyrights not owned by me! Notable: Top right is "Daniel" single cover by Bat for Lashes, bottom left is artist Laura Hollick. What do you wish to pay attention to?
This is the question for the week over at Jamie Ridler's blog for Wishcasting Wednesday. **** Today's question at Wishcasting conjured up a visceral image of pure magic for me. Perhaps it is the coming of spring, or the Year of Self-Love slowly seeping into my previously sleeping Goddess girl-cells, but the dust that has been hiding my purpose seems to be coming off, bit by bit. Reminders of who I was at my fullest lead me back home inside my heart. I caught a glimpse today of the girl I was at 17, when I first read Marianne Williamson's A Woman's Worth, a book about reclaiming ourselves as the Queens and Princesses we really are. The words Marianne wrote sparkled on the page and danced in my imagination as I began my focus on the Divine Feminine. I began writing works meant to inspire women and girls to reclaim their holy and true Nature. It is amazingly simple to focus your entire soul to lofty purpose at 17 -- it is one of the wonders of that age, where we can access wisdom before we've become convinced the world doesn't deserve it. It flows freely from us in all that we do. As these stories typically go, life got in my way, separating me from who I knew myself to be, not a complete severing, but pieces were lost. Even my more idealistic and philanthropic ambitions of just a few years ago -- also geared toward women and children of the world -- fell victim to a period of my life where I had overextended myself in the role of caretaker and my body began to tell me in no uncertain terms that the world and the hardships of the world's female population do not belong solely on my shoulders. I had to turn inward and care about the first Goddess that matters: me. This is where I am in my journey. |   Hello..My name is Sara, 
 
  
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