I took a giant, running leap out of my comfort zone yesterday: I spontaneously planned an all-by-myself trip to California. Holy crap. Blooming in the dead of winter, I am. This is a big freaking deal for several reasons:

1) I’m a planner.

Before any potential trip, I make lists. I do research. I dream before doing. Not this time.

2) I am tethered to my children.

Since leaving the corporate world, I have rarely been away from my boys. I hated traveling for work and missing precious time at home, so I’ve probably overcompensated these past several years. And now I’m desperately craving some me time.

3) I have never – that’s right, never – traveled on my own for fun.

Vacations have always included friends or family by my side. This time, it’ll just be me and my loudly thumping heart. It both scares me and emboldens me. I know I need this.

California’s been calling my name for a few months. I don’t know why. I never know why I feel drawn towards something or somewhere; I just trust  those gravitational pulls. So, I told myself that if a California class or project revealed itself and made my heart skip a beat, I’d strap on my wings and go. None I found felt quite right. Until yesterday – when I saw a tweet from Kelly Rae Roberts about two May sessions announced at Teahouse Studio, an art space in Berkeley I’ve had my eye on, created by these three awesome blossoms.

I could feel my pulse quickening. I started looking at maps and air fares and plotting out a trip that could include meetings in L.A. for projects in the works and then two days of merry-making at Teahouse – with Andrea Scher, Kelly Rae and a small circle of creative spirits. The perfect circle, I’m sure. Within hours of seeing that tweet, I threw caution to the wind and hit “purchase.” And a rush of holy-hell-i’ve-lost-my-mind-and-i’m-so-excited came over me.  I love the idea of having a few hours each day of gentle, rejuvenating connection and creation vs. running from class to class at a conference or bunking with dozens of strangers at a retreat. Those can be delightful too, but this feels perfect right now.

My heart races upon the thought of spending days on my own along the California coast, open to whatever comes my way. It beats with fear over the unknown. It beats with courage, pushing me to go anyway. It beats with glee, for following my bliss. It beats with great big love – for myself, for my journey, for recognizing what I need. California, here I come.

]]> http://blog.livlane.com/2012/02/california-dreaming/feed/ 18 http://blog.livlane.com/2012/02/pinned-with-love-4-ways-to-play-fair-on-pinterest/ http://blog.livlane.com/2012/02/pinned-with-love-4-ways-to-play-fair-on-pinterest/#comments Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:15:47 +0000 liv http://blog.livlane.com/?p=3717

a popular pin, via vol25

Let me first say that I love the premise of Pinterest. The way it allows us to so easily share beautiful images with each other – art, quotes, ideas, DIY projects – is pure genius. But as the site grows like crazy, I find people are pinning recklessly, without any consideration for the person who made or photographed the original image they love. I’d hate to see this site, which was developed to celebrate and share creativity, actually become more hurtful than helpful for the creative community.

The image above has been pinned many times, rarely with proper credit. I saw it yesterday in a friend’s Pinterest feed and loved it. But before I re-pinned it, I wanted to make sure it linked to the artist behind it. No such luck. It took me through several blogs – none of which credited the artist – which finally led me to an error page on an abandoned blog. Not cool. It took me a while searching the web to finally discover Jessica from vol25 – an Etsy artist I already loved – had created it. Like so many artists, me included, she’s not sure how to handle situations like this. Do we complain and risk sounding like whiners? Do we report it to Pinterest as a terms violation? Or do we play nice and bite our tongues – again and again?

Pinterest can’t possibly monitor the legality of every pin and re-pin, so it’s up to each artist or creative organization to decide how to handle these situations. But it’s also up to those of us within the Pinterest community to treat the images we pin with love and show some respect to the artists and photographers that created them. Agree? Here are four ways to pin with love:

Be Original

See an image on a blog or site you want to pin? Make sure it credits and links to its original creator. If it doesn’t, do a little research to find out where it came from {search Google images using a description of the picture or the quote within in} and then link from the real source. I know this sounds like a pain, but you’re not only helping the artist – you’re helping yourself. Upon joining Pinterest, you agreed to follow copyright rules, so make sure your pins give credit where credit is due.

Follow That Link!

Do the same thing with any image you love that’s already on Pinterest. Your Pinterest home page is full of pins from the people you follow. If you see one you want to share with your followers, click on the image…and then keep clicking until you arrive at its source page {the place from where it was originally pinned}. If you find it easily, great – go ahead and re-pin. If not, don’t continue to share that pin. You might even want to inform the person who pinned it that it’s not properly credited {I would totally want to know if you find anything like that on my Pinterest page; I know I wasn’t as diligent about this early on}.

Pin the Permalink

If you’re pinning an image from a blog, make sure it links to the post it was part of – not just to the blog’s home page. Let’s say you want to pin this sunrise image. If you’re reading this post on the main/home page of my blog and pin it, the link will take people right back to the home page. That’s a problem weeks or months down the road, because people looking for the source of this image won’t find it on my home page. It will be filled with other blog posts by then. SO – click on the headline of this post to be taken to a page where just this post appears. Now, when you pin the image, it will capture the permalink – the unique URL for that blog post, where the sunrise image resides.

Show and Tell

If you share images elsewhere {via your own blog, a company web site or even on Facebook}, you have the power to give artists and other content creators the credit they deserve. Whenever you share someone else’s image in a blog post, be sure to link with love: include a caption and link the image to the web page where you found it, ensuring that page also gives proper credit to the artist or photographer. I’m especially appalled by so many blogs on Tumblr where it seems nearly impossible to find the source of photos. What is going on over there?? Meanwhile, if you’re going to share an image on Facebook, find out who created it and include their name in your comment section {better yet, a link to his or her site or Facebook page}.

It’s only fair. If you love an image, pin it with love.

Last night, we watched the documentary Oceans as a family. Oh. My. Glory. Have you seen it? I watched with my jaw flung open the entire time. We all did. It is a piece of art.

I’m a Midwestern girl, but I am so in love with the sea. It is part of so many of my favorite life memories. As a girl, holding hands with my dad as we jumped waves in the Florida surf. As a newlywed, holding my breath in awe on a whale watching adventure. As a mama, building sandcastles and burying tiny toes in the sand and having picnics on beach towels. Little moments that felt like pure magic.

And of course I’ve always been aware of the magic that lies beneath the surface. I’ve seen images, watched shows, read stories. But I’ve never before seen a film that captured the art that exists under the sea the way Oceans does. The deep grooves on a humpback whale’s underbelly look like nature’s original wainscoting. Giant, yellow sea nettles moving through dark waters resemble something from a sci-fi alien movie.  And the hot pink Spanish Dancer fish? A showstopper. All works of art.

In fact, the movie reminded me that while I’m making art in my dudio, millions of beautiful beings beneath the crashing waves are making their art. While I’m tucking my kids into bed, there’s a mama walrus somewhere kissing her cub. Whenever I’m singing along to music in my car, there are whales singing together somewhere at that very moment. Turns out I don’t need to be near the sea for the sea to be in sync with me. We are co-existing. We are co-creating. We are made of magic. Every one of us, swimming side by side.

Every Friday, the Little Bliss List provides a chance for us to celebrate the little things that brought us hope and happiness this week. I do believe when we focus on the sweet stuff of life, the sweet stuff multiplies. And by sharing those small gifts in our lives, we help others notice the gifts in theirs. 

I totally want to know what’s on YOUR Little Bliss List! Share your own list in the comments section or share your blog post in our link-up so others can visit you! Here’s my Little Bliss List for the past week…

1) Today’s the last day of my second edition of the How To Build a Blog You Truly Love ecourse and it has flown by so quickly! I’m excited to have some breathing room after the past six weeks, but will miss all the phenomenal participants. What a joy it’s been to watch them bloom!

2) Ryder told me the favorite word he’s learned in third grade is “personification.” That totally tickled the wordsmith in me! We talked about it and came up with all kinds of examples of personification. So fun!

3) I found a mix CD in my car from 2009 and I love it!  Been jamming all week!

4) Brad surprised me with a bouquet of roses on Valentine’s Day and I just love watching each one unfold.

5) In case you didn’t notice, I am head over heels for berries this week: raspberries, blackberries , and strawberries. Seriously, I’ve probably eaten more berries this week than I had in the previous 3 months! They are delicious, people.

6) I got back into my dudio; hadn’t painted in a while and it felt so good! I also ran over to one of my happy places, Dick Blick. Man, I love getting new art supplies!

Okay, your turn, lovelies!

{Wanna share some badge bling on your blog? Click here to get yours!  You can link up your blog here through Sunday at 11:59pm central}

Over the years, my career in communications – from radio to public relations and back to radio – afforded me so many opportunities to meet some well-known, seriously talented, super-smart people. Sadly, I took many of those experiences for granted and most are now a blur. But a handful really stuck with me, providing little life lessons I’ll always cherish. Wanna hear about a few?

Celeb: Kenny Loggins

Life Lesson: I am talented and capable.

How: I was barely 19 when I interviewed Kenny Loggins and I was so green. It was just the two of us with a tape recorder in a private room; he dumped out an entire cup full of vitamins and supplements on the table and swallowed them throughout our half hour conversation. Pretty distracting, but I carried on. But after we wrapped up, he told his manager – in front of me – that it was the best interview he’d ever done. I left there feeling so validated, realizing I had power as a journalist to make or break an interview. That was big for me.

Celeb: Judy Blume

Life Lesson: Always strive to be a kid at heart.

How: A decade ago, I spent three days in Miami with Judy Blume as part of a PR campaign I was spearheading. She was kind, but set in her ways and wanted things just-so. For instance, she threatened to move hotels if the luxury one I had booked couldn’t find her a beach-side room with a window that opened. She was married to her schedule. She ordered meals like Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally. But when we got to her old elementary school, where I had arranged to do media interviews and a read-aloud session with kids, Judy Blume changed. She softened. She giggled. She rushed from room to room, remembering every detail she could about her days there. She was so delighted and engaged that she threw us off schedule. It was a great relief to me, knowing that her seven-year-old self was still within her – full of wonder and joy and spontaneity. I realized then we all need ways to keep that child within alive and well.

Celeb: Maya Angelou

Life Lesson: Everyone has something in common with me.

How: First, let me say talking to Maya Angelou is like talking to a poem. She chooses every word carefully, with such passion and purpose. We spoke in the mid-90′s about fostering empathy and self-esteem in kids. Something she said has stuck with me ever since: “Human beings are more alike than we are un-alike.” That changed the way I look at every new person I meet; rather than be nervous about how our differences might keep us from clicking, I look for what we have in common. And the same goes for people I already know; trusting we are more alike than not increases my compassion and empathy for them {and for myself!}.

Celeb: Mister Rogers

Life Lesson: Always speak from your heart.

How: By the time I interviewed Fred Rogers, I’d discovered how two-faced many personalities can be; they don’t all live up to their oh-so-positive public personas. So, I had my doubts that Mister Rogers was the same guy in real life that he was in his friendly TV neighborhood. I was wrong. He was the kindest, gentlest, most compassionate person I’ve ever interviewed. It struck me how centered and genuine he was and I remember thinking, “this is what it really means to speak from your heart.”

Ever learned something special from someone you admire? Share your star-studded life lessons here – I’d love it!

Getting fresh.

Take your top(s) off.

Care for a threesome? {strawberries + raspberries + blackberries, oh my}

Whipped cream, too!? Take me now.

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!

Have you ever sent an angel to someone? When a loved one is struggling and asks for good vibes, here’s what I do: I envision my friend or relative wrapped in bright light, feeling super-duper-loved, and I say a little prayer, asking that the perfect angel swoop down and invisibly offer comfort or a miraculous solution. It only takes a second, and I truly believe those ethereal beings are waiting in the wings {so to speak!} to be of service, even for small incidents like computer glitches or pre-speech jitters.

I rarely tell my loved ones I’m sending angels to the rescue, but it’s so fun to later hear their descriptions of how things cleared up: help appears “out of the blue,” a problem gets solved “just like that!”, or they report suddenly feeling so at peace with a situation. Every angel expert I’ve talked with says no problem is too small, no requests go unheard. Even if it sounds a little crazy, try it the next time you wish you could help a loved one in distress.

Make yourself familiar with the angels, and behold them frequently in spirit; for, without being seen, they are present with you.  ~St Francis of Sales

Every Friday, the Little Bliss List provides a chance for us to celebrate the little things that brought us hope and happiness this week. I do believe when we focus on the sweet stuff of life, the sweet stuff multiplies. And by sharing those small gifts in our lives, we help others notice the gifts in theirs. 

So glad you’re back for another Little Bliss List! Share your own list in the comments section or share your blog post in our link-up so others can visit you! Here’s my Little Bliss List for the week…

1) A delivery guy brought 10 new bags of salt for our water softener yesterday. I know it sounds silly, but that salt makes such a difference! Good for the skin, hair, dishes, laundry…such a relief!

2) My giggly, snuggly Tru makes my heart do cartwheels, especially when he comes up and says, “I get on you” – meaning he wants to climb in my lap and stay awhile!

3) I am excitedly brainstorming, researching and daydreaming for several projects you’ll hear about later this year. So fulfilling to be so fired up about the work/play I’m doing!

4) I fell in love with a song I heard on the radio: I Won’t Give Up On You by Jason Mraz. You may all know it already, but I’d never heard it. Once I downloaded it, I listened over and over and it never got old.

5) I received some incredibly sweet notes from art customers and blog readers. I got all choked up each time!

Your turn, lovelies! Show me your bliss!

{Wanna share some badge bling on your blog? Click here to get yours!  You can link up your blog here through Sunday at 11:59pm central}

I believe our thoughts create our reality. When I wake up in the morning choosing to be conscious of the good stuff that comes my way, it shifts my mood, my perceptions, the outcome of certain situations, and even the way others react to me. When I wake up expecting a day full of yucky chores and sucky people, that’s what I get – because that’s really all I’ve set myself up to see. When we give voice to those thoughts, it’s like adding fuel to the fire. We sabotage ourselves with little words that pack a punch. So, here are four sentences I’d love to ban from our lexicon…

“Just my luck.”

Also known as “par for the course” or “of course this would happen to me.” It’s a statement to the universe and to ourselves that bad things happen to us over and over, without fail. Like it’s our destiny. What an awful message! Subtle but powerful. I love the idea of flipping this saying on its head and uttering “just my luck!” whenever something good happens. It sets you up to expect the best.

“I’m just a _________.”

Stay-at-home-mom. Receptionist. Blogger. Artist. Cashier. Whatever it is you do day in and day out, it’s valuable. There is no job that’s more important than another. Some may pay more and come with fancy perks, but that doesn’t mean they’re any more important than raising a human being or showing kindness to customers from behind a cash register.  Saying “I’m just a…” belittles your situation and capabilities, sending a message to yourself and others that you’re less-than. Stop it, okay?

“I don’t have a creative bone in my body.”

Technically, this is true. Our creativity isn’t lodged in our bones,  but dances between our heart and mind, combining what we’ve already learned with our intuition to solve problems and create good things. Being creative isn’t synonymous with being artistic; you don’t have to be a writer, painter or performer to be considered creative.

Think of all the little ways you solve problems with your kids or colleagues each day. Yesterday, when Tru was obsessing about building a tunnel for his cars, I grabbed a 12-pack soda box and opened each end. He LOVES it! My proudest parenting and creativity moment of the day.

“I’m not a math/numbers person.”

Ohhhh, this is the hardest one for me to kick to the curb. I grew up with serious math anxiety and have carried it with me all these years. Even as I managed gigantic budgets in my old corporate life, I would remind my finance team to bear with me because “I suck at math.” Nice way to set myself up for success, command respect and honor my own strengths, eh?

This statement is really just a story I keep telling myself. I may not adore math, but I’m fully capable of doing the math I need to do to get along in life. I help Ryder with his math homework. I know what I can afford. I’m fascinated by polls, graphs and percentages. So, if you ever catch me saying “I’m not a numbers person,” please send me this post!

Are any of these phrases ringing a bell for you? Got any others you realize you need to leave in the dust? I’d love to know. By the way, if you need a reason to start looking for the good in your days, come back tomorrow for The Little Bliss List. Link up your blog or add your own gratitude list in the comments. See you then!

 Anybody out there feel like you’re living in a perpetual state of unrest? Inexplicably fidgety and anxious? Maybe you lay awake at night, knowing you’re dog tired but just staring into darkness? I feel, hear, see a growing restlessness among women I know. I hear from readers every week who know deep down there’s gotta be something more; they’re feeling pulled towards creative outlets they never before imagined enjoying, and tossing around ideas that seemingly came out of the blue. I think it’s an epidemic. Or maybe a revolution.

That sense of unease and longing for something more is not in your head. It can’t be cured with a pill or a hot bath or a good workout. Because it’s deep.

“Any sense of restlessness is a sign that your soul is ready to grow. Answering the call of your soul by pursuing a new entrepreneurial activity or a form of creative expression, such as writing, playing music, or sculpting, would be a natural process in aligning yourself with Spirit. If you are restless, this is how you’re being guided or invited by your soul to find deeper fulfillment through more satisfying work and meaningful service.” – Ernest D. Chu in Soul Currency

Whoomp, there it is! I got chills when I read that last week, thinking about times in my life when that restlessness {Restless Soul Syndrome, I’ll call it} gnawed at me until I answered the call and allowed my SELF to grow. Heck, my post this week about finding my tribe is a perfect example; I knew deep down the ladies at Bunco Night and the executives at my leadership meetings were not my peeps; I was uncomfortable and restless during every gathering. I tried to stuff it down, tell myself it was all in my head. But it was in my soul – and you can’t fight that forever.

When I don’t take a hint, the growth I need is thrust upon me. Looking back, I definitely had Restless Soul Syndrome before big and unforeseen changes in my life. Losing jobs. Losing loved ones. Losing my grip. For several months before my radio show got canceled last year, I felt incredibly and inexplicably restless. Planning each show felt harder than before. Hosting each show felt less fulfilling. But I loved my co-hosts and I loved the subject matter, so I just plowed forward – until our boss walked into the studio and announced the show had been canceled. I didn’t see it coming…and yet I totally did.

So, how do you cure Restless Soul Syndrome? With truth. Real, gritty, leap of faith, big picture, look-yourself-in-the-eyes kind of truth that challenges who you are and what you’re about and where you’re going next. The truth will set you free…and allow you to finally get some rest.

~~~~~

Need some help “treating” your Restless Soul Syndrome? Here are some great resources:

Michele Stimpson, LifeShine Coaching – she’s a dynamo coach who can rock your world over the phone.

The Artist’s Way – Julia Cameron’s book and programs have transformed so many lives, helping to unleash creativity and purpose.

Vision Boards – Christine Kane just updated her awesome resource on uncovering and attracting what you really need and want into your life {look up Vision Boards on Google and she’s #1}.

Lighten Up – This section of my web site is jam-packed with good peeps and products for pursuing passion and purpose.