Inspiration

Fight for it. Bring it.

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Over the weekend I was penciling in my calendar a friend’s art show coming up in June. I decided to check out the website of the gallery where her show will be held and found this show. What a clever idea, be sure to click the show link for a full image. I have included a bit of the text here as it is hard to read on the left side of the photo:

WHAT DO YOU FIGHT FOR? Whether it’s in a cage, for the rights of others, or just for her attention, we are all fighting for something

I fight for _______

It made me think about and ponder what I fight for. What does it mean to fight for something? Do the people or things you fight for have levels or degrees to how much effort you give? Do some people receive the tall or grande effort while others might get the venti or Big Gulp? If there are ranges, then are you really fighting for those that only receive the grande effort? This is the list that came to me: 

I fight for: my husband, my family and friends, women’s rights, literacy, children to eat healthy and be active on a daily basis, integrity, an hour a day to run (= sanity), fairness, equality…the list goes on.

However, I am not sure my list should go on. If I were being honest with myself, my husband would receive the infinite beverage size of my energy. Mess with my husband and you have to deal with me. Yes, he can completely take care of himself, and does not need me to get involved, but that does not mean that my competitive, fighting self will not lose all control against someone who tries to mess with my better half. So does that mean I do not think that childhood obesity is not worth fighting for? No. It is about the effort I give out. I would go to combat to fight for my husband, and while I am passionate about childhood obesity, it is not the same level of fight that I would have for Chris.

Have you thought about which things in your life you want to fight for? When the opportunity presents itself, do you really fight for them?

Don’t be a lady

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There are many days where I am not a lady. I often like to think of myself as one who can hang with the guys. I can. Yet, I am all woman. One of my favorite quotes is: “Well behaved women rarely make history.” I like to think that I am one of those women who is not well-behaved. How do I do that? Well I do not like the status quo. I say what is on my mind. I like to challenge others to look at things differently. Sometimes I behave, and sometimes I do not.

Recently I found this quote from a commencement address given by Nora Ephron, where she was speaking to her alma mater, Wellesley, in 1996:

“Whatever you choose, however many roads you travel, I hope that you choose not to be a lady. I hope you will find some way to break the rules and make a little trouble out there. And I also hope that you will choose to make some of that trouble on behalf of women.”

Go Nora. I agree. If you have been reading my blog for a while, you will know that I am a feminist, a strong proponent and supporter of women’s issues. While some may think that women have it all, that we are equal to men, but in case you live in that bubble, we are not. Women still need to work together to speak up against pay inequality, gender bias, abuse against women, the list goes on. As Nora said in 1996, we need to break the rules, make a little trouble, and do it for women.

So I ask you, what are you doing to break the rules? Do you behave, or do you take a stand against gender issues? Do you raise your voice, speak out, and get others out of their bubble? Stop behaving and make history!

#Stopbeingalady

Want to Read: “Present Shock: When Everything Happens Now”

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Usually I write about books I have read, but today I want to share about a book I want to read. I just read this NPR book review for: “Present Shock: When Everything Happens Now” by Douglas Rushkoff. His book is about how we are slaves to technology, i.e. slaves to our computers, phones, text messages, etc. I was intrigued by this quote in the book review:

“In my life, it’s sort of the experience of being on Facebook and seeing everyone from my past suddenly back in my present. And the inability to distinguish between who may have been friends of mine in second grade, and people who I’ve met just yesterday, and people who are actually significant relationships. That collapse of my whole life into one moment, where every ping, every vibration of my phone might just pull me out of whatever it is I’m doing, into something else that seems somehow more pressing on the moment.”

How true that is. Our online life tends to instantly suck us into this vortex of what others are doing. Are they successful? More than we are? Less? Are they happy? The constant interest and care of our “friends” status updates has made us a distracted and less focused society. It also seems to be that every email, text, voicemail, Facebook, and Tweet we receive, we are very quick to check and respond to in case we might miss out on something. Do we usually really need to react and respond so quickly? Not usually.

Later in the article Rushkoff says:

“But I think what happens is as we get more and more obsessed with those pings, we lose touch with sort of the continuity of life. We forget what it means to really just be there, looking in someone else’s eyes rather than down at our phone while we’re at a meal. And I guess a lot of what I’m trying to do with this book is to give people permission to take back their time.”

Chris and I usually (depending on what might be happening in life or work), remind each other to put our phones away when we go out to dinner. We are paying to have a meal out, so we should be sure to give each other our full attention. Do we do that at home? Sometimes. I never thought of it in the words: “Take back their time.” It makes me ponder in my thought other times during the day. Do you look at your phone when you are in a meeting? When you are talking with someone one-on-one? While walking to a meeting in a different building? Do you look at your phone when you are bored? Waiting in your car at an intersection? What if we were to take those moments to be quiet? To listen, or to meditate? Would we be happier? Or does checking our phone each time we hear it ding, whistle, or beep make us feel at peace?

Be sure to read the above article to learn more about what Rushkoff calls: digiphrenia

I’ll have what they are having

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I cannot help it. Every once in a while I have to go back and watch this video. It ALWAYS makes my day.

I have wondered what it would be like to be a twin. This video is one I know was floating around the Internet for a long time. I saved it. You know for those days when you are slow and you need something to keep you going? Yesterday was one of those days. I was pooped. No energy whatsoever. Watching these precious little ones have their conversation made me grin from ear to ear. What are they saying to each other? I know you have probably already seen it, but hey it is Friday, the end of a month, and sometimes you just need to put a smile on your face before you start the weekend.

Enjoy. Adda da da. Adda dada. Yeah what the ones in diapers said. I will have what they are having! Happy Friday!

Bless You.

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Not in the way you might think. You did not just sneeze. You gave entirely of yourself. You gave the gifts that you have to bestow on the world. You might be a rock star listener, problem solver, or delegator. Maybe you have a way of speaking your mind, with a poised bluntness. Whatever your gift, we each have our own unique way to share our impact with the world.

It is an idea that I have been thinking about for the past few weeks and months. That we are all put into situations where we can deliver our best selves with our unique gifts. There are times when we have a decision we have to make. We mull over our options, weigh the pros and cons, and in the end, if we ultimately focus on how we can best bless in each situation we are telling the universe that we are open and willing to use our strengths in ways we might not be able to imagine.

Yes, some might call that how we can best bless. It is not meant to sound religious, but as I ponder the word “bless” I struggle to find a better word. Call it what you like, but in the end if we are leading and living through our strengths, we enrich our life and those that we interact with on a daily basis. The blessing in the end is reciprocal.

You might be in a situation where you feel like the work you are doing stretches you but there are parts of your job that you would rather not have to deal with on a daily basis. If you change your thought and change the direction of your moments to ones that think in line with where you can best give of yourself, you reap gifts you cannot even imagine. You might end up connecting with a colleague and ending up with a life long friend. You might find your best work leads you to a different job, or that you are actually very happy right where you have been working, you just did not see it before.

Utilizing our gifts and strengths, and being open to share these gifts in ways where we can add value, and make our surroundings a better place is how we bless the world around us. It brings out the best in others and most importantly ourselves. Bring it. Bless in all you do.