BeautyDialogues

My Brilliant God-daughter

My brilliant god-daughter Matilda made this video of herself and her mates on a cell phone!

Reaching for the New

One of the most prevalent concerns I come across with new blogging clients, especially those who are starting to blog as part of a business strategy, is anxiety about their writing "voice".

Many feel a strong taboo - for whatever reason - against revealing too much of themselves, they aren't sure about sharing their most closely held dreams and hopes for themselves, their work, and the world. Instead, they imagine they need a standard "professional" tone to give them a voice they can feel comfortable with and others will recognize. In other words, at that moment of truth they look to the conventional rather than braving the step out of the box to find their own voice. Unfortunately, nothing could be more misguided.

Now I'm not saying there aren't occasions in which that standard professional persona might be exactly what is called for, but one of the great opportunities opened up by this era of social media and blogging is transparency; we get to see each other as we are - I begin to learn what it's really like to be you, and glimpse what you see and what you dream of. Not to mention the slightly unintuitive marketing truth that the more specific and unique your "brand", the easier YOUR people can find you.

My whole blogging experience is an example of going out on that particular limb. When I first started writing about my ideas for a more "human", nature-connected and sensory-based online experience, I felt pretty out there. I wasn't sure anyone would understand or take me seriously, and in the beginning I wasn't even sure what I meant by it myself, but it was a road I just had to follow. Now I have at least two paid projects going that are expanding my ability to develop exactly that niche, clients who wouldn't have known about my particular passion if I hadn't "put it out there".

So I keep telling my fledgling bloggers to brave their dreams and dare to be exactly who they are. If enough of us do so it just might change not only our own work, but what it means to be a professional.

True Beauty

"Nothing is more important than that you see and love the beauty that is right in front of you, or else you will have no defense against the ugliness that will hem you in and come at you in so many ways."
~ Neal Stephenson, Anathem

This randomly chosen signature on an early email seemed particularly apt this morning in light of a gift sent by my friend (and co-founder of the Beauty Dialogues) Ashley Cooper.

See if you agree - check out this video (one in a series of SoulBiographies) by filmmaker Nic Askew. It's about the beauty of taking a "second glance" at that beauty right in front of you:

Survival School

Six important years of my life - between the ages of 15 and 21 - were spent in a back-to-the land commune in rural north eastern Vermont. It was one of the seminal experiences of my life, and I’ve always felt fortunate to have had the opportunity at such an early age - to bond so deeply with nature, learn key survival skills, and know without a doubt who my friends are and what really matters in this world.

"Moonlight in Vermont" - photo by Professor Bop

I know that Vermont, although resolutely rural, is not wilderness, and that even though we built our own shelter, grew our own food, cut the wood that provided heat for both and did so in one of the most extreme climates in the US, it was not the same as a wilderness survival experience.

Still, when I read an article by Laura Read about Wilderness Survival Schools in the SF Chronicle Magazine this weekend, I saw some similarities in what happens to the human psyche when you live in nature, giving me an even deeper appreciation of all those years immersed in the beauty of Vermont's green hills.

Here are a few quotes from Read's article:

"Most good schools teach that wilderness survival is not only about making a fire, capturing food and building a shelter, though those skills are important. It also requires an intimacy with natural systems. Students learn how things work in the environment around them, and how they themselves fit into that environment."
~ Laura Read

“It’s not what’s in your pack that makes the difference in survival, it’s what’s in your heart.”
~ Lawrence Gonzales, National Geographic Adventure columnist

“Survival is not so much about technique; it’s about the opening of your mind to possibilities.”
~ Lawrence Gonzales

“We want people to realize that they are part of nature, and nature is their home – that they can trust nature, but that they can also trust each other.”
~ John Chilkotowsky, Program Director, Wilderness Awareness School

“There’s something elemental in nature that invites you to be who you truly are.”
~ John Chilkotowsky

"Things Look Brighter in Vermont" - photo by Paul+Photos=Moody

Beautiful People

From Paule Marx, this link to the French photographer Hans Silvester 's view of what must be some of the most beautiful people in the world.

A Path with Heart

A friend from Australia sent me the link for a delightful two and a half minute video about a man who shares my love of morning Beauty Walks, although he doesn't call them that. He's also on the front lines of the Slow Movement, and I'm sure he has no idea what that is, either.

But have a look - he's truly a kindred spirit and gentle soul.

Harvesting Lightning

This image came at the end of one of those "state of the world" PowerPoint slide-shows that are being emailed around. The material was fairly predictable until this last slide, which I found myself totally enchanted by - an image of ma and pa - two regular folks - harvesting lightning.

I don't know where it came from, so I don't know how to credit it, but there's something so cheerful and matter of fact about this image of harvesting lightning, light-filled bolts of inspiration that are emerging from the cloud-saturated skies of these dark days. Regular people watching for the ideas and dreams that are appearing now, and harvesting them like canned peaches for the winter when they will be most sorely needed; a time that is coming fast upon us now.

Meet you in the root cellar!

Heart of Leadership

This month's Thought Leader Gathering was explicitly about the Art of Leadership. I say explicitly because each of the TLGs supports and promotes leadership in some way, but in this session it was the focal topic.

Regular Thought Leader Gathering conveners FireHawk Hulin and Pele Chadima were the Conversation Starters and they hosted a session from the 6 month Leadership Journey they've designed with alternating sessions between their home in the Santa Cruz mountains and the Thought Leader Gatherings.

Drawing on the timeless wisdom of Medicine Wheels, FireHawk and Pele introduced a powerful exploration of four different aspects of a human being; the Adventurer, the Healer, the Warrior and the Creator.

I was pleased to have been invited to create the "beauty" of this month's altar along with Grace Gamboa and Janet Aguilar, and blessed to have two special friends join me at this event - Lisa Berg, who was visiting from Santa Fe, and my home-girl Mariah Howard, who brought her talents as a visual listener.

The Good News Sinks In

 

"If you're walking down the right path and you're willing to keep walking, eventually you'll make progress." ~ Barack Obama

And what a path it's been..

As the election returns were coming in the other night all kinds of emotions were rising up in me. I found myself restless and unable to concentrate; it was almost unbearable to hold the uncertainty with any equanimity. I was transported back to the previous election where the fire of hope had also been strong in me, only to be worn down to a flicker by all the conflict and eventually doused altogether when the "official" decision came in. I almost couldn't stand to hope again.

The morning after the election I was talking with a close friend and sharing these thoughts, the two of us still almost dazed with the shock and delight of Obama's victory, OUR victory. I realized that it's not just me - my entire generation has experienced this frustration of hope that "good" in the way we understand it will be manifested in the world. I was a child when J.F. Kennedy was assassinated, and as an adult every one of the good men I voted for - George McGovern, Jesse Jackson, Al Gore - were defeated in the presidential elections.

So the good news is slow to sink in... but now, several days later, it's beginning to. And with it a renewed sense of civic purpose and hope and responsibility. Not the overwhelming futility of responsibility without authority that I've been feeling for so long, but a new authority that comes with the "Si Se Puede", the "Yes We Can" that brought this new administration into power.

Now let's see what we can do together.

The Rhythm of Change

This is my other favorite video from the 2008 election campaign. Written by poet Aaron Jafferis and performed by him and his friends (here are the full lyrics) with music by KronZilla, it has the strong stamp of one of the clearest blessings emerging from this campaign - the young men and women of this generation stepping up to make their voices heard.