Get Natured: July 2013

, by Allison

Several months ago, I was in a meeting with a group of women. At one point in the middle of a discussion, the woman next to me looked at her phone and whispered that her daughter, who was full-term pregnant with her second child, was in labor. Annoyed, the person leading the meeting reminded her to stay focussed and commented that she was in conference calls when she was in labor with each of her three children.

The last time someone asked you how you were or what you have been up to, what did you say? Did your answer contain the words "crazy busy"? How about your emails and Facebook statuses? Busy there too?

I've seen posts all over the internet lately containing the words, "stop the glorification of busy." The first time I read that sentence it stopped me in my tracks. The truth is that how we are spending our time is how we are spending our lives. I value things that are joyful and magical and connected and warm. Not one of those is a synonym for "busy".

Why do we insist on being or appearing so occupied? Because busy seems important and valuable. Busy implies you're accomplishing things and gaining ground and moving quickly while doing ten things at once.

I am a mono-tasker. In fact, it makes me mad to have to do more than one thing at a time. I want to focus and finish before starting anything new. It is one of the ways that I have learned to care for myself and honor my boundaries. I do still fall into the busy trap, however. I am forever beating myself over the head with the things left undone each day. Many days are very full.

Stop the glorification of busy.

Let's try to support each other in making room for joyful things. Let's do more that make us happy and honor that value in others. Let's choose joy over check marks. Let's find and share our happy.

The next time someone asks you how you are, avoid using the word "busy". Tell them about what you are loving lately. Tell them about something that made you laugh. Give them the good stuff!

I've posted this quote before, but it bears repeating:

“Peace, it does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, no trouble, or no hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.” ~Unknown

xoxo

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My thoughts on the World Domination Summit 2013

When I was a little girl I lived with my family in sunny San Diego county in California. We had a lime grove, a garden, chickens, and even a couple of cows. We grew olives and asparagus. Swiss chard and avocados. My dad sold limes to the local market. My mom had a pair of royal blue clogs with white flowers on top we called her "chicken shoes" that she wore to go out to the coop. We were a little bit homesteader and a little bit suburbia.

I'm on the right, age 3, wearing awesome pants.

I remember visiting my grandma near the beach in Oceanside. She had a large German Shepherd named George. Her duplex smelled like green beans. She gave us orange Tic Tacs while we played the organ that she had draped in lace doilies. She had white towels with big purple irises in her bathroom. The faucet in her bathroom leaked. Just a little bit, but it never stopped. Drip. Drip. Drip. It kept me up at night. Not the dripping, but the thought that her faucet might actually use up ALL OF THE WATER IN THE WORLD. I remember staying awake at night believing that could happen. A tiny drip was going to ruin things for everyone.

I was a dreamer in my own way and, last weekend, I met 3000 people just like me.

Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall

WDS opening party, Oregon Zoo

Despite my control-freaky tendencies, I do have a pretty hearty love affair with spontaneity and adventure. A few months ago, one of my Facebook friends posted that she had an extra ticket to the World Domination Summit (WDS) this year. I immediately replied to let her know that I was interested. I had been thinking about attending the WDS but had, up to that point, put it on a "someday" list in my mind.

I have a habit of getting really deeply tangled in lists. I to-do until I'm grouchy. I need to take breaks (like vacations and road trips) from my routine to untie the knots. My trip to Portland for the WDS did that and more for me. Not only did I attend the WDS, but I also turned 40 years old the day after I returned from Portland (I'll write more on that in another post). This was perfect timing for me to spend some time in introspection and crunching on the big questions of life.

I came back with tons of notes filled with nuggets of awesome from the inspirational people speaking and attending.

Chris Guillebeau

Chase Jarvis

All of the WDS speakers were amazing and inspiring. I took pages and pages of notes! Here, greatly distilled, are some of the things that I took home in my heart. Some are reminders, some are reiterations of things that appear time and again in my own journals and writing, and some are new ideas for me. All are paraphrased:

Darren Rowse inspired me to start dreaming again and to share my dreams. To look for sparks and nurture the small things that give me energy. Also to take action by setting aside time to create and complete things and choosing one small thing and doing my best at it.
Bob Moore reminded me to look for inspiration in unusual places.
Danielle LaPorte struck so many chords with me!

Make everyone the object of your reverence. Show up and radiate.
When we hesitate, we lean into convention.
Motivation = discipline draws out the action, it can be punishing, it is overly fierce about achievement; inspiration = the work pours out of you freely, brings joy, is fierce but flexible.
Self improvement is addictive. What if you're already good enough?
My favorite take-away: Don't look so hard to find purpose. Instead, follow joy and usefulness. Find your own compass and joy. Move towards pleasure vs. away from pain. Only do what inspires you and continue to make choices that make you feel free.

Jia Jiang shared that if you choose security over your dreams, it may be shiny on the outside but it will be raw on the inside. If you shy away from rejection, you will end up getting rejected by yourself.
Gretchen Rubin asked some provocative questions that had us thinking about who we envy, what we lie about, and what we did for fun as children. It is clear to me from this talk, that writing is something I need to do more of!
Donald Miller was deeply honest and great. He wrote one of my favorite books!

I left the WDS inspired, full-hearted, and with a creative project in mind. I'm not ready to share that yet but I will be. I am so glad that I decided to go and that I had the opportunity to meet such a wonderful group of people! xoxo

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, by Allison

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