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I went to my first fashion show this week. 3.1 Phillip Lim. It was awesome.
Apparently I was very, very excited. Because all my pictures came out blurry.
Which reminds me of other times when I tried to chronicle something that made my heart sing with a visual diary…and it all went wrong.
Like this amazingly delicious bag of freshly popped popcorn…
…and that beautiful blizzard….
…and those pumpkin pancakes with pumpkin seed streusel and warm maple butter. It’s pancake month. And not only did I not remember to take the photo before we began eating them with abandon, I couldn’t figure out how to properly light the pancakes in the romantically lit restaurant. At 6pm. While I was celebrating someone else’s engagement.
We live in an age when everyone wants to share their special moments with the digital stratosphere, whether on Facebook, Twitter…or in a blog. With all of the distractions that this connectivity brings, it’s easy to forget to be present. It’s all well and good to photograph something cool in order to share with everyone we know, but not if we aren’t actually experiencing the moment.
All of the moments from the photographs above have given me a special memory that I hold dear, and the imperfection of the pictures just remind me that it’s okay to put the camera down every now and then, put my feet up and just be in the moment.
After all, the angels are still watching over us, whether or not the Christmas angel shows up blurry.
Savor the special moments, even the imperfect ones.
A few months ago, my now former boss took me to lunch to have one of those conversations about my future and where I saw myself going. It was pleasant enough. At the end of the conversation as we walked back to the office, she stopped and said to me, so unexpectedly astute and intuitive, “Woman to woman, you have to find your heart.”
Fast forward to a few weeks ago when I was having lunch with another former boss and we were talking about something going on with me and he said, “Yes, but is your heart in it?”
It was one of those seemingly innocent questions that took me aback.
I’m a big believer in signs. When multiple people say the same thing, there’s usually a lesson. So I pay attention.
Living by your heart will always guide you to what’s right, good and the deepest essence of your truth. Listening to what the core of who you are is saying is the door to loving yourself more fully. No one knows you better than you do; only your heart knows what you truly need.
Whenever I follow my heart, I end up in places – sometimes completely unexpected ones – that change me for the better.
So this Valentine’s Day, I’m intending to pay attention to where my heart wants to go. And for you, I wish that Cupid will not only shoot the arrows of love to that special someone, but that he also will direct you to cherish the directives of your inner beloved.
XOXO, with goodness and grace, Happy Valentine’s Day!
Today was the first day I got out of bed in four days.
It started out harmlessly enough, with a slight tickle in my throat. Then, a little case of the sniffles appeared, but no big deal. I kept doing what I needed to do, going to work, keeping appointments, doing the grocery shopping and the laundry and the cooking and the chores…you get the idea.
Sometimes life is full of things that need to be done and commitments that need to kept. I’m sure sometimes you feel the same way.
Except during these times I forget to put myself on the to-do list. I forget to remember that, like my computer that needs to be shut down every night, I also need a break. Even the Energizer bunny needs to change his batteries occasionally.
Sometimes the Universe intervenes and tells you that it’s time to rest.
Like the time a few years ago when I tripped on the pavement on three separate days, each time a little more painful than the one before, until I fell so hard that my knee bled for hours and I had to take to my bed for an entire weekend because I could hardly bend my leg.
Sometimes you are forced to slow down. My doctor told me gently but firmly – after the sniffles turned into the mutant virus that kept rearing its three-pronged head – that I needed to go home and plant myself in bed for a few days.
So, this time, I heeded her wisdom.
And this nugget that randomly came my way…even if it came from a piece of chocolate candy.
Sometimes the good and gracious thing to do is to take a moment for yourself.
Goodness, Grace and Grub 