Some Uplifting Engagement

So this week my friend Sola and I sent a little email out. It was the old school style of a chain letter, but basically sans the curse of "you're going to hit by a car" or "something bad is going to happen to someone you love."

Rather, we realized we get a lot o' junk in our inboxes. So, let's invite some uplifting exchanges. Collective and constructive. 

We asked that a select few send out to a select few and they respond back with a favorite text/verse/poem/prayer/meditation that has lifted them when they were experiencing challenging times. And it was awesome. Getting emails from people I didn't know was really exciting, touching, and made me realize I don't really care about a GAP flash sale on underwear. Some authentic communicado is the best.

Here's a few I thought I'd share:

She believed she could. So she did.

“Why do you want to shut out of your life any uneasiness, any misery, any depression, since after all you don't know what work these conditions are doing inside you? Why do you want to persecute yourself with the question of where all this is coming from and where it is going? Since you know, after all, that you are in the midst of transitions and you wished for nothing so much as to change. If there is anything unhealthy in your reactions, just bear in mind that sickness is the means by which an organism frees itself from what is alien; so one must simply help it to be sick, to have its whole sickness and to break out with it, since that is the way it gets better.”  ― Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet

"Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing."  - B. Franklin

"There is a wonderful mythical law of nature that the three things we crave most in life - happiness, freedom and peace of mind - are always attained by giving them to someone else." - Peyton Conway March


"Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would
still plant my apple tree." - Martin Luther

"Rejection is God's protection.
NO stands for a New Opportunity."


"To get something you never had, You have to do something you've never done..."


"Pain is weakness leaving your body"

Living in Purpose

“I believe that a life of integrity is the most fundamental source of personal worth. I do not agree with the popular success literature that says that self-esteem is primarily a matter of mind set, of attitude—that you can psych yourself into peace of mind. Peace of mind comes when your life is in harmony with true principles and values and in no other way."

Welp, This is True

Don't Date a Girl That Travels

She’s the one with the messy unkempt hair colored by the sun. Her skin is now far from fair like it once was. Not even sun kissed. It’s burnt with multiple tan lines, wounds and bites here and there. But for every flaw on her skin, she has an interesting story to tell.

Don’t date a girl who travels. She is hard to please. The usual dinner-movie date at the mall will suck the life out of her. Her soul craves for new experiences and adventures. She will be unimpressed with your new car and your expensive watch. She would rather climb a rock or jump out of an airplane than hear you brag about it.

Don’t date a girl who travels because she will bug you to book a flight every time there’s an airline seat sale. 

Chances are, she can’t hold a steady job. Or she’s probably daydreaming about quitting. She doesn’t want to keep working her ass off for someone else’s dream. She has her own and is working towards it. She is a freelancer. She makes money from designing, writing, photography or something that requires creativity and imagination. Don’t waste her time complaining about your boring job.

Don’t date a girl who travels. She might have wasted her college degree and switched careers entirely. She is now a dive instructor or a yoga teacher. She’s not sure when the next paycheck is coming. But she doesn’t work like a robot all day, she goes out and takes what life has to offer and challenges you to do the same.

Don’t date a girl who travels for she has chosen a life of uncertainty. She doesn’t have a plan or a permanent address. She goes with the flow and follows her heart. She dances to the beat of her own drum. She doesn’t wear a watch. Her days are ruled by the sun and the moon. 

Don’t date a girl who travels as she tends to speak her mind. She will never try to impress your parents or friends. She knows respect, but isn’t afraid to hold a debate about global issues or social responsibility.

She will never need you. She knows how to pitch a tent and screw her own fins without your help. She cooks well and doesn’t need you to pay for her meals. She is too independent and wont care whether you travel with her or not. She will forget to check in with you when she arrives at her destination. She’s busy living in the present. She talks to strangers. She will meet many interesting, like-minded people from around the world who share her passion and dreams.

So never date a girl who travels unless you can keep up with her. And if you unintentionally fall in love with one, don’t you dare keep her. Let her go.

(Source: one of the blog spots, and the content is copyright of the owner)

Some Monday Motivation

Weaving the Weird

I'm little transfixed by these trippy weavings. Finnish designer/artist Kustaa Saksi manufactured the collection, called Hypnopompic. Totally see the tree one in my office.

Weekends!