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Photography

I took these pictures in Hawaii when I was there for Thanksgiving. Nature inspires me. Breathtaking beauty, color that dazzles the human eye, expression of life’s purest intention. Have you ever stopped, really stopped to take in the beauty that surrounds us? Life blossoming everywhere you look, whether you live in the city or the countryside. I am in love with life. We have quite the love affair. Life gives gives gives and I allow myself to receive and give back all that I have. I want to create beauty in the world. True beauty. Raw beauty. Authentic beauty. Not some fabrication. The beauty that is life.

What I am leaving behind in 2011

What I’m leaving behind in 2011 is fear. Fear of not being good enough. Fear of death. Fear of open and honest communication. Fear of failure. Fear of being wrong. Fear of success. Fear of judgment. Fear can be so destructive and limit us in so many ways. And I’m sick of it to be honest. Why should fear hold us back from the things we want most in life? The things that we deserve when we work hard to achieve them? Life is such an incredible gift, and we get to challenge ourselves each and every day to reach higher and further than we had ever thought possible. What is possible when we fear less, when we ARE fearless? Nothing becomes Impossible. Without fear it doesn’t matter if we “fail”. Without fear there’s no way to live a life full of regret. Without fear we stand tall and confident that no matter how large the obstacle may appear, we will move past it, move through it, no matter how many times we fall along the way. Fear is a mask we wear in order to keep ourselves small, in order to be right about not being good enough, in order to stay comfortable. Because the unknown can be scary. Even if we are miserable with where we are at we would sometimes rather stay in that space because we DON”T know what else is out there and the thought of things changing can be scary. But what kind of life is that? What kind of life is it when we suppress our deepest desires and passions because we are fearful we may not succeed or not have what it takes? I get scared all the time, and that’s a fact. But even when I’m scared I go for it anyway, because my desire to grow and to create the world I envision living in is so strong in me that nothing can hold me back from it. So right here right now, together, let’s leave our fears back in 2011. They no longer serve us. In fact they keep us from seeing the immense beauty and strength that we each hold, keep us from achieving our highest potential as individuals and as human beings. If you’re with me then let’s kick fear’s ass in 2012, let’s look it dead in the eye and say “You don’t own me anymore.” Because the only time we have is now. And if we face our fears now, imagine the kind of future we can create for ourselves and all the future generations. I vow to love myself unconditionally this year. I vow to love everyone I meet unconditionally. Starting now. Because love will always conquer fear. And I am damn tired of living in fear’s shadow.

Community Project

Hey guys!! I am working on a community project for the Alexandria House which is a transitional home for women and children in need in the LA area. One of the things we get to do is create a beautiful veggie, herbs, and flower garden for them. Who is willing to donate some time and money to make this happen? Me or one of my amazing friends will go with you to the nursery to help pick out plants and soil! We are on a time crunch and looking for people in the LA area to spread some holiday magic!! Contact me through Twitter or Facebook! Let’s make it happen! http://www.alexandriahouse.org for more information on the Home itself! But contact me to help with the gardening project!

COMMITMENT

Today I will write on commitment. What does it mean to be committed? How often do we set goals or say we are going to do something and then let our circumstances run us? “I’ll do it tomorrow”, “There’s too many other things to do”, “I don’t feel like it right now”, “I’m too tired”, etc… And then those things we say we want never happen, never get done, and those dreams slip further and further out of our reach until we start thinking they are never going to happen and give up and make the excuse that we tried. Being COMMITTED means something entirely different. It means that no matter what the circumstance, no matter how tired or pressed for time we are, we will do WHATEVER IT TAKES to accomplish our goals, whether they be simple ones or visions for the world. It’s the kind of dedication that creates the manifestation of our deepest desires and dreams. The kind of discipline required to move mountains in our lives. Because these amazing things that we want, these dreams we’ve had since we were children or envisioned later in life will not happen simply by living in our comfort zones. It will require us to roll up our sleeves and be willing to get messy. It will require us to possibly fail, and then get right back up and try again. There are no failures when you are committed. And what is our relationship to failure? How does that relationship hold us back? I know for myself, when I “failed’ I would beat myself up for days, keep myself small, and avoid that thing like the plague. But what good does that do? How much closer does that kind of attitude bring us towards the realization of our goals? Failure is just another opportunity to figure out what doesn’t work.

So what is it going to take to be committed today? To say, “Hey this is what I want to get done, this is what I see for myself and for the world, and this is how I am going to do it.” Let’s set our intentions and ACT accordingly. There is nothing we can’t achieve. How badly do we want it?

Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now. Goethe, Johann Wolfgang Von

Ride the Wave

Ah the emotions we are subjected to as human beings. How easily we fall prey to our negativity and the negativity of others. We think we have no control. In a way that’s right, but in a way it’s so far off. We choose how to feel in a situation. We choose how we will allow an event or comment to affect us. I think the ocean can give us a good model for our lives. There are waves, like the waves of our emotions. Sometimes the waves will be enormous and crush anything in their path, while other times the waves are gentle and soothing. The ocean has periods of calmness and periods of chaos. If we learn to ride the waves of our emotions and not get so caught up in that particular wave with the understanding that it will pass, we can lead more balanced existences. And then we realize that no matter how big that wave gets, a calmer set of waves is on its way.