Shared Space

"Be courteous to all, but intimate with few -- and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence.  True friendship is a plant of slow growth and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the application."  -George Washington

When I was young, I always wanted time to speed up -- to get me to the place I had envisioned.  Move faster.  Now, it's the opposite.  I wish time would stand still for awhile -- let me breathe it in; sit on top of the world and observe the entire picture -- not just the scene I'm standing in.

So much of life seems like a rat race -- get where you're going faster, bigger, better, stronger.  You work so hard and sometimes forget to stop and appreciate what (and who) is around you.

I spent time with a very dear friend this week who paid me one of the best compliments I've ever received.  She said, "I can't tell you how great it is to just be in the same space with you."  

How simple.  Shared space.

The feeling was mutual. The time dedicated to sharing space with others seems rare...and at times, almost impossible.  We discussed growing older and how it's strange to reflect on the people that fall in and out of your circle.  They're like ghosts; a movie you think you've seen but can't remember the ending.  The friendships that remain -- those that resurface no matter how much times passes -- these are the friendships that are generally more meaningful.  They've become more valued.  More present.  More poignant.  Perhaps the application of shared time is just as rare as the intimacy of shared space.  

Like Ridin' a Bike

"Life is like riding a bicycle; to keep your balance, you must keep moving." -Albert Einstein

Einstein was right. But maybe he was also wrong. I think sometimes you have to stop moving so you can fall off.

In falling, there is also balance. A sense of being grounded. A clean slate.

Falling gives you the chance to stop going round and round. To start over and move in a different direction.

Meet My Fam

Before we get too far along, it's essential to introduce the people that frequent my doodles, otherwise known as my weird little happy family.  Introducing Emerson (aka Son), Chris (I'm the curly one), Amanda (the lovely blonde), and Rosie (aka Nubbie).  For more about us click here.

Balance

The truth is balance, but the opposite of truth, which is unbalance, may not be a lie., a photo by chrislewman on Flickr.

As I get older, the hours that once seemed to endlessly flow are now overbooked.  Twenty-four hours just isn't enough to accomplish everything that I need to in one day.  After staying up into the wee hours, I often find myself squeezing a "to do" list in at 6am or any other random time throughout the day that isn't devoted to something else.  I'm constantly striving for more work/life balance.  

While sitting in the Starbucks drive-thru today [checking my gmail, ical, work email, work calendar & twitter] I began to think, "Is balance really possible?"  Balance for me could be imbalance for you.  And vice versa.

I think Susan Sontag said it best, "The truth is balance.  But the opposite of truth, which is unbalance, may not be a lie."

Why Doodle -1

I draw stick people a lot...on everything :)

Finding My Why

It's July 10th, 2012 and I am making a comeback to my much deprived blogosphere.

A little over two years ago, I took a hiatus after ending a 10 year relationship.  My life for all purposes should have been thrown off track.  But as it turns out, life has a way of showing you that the "here" is always exactly where you are intended to be.  I told the world [and anyone else listening] that I was perfectly fine being alone and figuring it out on my own.  In fact, I cursed relationships and was on a mission to "find myself."  No sooner than those words could escape my lips, I met the love of my life.  She has shown me the true meaning of "partner" in every sense of the word.  It's the kind of love that I never dreamed could exist beyond the movie screen.  

I could go on and on about the love in my life and I probably will in future blogs so I apologize now.  More to the point...

The original intent of Paint it Forward was to journal my creative nourishment project -- artistic or small acts of good will that I put out into the world, expecting nothing in return.  I can't say that the future intent has changed much.  

So my mission is this: align the rest of my life with the passion and inspiration that I've found in my love life.  Over the last year I've been in search of my "Why".  (I'm a huge fan of Simon Sinek and love his book Start With Why.  It is a MUST READ.)  I'm using this space as a journal of sorts to discuss projects that I've taken on over the past year -- aka current work (professional or other), mini "paint it forward" projects, and random thoughts and doodles.

I face timelines every day, so this will have none.  I am a work in progress and I own that statement proudly.  Here goes...something.

Change

PAINT IT FORWARD IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION.  

06.22.10 - Change: In the Blink...

Life is full of curve balls.  Things that you once thought were "stable" can change in the blink of an eye.  And sometimes--most of the time, in fact--it seems that everything good comes out of change.  Even when we try to fight it.

Evidence from the sudden drop in blog dates, my life was thrown a little off track after starting the PIF Project last year...or so I thought.  But as it turns out, getting thrown off track has thrown me EXACTLY to the point in life where I need to be: Motivation Road.  In the past 9 months, I successfully moved out of a life that was overwhelming me with "stuff" and into a new world of open doors and possibilities.  I feel like I can do anything.

I think we've all heard the saying, "90% of success in life is just showing up."  As I sit in my living room surrounded by business magazines, Oprah's Live Your Best Life book, my nerdy scrapbook of local successful entrepreneur articles, and my dog drifting to sleep next to me, I am bursting with ideas about what I want my future to look like.  In doing so, I have come to realize that 90% of success has to be about more than just showing up.  I've been showing up for years.  It has to do with love, passion, motivation, and surrounding yourself with a good support system.  But mostly, the secret is just getting out of your own way.

More to come about what I've been doing since the Paint it Forward project took a little hiatus from blog world. 



CRL
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