Everybody is talking about "this economy" and why we need to start changing our careers, working for ourselves, or working in more stable professions like plumbing. We will always need plumbers, crack and all. Because of "this economy," entrepreneurs seem to be coming out of the wood works, claiming a niche in the world of fiddle sticks and doodads, and trying to make a living, albeit it honest or not. Funny enough, a lot of these entrepreneurs are much happier slaving on their own time, in their PJ's, with their toddlers, friends, family, and gadgets near and dear. Funny enough, once again, it is fear that has moved us to embrace our independence and desire to work for ourselves.


WHY DO WE ALLOW FEAR TO CONTROL OUR LIVES?

We do things because we are afraid of what will happen if we don't. We constantly second guess our decisions and intuition because we are afraid of the what ifs. We consistently let our circumstances dictate our goals, passions, and emotions. I am not immune to fear. I work in a stable profession (college professor), and I enjoy teaching very much, but something is missing in my life. I keep finding myself wanting to solder this, saw that, glue this, paint that. I start pulling interesting items out of alley trashcans that I can reuse in the name of art. I start buying jewelry supplies whenever I can in the name of sales. I start painting my jeans, and turning old saggy pieces into fresh new jewelry designs. People comment, give me gusto. I keep going. Next thing you know, I create an etsy account. It starts with only a few pieces, a couple of sales. It grows. Four shows and 100's of sales later, I decide this is what I want to do. But fear follows me into my visualizations. Fear finds its way into my path. Every few days I start looking for work just in case. I check my accounts just in case. I give thought to quitting my job, but fear strikes again. What if I can't make my mortgage payment? What if my family starves? What if everyone just stops buying my products? Besides, collegiate teaching is something I do well. It is something that my students benefit from me doing. It is something I am "remotely" passionate about. Why quit? I'm good at it.

Just because we are good at something doesn't mean we have to do it. Jut because we enjoy something doesn't mean it should be our profession. Just because our economy is in a recession, doesn't mean run to the hills and make for yourself. It isn't about the "what ifs". It is about the "what is." Is isn't about fear, it is about happiness. It isn't about layoffs, stock options, pink slip parties, or money. It is about the love, joy, pleasure, and comfort of being surrounded by the ones you care about doing something you are extremely passionate about. It isn't about remote, it about extreme.

Gone are the days of fear; here are the days of passion, love, and care. Answer the following questions:

If you had all of the things you need, what would you be doing right now? If you were to die tomorrow, how would you spend today? What are you doing right now?
Do you even know what you need?

What are your answers? How do the first two answers compare to how you are living your life right now? Take a moment to reflect. This is a time of great shifts in consciousness. Grab on to your own reigns and take yourself where you have always wanted to go. If your answers don't match up, then ask yourself why. If money is what's stopping you, then you have no imagination. If materials items and tangible un-necessities fill your list, you've been dooped. Let's get back to the simple days. I don't need my blackberry. I don't need Jimmy Choos. We need food, water, love, shelter, safety, and peace. Clothing and shoes optional depending on climate and laws. Don't be afraid to trust and jump. Don't b afraid to write your own path, make your own rules, decide what life looks like for you. Maybe then, we can answer all three questions in unison. I relinquish my fear, one day at a time, one hair tie at a time, one sale at a time, one happy customer at a time. It is a process, but I know the end will be well worth the journey.

WHOSE JUMPING WITH ME?

Would you rather be called Fat or a Whore?

I came across this article in a facebook post and had to read it. It alludes to some extremely disturbing, yet obvious issues we face in our little world these days, issues of obesity and sexuality.
"Would You Rather be called Fat or a Whore?"

Funny Enough, while I think the article is definitely a worthwhile read, "things that make you go Hmmmm" I have issues with so many more things related.

For instance:

1.It is not about being called either fat or a whore. Sticks and stones right? Who cares what people call me behind my back or in my face. It doesn't matter. It is an issue of would you rather "be" fat or a whore. Entirely different issue.

2. Why do we pick on the "whores" of the world? We could have easily said would you rather be fat or ugly, fat or physically challenged, fat or mentally challenged. Why is whoredom a bad thing. So what you like to have sex? So what our ancestors and elders preached abstinence and sex only for procreation purposes? We don't have to follow in their beliefs. Embracing our sexuality is a taboo only in religion. Avoid the religiosity of life=avoid the sexual taboo. Granted, that doesn't mean go out and have unprotected sex, yay! We should always be responsible, careful, and mature enough to communicate about our bodies and our desires. But we don't have to hide, shame, or stray from our natural tendency to seek pleasure. Everything in moderation, including food!

3. I am afraid even in the said scenarios people would still avoid fat.

4. This is really an issue of body image. We have negative body images rising due to skinny b* in the media. Until we change the images we see, the answer to that question will never be fat. Take away cable, billboards, high fashion, etc., and I would never want to be mentally or physically handicapped, ugly, or anything else. Give me back my cable and I might ask, well, how fat? How disabled? How ugly?

5. The reason we can't part with food in this day and age, the reason we grow more morbidly obese everyday, is because we are SLAVES. We are SLAVES TO TASTE! We never talk about nutritional value anymore. We talk about how "GOOD" something tastes. Ironically, we have gotten so used to spices, pesticides, chemicals, preservatives, and overly processed junk that we hardly know what taste is anymore. Anytime you have an obsession with something you don't fully appreciate or have inadequate knowledge of, everything undoubtedly goes to crap. We are misinformed slaves to taste that appreciate the fine flavors of Whoppers, MCDonald's Fries, Strawberry Shakes, and Gorditos over steamed organic vegetables. Yuck! I didn't appreciate the actual flavor of unprocessed food until I cleansed myself of the lies, deceit, and forlorn tastebuds I used to own. It was impossible to like food for what it is supposed to taste like because my taste buds were clouded by chemicals, salt, and pepper.

We really have to reevaluate our lives, what we eat, who we screw, and how we pass down our morals and values. There are issues with our religiosity, government, family structures, friendships, everything. Let's start seeking our own individual truths and stop letting the world decide for us.

Have you tasted a carrot lately?

Someday...

Sometimes we forget how talented, creative, cool, driven, happy, peaceful, and alive we are. We get trapped and fall into the slumps of poor me...the slumps of corporate America, the slumps of trying to get a job period. My husband and I were in that slump, until we un-slumped ourselves. In Dr. Suess, Oh The Places You'll Go, there is a great line about un-slumping yourself.

OH!
THE PLACES YOU’LL GO!
You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.
You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed.
You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you’ll be the best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.
Except when you don’t
Because, sometimes, you won’t.
I’m sorry to say so
but, sadly, it’s true
that hang-ups and bang ups
can happen to you.
You can get all hung up
in a pricklely perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You’ll be left in a Lurch.
You’ll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
you’ll be in a Slump.
And when you’re in a Slump,
you’re not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself
is not easily done.

But fortunate for us, it is possible. We have to remember back when our imaginations flourished. Back when we felt we could take over the world. Back when fear wasn't a part of our vocabulary. Re-remember your dreams, reclaim your voice in the silence of recession, reverse your slump into the world's greatest hump and get over it!


I remember being a preteen. My favorite song was Someday by Mariah Carey. I just knew that I was going to be something big, something special someday! I lost sight of that somewhere between my grandma telling me i couldn't major in interior design because I couldn't get a job and would be waisting my mothers money, and the pressure of the University! But my Someday is still on its way. I am sure of that!