A somewhat goofy mini-collection of stuff I’ve been reading, stuff I’ve been thinking about and oh, some completely random crap.
Basically the stuff that never gets mentioned here because I’m not the kind of person who can just make some teeny little point. Not into the whole brevity thing, as the Dude would say.
Actually, I’m under the strict compulsion to write ten pages about anything on my mind. So this is me. Practicing brevity.
Brevity. Right.
This post was about a hundred items (Items!) long and I had to toss a bunch.
Shall we?
Item! Post No. 30 in a series that has yet to do anything to actually justify its existence.
Item! An itinerary for doing nothing!
It’s no secret that I’m madly in love with Kelly Parkinson (aka Copylicious Kelly) for all sorts of reasons.
But this post about just how profitable doing nothing can be is totally brilliant.
Even though she blames me for all sorts of ridiculous things.
“There are dealmakers who eat soup at their desks and work 15-hour days.
And then there are creators who take walks in the middle of the day, who dare to sleep a full 8 hours, who do absolutely nothing–strategically …
Because sometimes the best thinking happens after I haven’t thought about anything at all.”
Genius.
She’s @copylicious on Twitter.
Item! Painting is food for words!
Beautiful post (and a beautiful painting) from Christine Martell.
She talks about the connection between visual art and writing and how hard it is (even when we know that connection exists) to justify doing the thing that feeds us.
It’s a great post.
“Painting is food for my writing
Writing is hard. Paint flows.
Yet I find myself spending most of my days writing (or trying to), and not giving myself the space to paint or do other visually creative things.
I still fight the inner demons that judge the visual work as not really working, or just playing … I still battle the inner demons, the messages from other times, people, and places.”
She’s @cmartell on Twitter.
Item! Lagniappe!
Interesting post about why it’s silly to convince people (through your advertising and marketing) that they’ll be treated “fairly”.
“If the most your customer can say when he walks out your door is, “I was treated fairly,” your business is pitifully stale and you have virtually nothing to advertise…”
It’s really just worth reading though for the description of Fat Charlie and the delight he takes in making sure people get a little extra.
“Order ten pounds of potatoes and Charlie will happily toss potatoes onto the scale until it reads 10″ then he’ll find a particularly nice potato and place it on the top of the pile with a beaming smile and an exclamation of, ‘Lagniappe!'”
Lagniappe!
(I can’t even say that without being transported back to my favorite cafe in Vancouver where every day is a glorrrrrrrious day!)
Thanks to Ankesh who is @ankeshk on Twitter for pointing me this way.
Item! More stuff about retreating …
The lovely Amara Ann Bertorelli (whom I met at Jennifer Louden’s fabulous Writer’s Retreat) has been writing some sweet, thoughtful pieces about the retreat-ing.
And about some of the cool stuff she’s been processing.
Since this is something I’ve been meaning to do, it was super interesting to read.
Also, there is a lovely picture of all of us (I’m the 3rd from the left in the top row, sans Selma, and Amara is at the far right of that row).
“And in the midst of that, it hit me. If I can surrender to getting it totally wrong and not really knowing or caring what’s next during the dance, then I can probably do that in my life as well. Down with perfectionism! Down with uber-planning! Up with whatever!”
The woman can write!
And she’s @EdgyAngel on Twitter.
Item! Eating. Lunch. Alone. Together.
I loved this piece called Eating lunch alone together from Japandra (Sandra in Japan).
She’s just neat. Her blog is sweet and always interesting. And I just really enjoyed the feel of this. And the pictures.
“This is one of my favorite lunch places. I just realized I had no idea what it’s called – I just think of it as “the place with the yellow flags out front near the office.”
She’s @sandrajapandra on Twitter.
Item! Finding your Right People: the clinic.
Yes, we love Right People.
Because having them (and them having you) means that you don’t have to have a “target market” (ew ew ew ew) or be all weirdly promotional or anything.
Anyway, people have been asking about this. A lot.
And I have ridiculously strong opinions and all sorts of advice to give on this.
So Selma and I are doing a clinic. A figuring-out-who-your-Right-People-are-and-how-to-talk-to-them clinic.
It’s tiny. It’s cozy.
Fun will be had.
So I should give you a link, right? You can read more stuff about the Right People clinic here.
I imagine it will fill up insanely fast. Which is why I’m not promoting it. So that you guys (hello, my Right People) can find it first. Sneakified me!*
(Also you should read it because I am funny. And because there are some good resources at the end).
* EDIT: sorry, the clinic sold out within twenty-four hours. Apparently I wasn’t sneakified enough! Next time.
Item! Update from the land of the Peculiar & Hilarious Shivanauts!
The “peculiar and hilarious” thing comes from Melynda’s sweet bit about Butterfly Wishes.
So Sandy (brand-new Shivanaut) had two or three epiphanies just from reading the first part of the first ebook. She blogged about them too.
She wrote:
While I am all about the epiphanies (I think… frankly, I’m a little shaken up and stunned!), you should put a warning label on this stuff. If I get 2 epiphanies just after reading part of the first ebook, what will happen when I actually start to learn this stuff? Will my head explode with wisdom and understanding?
And that just made me laugh.
I also posted on the Shivanaut’s blog about whether or not Shiva Nata has anything to do with avodah zarah (worshipping false gods), and about how I need your help with a title for my Shiva Nata manual.
And about some of the cool things that happened in Taos.
Quite a week, in short.
Item! Comments!
It was very cool the other week when I got to work on my practice of how I ask for stuff and you guys gave me the best recommendations ever!
Here’s what I want:
- Things you’re thinking about.
- A fun word that gets even better when you say it over and over and over again.
My commitment.
I am committed to giving time and thought to the things that people say, and to interacting with their ideas and with my own stuff as compassionately and honestly as is possible for me.
Even though asking for what I want still feels awkward for me, I’m just going to remind myself that this is a thing I’m practicing.
That is all.
Happy reading.
And happy Blustery Windsday. See you tomorrow. And maybe at the Right People clinic? Because that would be the bomb.
EDIT: sorry, sorry, sorry, the clinic filled up within the first twenty-four hours — no more seats.
Follow
Fun word.
Koala. Say it over and over again.
.-= Lisa´s last post … =-.
Oh, the Right People Clinic looks great! And thank you for the other links.
I am thinking that while organization is good, I can still make some art while I continue to organize things so that I can make more art. And also that I need to make some agave nectar sweetened baked goods, because the regular sugar sweetened homemade cinnamon loaf slices I had yesterday have left me feeling all kinds of hung over 🙁
And one fun word is arugula. Especially when you howl the second syllable “arooooogula” 🙂
Andi
.-= Andi´s last post … Uses for Hand-Dyed Fabric Part I =-.
Magma.
Magmamagmamagmamagmamagma. 😉
What I’m thinking about… Hm. Working through alot of old stuck lately. Old emotions and old hate and the old defensive patters that came with it. Brokenness. Some just went away, some stayed.
Finally stopped trying to change the person I am. I mean, I wouldn’t try to change a lover (as long as the waste is taken out. 😉 ) so why did I always try to change myself?
Still scared to commit to something that might go wrong, though.
Finding lots of great stuff on the web myself: This for example: http://www.behance.net/Gallery/surreal-garden/253903 Isn’t that pretty?
.-= Carina´s last post … Surrealistic Gardens (Cautions: Contains Great Photos) =-.
fun words —
delicious: not as fun on its own, but if you say it over and over and over .. yes
whimsical
tentative
mellifluous
the clinic looks great!
.-= elizabeth´s last post … people change =-.
Lagniappe — fabulous concept! I want to practice more of that.
Burble.
Burbleburbleburbleburbleburbleburbleburbleburbleburbleburble!
.-= Lori Paximadis´s last post … tidbits: less melty edition =-.
I do like that word “harmonious” from your landing page. It IS what it is. It makes me feel harmonious just saying it.
HARRRR MONNNNN EEEEEE USSSSSS.
Also, as a dog owner, the word “dingleberry” is always near the surface of possible daily vocabulary words I might need to use at any given time.
It gives you a different kind of feeling than “harmonious,” but I can’t say it without smiling.
Banana
Banananananananananana
Banan-na-na
Ah, it’s an oldy but a goody. Your tongue kinda trips itself up.
.-= Wormy´s last post … Little me. =-.
Exuvia, as in the part that is left behind after a dragonfly emerges into its adult form. It’s very fun to say with enthusiasm: Exuuuuuuuuvia. I’m thinking alot about transformations lately…
Thanks for the link to the profitability of doing nothing. I’m finding that I do my best writing when I’m not “writing”. I write while I meander through my neighborhood with my dogs. I write in my sleep. Sometimes I just wake up with an amazing idea for a post and I’ll sit down and it just flows out of me because I worked it all out in my sleep. Doing nothing sometimes produces great stuff.
.-= Carole´s last post … A Resource Guide to Conservation Gardening, Part 2: Water Conservation =-.
Exuuuuuvia! Oh Carole, that is WONDERFUL. I am the happy. I could probably just say banana and exuuuuuuuuuvia all day and be content.
@Kelly – dingleberry?!
My big word right now is pijuan. Except that it’s Lisa’s (@girlcancreate) last name. And all I want to do is say pijuan pijuan pijuan over and over again.
I’m quite fond of the word spork. And when you repeat it over and over, it seems all bouncy – spork! spork! spork! spork!
.-= Shannon Henry´s last post … Spirosketch is ready! =-.
The words that’re floating around my heart today are all shhh words:
Delicious
Spacious
Humorrificicious (okay, I made that one up, but it’s humor and terrific and delicious all rolled into one). 🙂
Love, Hiro
.-= Hiro Boga´s last post … What happens to a gift you refuse to accept? =-.
comfortabler (meaning more comfortable but somehow more than that)
.-= Barbara Martin (@Reptitude)´s last post … Simple Daily Changes to Increase Creativity =-.
Re doing nothing, I’m reminded of something from the Bhagavad-Gita:
“One who sees inaction in action, and action in inaction, is intelligent among ducks, and she is in the transcendental position, although engaged in all sorts of activities.”
(Actually it says “men” and “he,” but times have changed.)
Right People. I signed up for the clinic without a moment’s hesitation. Why? Because ever since I found your Web sites I can’t stop grinning. Rather than just jump to the obvious conclusion that you and Selma are awesome, I prefer to instead turn my attention inward and ask, “What’s the archetype I’m being pulled toward here?”
A duck. I TOTALLY get it.
I’ve long believed that marketing is largely the art of orchestrating synchronicities. Note that I didn’t say “orchestrating APPARENT” synchronicities. In order for it to work, the sense of synchronicity has to be genuine. When it is, no hardcore sales pitch is necessary. I’m developing my copywriting/marketing business around this idea … and your Right People concept resonates.
Things I’m thinking about? Change. Metaphor. Language. You clearly understand the power of language as metaphor … and the power of metaphor for inspiring change. Having studied hypnosis on and off for years, I’m a big believer in the idea that “all communication is hypnosis.” Everything has meaning. Even (especially) a duck.
A fun word? “Kermit.” I recently saw a great exhibit on “Jim Henson’s Fantastic World” here in Seattle, and realized that had Jim Henson never acted on his dreams, our world would be a very different place. So with that in mind, can anyone actually say “Kermit” ten times without smiling? See … words have power.
Finally (enough already….), I feel compelled to tell you about a dream I had last night. In the dream, I was watching a video promoting an information product about a better way to fold laundry. The innovative concept was that you should fold each article of clothing in a different way each time, to avoid wearing out the fabric fibers in specific places. Inside out, top to bottom, side to side, in a square, in a circle, in a tube, in a ball. Anything goes, just something different each time. The absolute worst way to fold a shirt, they explained, is to fold the arms back and hide everything except “a perfect front.”
My Shiva Nata DVD hasn’t even arrived yet, and THIS. Ha!
Oh Havi. I just signed up for your Right People Clinic, because it just seems like exactly the right moment, just as I’m tentatively starting to do something that might possibly have right people attached…
My word? Wombat. Wombatwombatwombatwombatwombat. Wombat are my totem animal, guardian angels (well, okay, guardian fairy wombats? Um… hard to explain) and also an awesome word of awesomeness.
And your links are fabulous. As ever. ♥
.-= Lucy Viret (aka randomling)´s last post … What if… =-.
I used to love the word surreptitious …
.-= Luke´s last post … Ighalsk – release 0.1.6 =-.
Eek! My heart just exploded from surprise and delight. Thank you.
I like the word “seiche,” particularly the sense of it that means “water splashing out of a swimming pool due to an earthquake.” It kind of sounds like that, too, doesn’t it?
An earthquake is such an uncanny feeling, and this seems like the perfect uncanny visual to go along with it.
.-= Sandra´s last post … What quake? =-.
Thing I am thinking about right now:
Well, a few minutes ago I was happy to be almost caught up with your blog, but now I’m a bit sad about being so late in doing so, because I didn’t see the info about the Right People Clinic in time. It would have been so perfect! Especially since I am *this* close to getting my Thing out into the world, now… Oh well. Can I hope you’ll do it again?
A fun word that gets even better when you say it over and over and over again:
Not exactly a fun word, but the first thing that came to mind when I saw the bit about getting better when you say it over and over is my last name, Richer (it’s French, so it’s pronounced Rishay). One day when I was in primary school, I realised that if you keep repeating it, what you hear eventually turns into “chérie”. See, it does get better when said over and over again!
.-= Josiane´s last post … Retreating to write – and being treated to so much more =-.
A fun word that gets even better when you say it over and over and over again. = BOLIVIA! BOLIVIA! BOLIVIA!
especially if you say it in a Spanish accent
:o)
@Shawn – that is so *bizarre*. Because I have a post that I’ve mostly written titled Bolivia. And I have been going back and forth in my mind about whether or not I’ll actually publish it. Dilemma mouse!
Weird.
@Josiane – now I’m saying your last name over and over again! Very cool.
I’m sorry about the missing of the Clinic. There have been a lot of sad faces over that so I will see if it’s possible to do another one!
x
h