Category Archives: possibilities

take a deep breath

acceptance, compassion, dreams, education, energy, kindness, peace, possibilities, power, think
  •                                                                                                                                                                                         This is part one of my to-do list for the next 12 days. Things you won’t see on this to-do list include: eat sushi for breakfast, care for dying cat, sleep, read bedtime stories, drive in the country listening to TSwift, discuss politics, and be 90% technology free and yet, that’s exactly what I’ve been doing since Friday. I think the universe has a way of telling us to (excuse my language) slow the f*** down. 

I don’t know about you— my life is slightly out of control at the present moment. And by slightly, I mean really. Really out of control. There are only so many hours in the day.  And our go-go-go culture expects us to get everything done, on time, and with 100% accuracy all. the. time. Sometimes, it just doesn’t happen.  I decided months ago to take this weekend off, to go see some friends, see my favorite slam poet and PowerGirl Andrea Gibson perform, and to then go home for the night, sleep in my own bed, get a detox push, and hop on the next flight back to DC. Alas, come Sunday my train to go home was delayed and then we got stuck somewhere between Rochester and Albany and what was supposed to be a 4 hour train ride turned into a 6.5 hour soul-searching-mojo-finding-session on the train. Continue on to Monday, I was supposed to be on a flight back to DC-  oh, don’t you know, DC got 9 inches of snow and my flight was canceled. I then tried to get on a different flight for Tuesday and last night at 10pm I got a call saying that flight was canceled. I’m tentatively scheduled to be on a flight for Wednesday morning.

Now, prior to maybe a month ago this whole fiasco would have been just that, a fiasco. I would have been so mad, I would have been screaming out to the world “HELLO UNIVERSE. CAN’T YOU SEE I HAVE A THESIS DUE IN 12 DAYS? I DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THIS. WOULD YOU JUST SUCK THE SNOW BACK UP AND UNCANCEL MY FLIGHT AND PUT ME BACK IN THE STUDIO? THANKS!”  And yet, this time I literally can’t do a single thing. I don’t have my computer, I don’t have any books, I’m not in the studio, and no planes are moving and so, I’m here. Grounded. Quite literally. Feet on the floor, being still and slowing down, and looking my overachieving-perfectionism in the eye.

Often talked about here on the blog PowerGirl Brene Brown says this about perfectionism: “When perfectionism is driving, shame is always riding shotgun — and fear is the annoying back seat driver. We struggle with perfectionism in areas where we feel most vulnerable to shame. So we’re all comfortable saying, ‘I’m a little perfectionistic,’ which is code for ‘I do things really well’ — but I’m not comfortable saying I have shame. It’s a way of thinking that says this: ‘If I look perfect, live perfect, work perfect, I can avoid or minimize criticism, blame and ridicule.’ All perfectionism is, is the 20-ton shield that we carry around hoping that it will keep us from being hurt.”

Woof. Let that sink in for a moment. I’ll wait.

 

 

Really. Let it sink in.

 

She hits it right on the head. I’ve been living in the perfectionism mindset about my thesis. My thinking goes something like this, “If I do a perfect thesis then a perfect collector will buy my work and then I’ll have money in my bank account and then I’ll be able to go to Mexico on a perfect vacation and then I’ll be able to come back perfectly all blissed out and then my life will be perfect.” Do you see how many times I say the word perfect in my thinking? WAY. TOO. MANY.  My high school advisor at one point said, “Why are you trying to fit in, when you were born to stand out?!” HELLO. TRUTH BOMB. In the past few days my thinking has changed to “Ok. Deep breaths. Your thesis will turn out exactly how it’s supposed to turn out. There are plenty of people who will have a ‘perfect thesis’ there is no need to add yourself to that category. Now, go take a nap and drink some green juice and it will all be ok.” WOAH. Big difference there.

Finally, for one more reinforcement— Germany based PowerGirl-run graphic design/social practice art project ‘Work is Not a Job’ believes that what you create is more important than what you do. When you wake up excited, full, and fresh you create more exciting things and in turn, when you create more exciting things the world changes. I don’t know about you but I don’t create exciting things when I don’t sleep because I’m too busy ‘perfecting’ the hell out of everything. And when we don’t sleep we become what my friend Ellen calls “a walking safety hazard.” I don’t want to be “a walking safety hazard” perfecting everything, I want to be out there knee-deep changing and shaking things up.

Now, I don’t know what the ‘thing’ that you try to perfect the hell out of is: it could be your thesis, or it could be your relationships or your AP Exam, or your college apps, or your sleep schedule— I have no clue and yet, my guess is that ‘perfecting’ it has only left you exhausted and frustrated. And so, just as a possibility for this week, what would happen if you let go of perfecting your life? What would you gain? What could come of it?

As always, send your thoughts, comments, and questions. garmin@thinkpeaceworkshop.org

♥

possibilities

acceptance, education, girls, possibilities

(Intern’s note: This is the fourth interview in our ‘possibilities’ series here on the thinkpeace blog.  We believe it is just as important to share our own stories as it is to hear about other powerful women who are living into their own greatness. They show us that no matter our age, financial situation, location, abilities, or stage of life, you can create possibility for your life. This is my friend Ella. She goes to my school and she’s super cool. I don’t think I have to introduce her, she’s that cool.)

 Meet PowerGirl Ella Quimby

 

The Interview:

Age?  23

Nickname in Middle School or High School?

Technically Ella is a nickname, since my full first name is Ellamarie- but I’ve also gotten Elle, Ella-bella, Umbrella, Quimbles, EQ, Eyya, among others.

 What did you want to be when you were growing up?

An actress. A firefighter (still want this). A pilot (still want this too). A diplomat. A mermaid (definitely still want this).

What do you want to be now/what are you doing?

For the last five years I’ve been pursuing my combined loves of Photography and Education. If all goes according to plan, I’ll finish up my Master’s in Teaching in May. I still want to be too many things. People keep assuming that I’m going to settle in to a classroom next fall- I won’t. I’ve never been one to stay still for a long time. A good friend of mine is working on finishing up his PhD in Vancouver, BC, and he’s got plans to found a wilderness therapy program for struggling adolescents in Haines, AK. We talked once about me coming out there to work with him, maybe that’s where I’m headed right now.

(If you want to find out more about that and/or donate to his program, you can visit the Alaska Wilderness School Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alaska-Wilderness-School/202250059807055?sk=info )

Flavor of Ice Cream that most describes you (not your favorite… the one that describes you)?

Is there a coconut vanilla swirl flavor? Maybe that’s too obvious… (I’m half Pacific Islander). I don’t like chocolate at all but maybe a chocolatey-coconut sort of flavor with cherry bits. Not the maraschino kind, real cherries.

How would you describe yourself in one word?

At the moment? Exhausted. In general… transient? In a positive way, though. I like to keep moving, keep pushing.

If you could flashback to your high school self would you tell her anything? If so, what?

Oh man, what would I NOT tell her? That in eight years you will look back on this time in your life and realize you should have treated yourself better. You should’ve been easier on yourself, let yourself have more fun. You’re fourteen, for goodness sake. Let yourself have more fun. Get up to stupid stuff, you won’t let yourself have time for those things later. Don’t let anyone tell you that you need to work harder. Stop letting yourself believe the awful stuff people say. Take more chances.

 What do you love most about yourself?

I love that I have learned to love myself more often than I don’t.

Which one person has changed the course of your life? And why?

That question is literally impossible to answer. I am nothing if not the best parts of the people I surround myself with, and I give daily thanks for my ridiculously amazing circle of family and friends.

How do you motivate yourself?

Lately it’s been a lot of countdowns. Two more weeks until you’re done with this, four more months until you’re done with that, three more days and then you can let yourself watch six episodes of Battlestar Galactica and not leave your bed for the whole weekend. In general though, I’m motivated by new experiences. I worked my booty off this past Fall in school and at my jobs so that I could take four weeks to drive around the Lower 48- I had mountains of things to catch up on when I made it back to DC, but I didn’t regret it for a second.

On the blog and in staff meetings we have been talking about being a “YES!” to our lives… what does this mean to you?

Saying YES to my life means saying YES to opportunities- it means saying yes to loving myself and how far I’ve come in life, saying yes to coffee and Korean food with old new friends, saying yes to solitary punk rock dance parties in my car. Saying YES to myself also means sometimes saying NO to things I know I don’t want- toxic relationships, letting myself be taken advantage of, people in my life who think they know what’s best for me.

What do you think is the biggest issue facing girls in the world? How can we change the course of this?

There is no one answer. All of our -isms are intersectional- sexism, racism, classism, the list goes on. As an Educator, I spend a lot of my days thinking about the ways in which traditional education systems are structured to make sure oppressed minorities remain that way- in the next ten years, I’d love to see sweeping changes made to the very foundations of these structures, although I wouldn’t even know where to start or what that might look like.

What’s your next bold move?

By next September, Alaska- or Northern Ireland. On a smaller and more immediate (though no less bold) scale, completing my Graduate degree. There are a handful of people in my life who are betting on me to fail- they’ll be waiting a long time to collect.

☮

running with the questions

compassion, dreams, energy, possibilities, think
navigating life’s curves

Kara Goucher (KG), my running idol, was interviewed this week about racing, training, and life. The interviewer asked her to talk about the New York City Marathon (home to this summer’s thinkpeace camp!!!), “You never really can get into your pace. You are always making a hard turn or going over a bridge. I like that about it. I think it really takes away from the people that are there that can just run fast. It becomes more about an overall athlete and an overall technical runner.” Like yoga and art, I think that running and life are interchangeable; what shows up on your run, shows up in your life.

I’ve mentioned briefly before that I am working on my thesis… well, actually two of them. This week in my thesis meeting my teacher said, “So, I’m expecting you will have between 200 and 500 cups done by ummm… March 24th.” I gasped. “Excuse me, WHAT?!” “Yeah, well… you have approximately 3,000- 8,000 people coming to the opening and well the show is up for 1 month and so…Yes. 200-500.” Right when I thought I was getting my pace for the semester, there it went- just like KG said.

Now, maybe you aren’t faced with the challenge of making 200-500 cups in the next 5 weeks and yet, I’m guessing you probably have your own challenge; AP Exams coming up, making decisions about college, transitions at work, home, and school, unemployment, a flood. I don’t know what your challenge is and I’m almost positive you have one. And so here is where I am going to encourage you to live into some more questions. What would it be like if you just embraced the certainty of uncertainty? What would it be like if you just sat with the feelings of challenge instead of numbing, shutting down, and checking out? What is it possible to grow into as a result of this current challenge? What would it be like if you believed in all that you are capable of? What if you leaned into the discomfort and challenge and embraced it?

“All daring comes from greatness to begin.” Step in PowerGirl!

Think it. Create it. Share it. garmin@thinkpeaceworkshop.org

♥

on the road to gender equality

dreams, energy, gender equality, girls, human rights, possibilities, power, think

 

Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, French Minister of Women’s Rights

Director’s note: In the United States, January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention month. Throughout the month, thinkpeace girls have been focussing on raising awareness about modern slavery and the commercial sexual exploitation of young women and girls. President Obama called sex trafficking one of the greatest human rights causes of our time. Taking on this serious issue in France is the new Minister of Women’s Rights, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem. In this position she will also be addressing gender equality in the workplace, in government, and in society. Conscious of the example she sets as a working mother to three-year-old twins and married to a civil servant who has just been appointed to another ministry, her days are long and hard to balance. “I’m aware that beyond my own need to find a personal balance, I should be sending a signal to society as women’s minister about the importance of work-life balance.” But how? “It’s difficult,” she says, jumping up for the next meeting, but resolved to carve out time. Vallaud-Belkacem is inspiring a new generation of French girls and young women looking for possibilities… Today’s blog is written by 16-year-old Eléna from France. Eléna is a thinkpeace girl eager to see her country, and the world, on the road to gender equality and ready to do her part.

Hi everyone !

First I wish to you all a very, very happy new year ! All the best for this year 2014 !

What about women’s rights in 2014 ? How is gender equality going around the world ? In France, this year 2014 began with new projects and really much hope concerning women’s rights. I’d like to share with you what is happening for our rights in France, because it can be difficult to find out such informations… Economic crisis is sometimes taking all the place in our newspapers  around the world at the expense of  some (and maybe more) important things.

Before I began to write about this, I just had a look to some international newspapers to have an idea of what you were hearing about French events. Would it be about unemployment ? War in Central African Republic ? Not at all… This week on BBC News, on USA Today, on The Times Of India, or on Der Spiegel, I was just reading : « French First Lady hospitalized after affair rumor ». Wow. That was it. Nothing else. It sounded crazy, and a bit disappointing, to know that this scandal was the only thing people around the world (and even in France) will remember about those first days of January 2014 in France. Because, I mean, some very important things were happening this month, some things like really more important than the love affair of the President– in particular some good news for the women’s rights, so I thought it would be interesting to share it with you 😉 !

On the 6th January 2014 a ministerial Commission took place in Paris, and not just any : the Commission for the Women’s Rights, directed by the French Prime Minister Ayrault and the French Minister for Women’s Rights, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem. This name may ring a bell to some of you, because I already wrote a little post on my facebook wall last year about her. Born in Morocco in 1977, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem was appointed Minister of Women’s Rights and Government Spokesperson by the current French President Hollande in 2012. (Little note :  we have a socialist government for two years, and it was preceded by two centre-right governments from 2002 to 2012). It was  the first time that such a Ministry was really created in the French political story and the first time that a gender-balanced cabinet was created in France.

Actually, the fight for gender equality in France already began long ago, and in particular with the French Revolution. At school, we all learn that the social system knew a big progress with the « Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen » in 1789. But women weren’t included in it. We had to wait for the publication of the « Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen », written in 1791 by the French young activist, Olympes de Gouges, who explained the failure of the French Revolution, which had been devoted in gender equality. So for the XVIIIth  century, lots of laws and regulations gradually changed and improved the situation of women: In 1880, women were admitted in the French universities for the first time, they were allowed to vote in 1944, and the right for abortion was legalised in 1975. In 1980 rape was qualified as crime by the law, and in 1992, conjugal violence and sexual harassment in the workplace were penalized by the law. The XXth    century marked a really big progress for women’s rights in France, in comparison to other countries around the world, but there is still a long way to go. Even though France may be considered a free and respectful country of human rights, the question of equality between men and women in the society is still hot: Women are still discriminated against in France, and they are victims of many injustices in the every day life : sexism, violence, unequal pay at work…

But this way to go is becoming every day shorter and shorter. Since the presidential elections in 2012, many things were made to defend women’s rights, to fight against sex violences and to promote the gender equality in our country. The Government made this fight a top priority and hasn’t neglected it: for 2 years, reforms and new laws have improved the condition of women. Najat Vallaud-Belkacem is very present on the political stage and is doing an enormous work: meetings, new projects… Her work is really inspiring for a lot of french people. I remember having listened to her during her speech in the Senate in September: she explained why she wanted to continue the fight for equality, how it would be possible. The bill she prepared was full of hope and her determination was impressive. She said that a new era had begun for the women’s rights, that the time had come to end the disparities between women and men. Education, employment, work, health… and prostitution, which have been an important part of the social debate in France these last months. Many projects were adopted last year to concretize gender equality  and the improvement of the women situation. Abortion became completely free for every woman, programs of support and professional reintegration for prostitutes or battered women were created, laws about parity at work were adopted. And this month of January began with that Commission I already mentioned. But do all of those projects, laws, ideas have a real impact in the society ? I hope so. We all hope so and believe in this action, even if it takes a long time. We already observed a big progress, and it won’t end there. Many people, and in particular the youth, believe in that evolution. Najat Vallaud-Belkacem came to my High School in October for a meeting. Many students skipped school for the afternoon to see Najat and listen to what she had to say. I was part of them and was totally inspired by her determination and her courage.

I would like to end with a message of hope for every woman in the world. The fight for gender equality just began in a lot of countries and is getting bigger and bigger. Everyone can be a part of it, everyone has a role to play in it. So, stand up for your rights!

P.S : What about women’s rights in your country? Share it with us!

 ♥

 

on growing outwards

dreams, energy, great girl voice, possibilities, power, think

Over the past few weeks I’ve heard it said that 2014 will be the year that girls across the globe get full rights– that THIS year will be our year. There have been countless “Women to Watch in 2014” “Women Heroes of 2013” and many other lists and commentary about women coming to the forefront of our workplaces, communities, and governments. While this is all well and good, (I love these lists as much, if not more, than the next person AND) why are we still talking about these things? Why is making lists of women heroes in a totally different category?

Now if you caught me at just the right moment, my witty response to these questions would be “This is why we can’t have nice things,” a thought process that Pop Art artist, Andy Warhol often drew from.  Humor and wit is one way to play this off and yet all of the issues presented in these lists aren’t that easy to solve. Equality, freedom, access to education, and respect are not issues that are going to solve themselves overnight. This year at thinkpeace we have been thinking, talking, reflecting, and processing what it means to start with ourselves and grow outwards into our local, national, and global communities.  And so, rather than giving a long (probably boring) talk about why those lists are oh so problematic, let’s talk about ourselves.

YouTube Preview Image 

A friend of mine sent me a TED talk last week about a woman who saw a need and then was compelled to find a solution. Now, I will be the first to admit that this example is not the best as it is full of white saviorism and “rescuing.” However, I think the thought process is one we can draw from: Cynthia Koenig got clear in herself what her desires, wishes, and dreams were for the world. She then saw a need– water access, and she went about finding a way to change the current reality into something that was cost effective, thoughtful, and life changing. She realized that we can only change from the inside out; a concentric bullseye of sorts with us in the middle, our families and friends in the next circle, our local communities in the third circle, our national community in the fourth, and our global community in the outer ring.  Koenig grew outwards.

And yet growth is often times scary, hard, challenging and more. Today in yoga, my teacher said, “life doesn’t give you a comfortable cushion upon which to grow from, you grow from where you are.”  For another example of this, I’m going to highlight another one of my favorite women doing “inside out” work. My girl, New York State Junior Senator Kristen Gillibrand.

at work, double time

Now, I will admit I’m slightly biased as Gillibrand is a graduate of my high school alma mater, still… The opening lines of a recent New Yorker Magazine article highlight her “inside out” mentality, “…needs to pick up her five-year-old son, Henry, from his after-school program by 6 p.m. For every minute she is late, the school charges ten dollars. At 5 p.m. on November 12th, a Tuesday, Gillibrand still had two votes to cast and a meeting with Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader. Her husband, Jonathan, a financial consultant, works in New York City during the week, and, on short notice, she couldn’t find a sitter who was available before six-thirty. She ducked out of the Capitol and returned shortly afterward with Henry. She sat down with him in Reid’s office, where he busied himself with chicken fingers, chocolate milk, and a game of tic-tac-toe.” One might say that she was multi-tasking, however from my perspective she is looking inward, realizing she needs to change the state of the things closest to her and then continue to work on continuing to push her Senate agenda. You see, the needs of her family came first; she was clear with herself that she couldn’t get work done if she didn’t figure out the things closest to her first.  Finally, just to be clear, I’m not saying that always choosing family over work or work over family is right or wrong. The point is that you get the opportunity to make choices you can live with every single day. You get to choose.

And so, PowerGirl, where are you going to grow from? What does it mean to get clear with who you are in order to change things outside yourself? What choices will you make?

As always, send me your thoughts garmin@thinkpeaceworkshop.org.

work it, girl

acceptance, dreams, energy, possibilities

 

it’s in you already

Work it because you’re worth it ::: Manifesting your goals. 

Manifesto, n. : a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of its issuer

There is a scene in the beginning of the movie version of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants in which all of the girls sit around in a circle in an old church, light candles, and create a manifesto.  A manifesto of what they want their experience to be with the traveling pants; stating to each other the rules, wishes, and desires. While their manifesto isn’t written, it is spoken aloud with great dignity and energy. When they all reunite at the end of the summer they recount their adventures, triumphs, and less than desirable experiences with both the pants and the manifesto of the pants.

The past two weeks we have talked about reflecting on our past year and then setting new goals for this year. This week we will conclude this series with putting our goals into action. How do we make things happen in our lives? How do we live wholly and globally? How do we best show up as ourselves more often than not?

Lucky for you, manifestos aren’t just a thing that happens in movies or books. You too can manifest whatever you want in your life.

GARMIN’S TOP 3 TIPS TO MAKING THINGS HAPPEN IN YOUR LIFE.

(For the sake of examples I’m going to use a goal I had in the past of running 800 miles in one year.)

1.  SAY IT OUT LOUD. 

No, really say it out loud. Tell your people. Your friends, family, Facebook, on the morning announcements at school, your teachers, co-workers, yoga teacher, track coach, hair dresser. Tell all the people. No, really- ALL OF THEM. When we tell our people we get an instant accountability system. There will people (without your prompting) asking you how your goals are coming.  I can’t tell you how many people would ask me if I ran yet today or what my total was for the year so far. The neighbor would see me in the grocery store and would say “Hey, I haven’t seen you running this week. How’s your mileage goal coming?” And instantly I would remember how many people are rooting for me to succeed which would push me forward.

2.  BREAK IT DOWN. 

Baby steps. Big goals are going to seem overwhelming. They are going to be intangible, impractical, wild, and so far out there. Until they’re not. 800 miles divided by 52 weeks- about 15 miles a week. And then further- (3) 5 mile runs or (5) 3 miles. And then you look at your week. Where do I have an extra hour 3 times a week? And you plug it into your calendar. Schedule it in. Just write “GT” (goal time).

3.  MAKE A VISUAL.

A vision board, a sculpture, a piece of paper with a drawing that reminds you of your goals, the goals physically written on the mirror, a collage, a pile of rocks, anything. Seriously. My visuals have changed from year to year. I always write them on two separate index cards; one which I keep on my body 95% of the time and another copy above my bed that I see every night and every morning. I have done just about every form of visual– the one that I have found to be most successful for me is to make a cup or a bowl and then eat/drink out of it every day. It brings to mind all the things I want to grow into.

Finally, PowerGirl, be gentle with yourself. You weren’t created overnight and your goals won’t manifest themselves while you sleep either. Time, persistence, and an unwavering knowing of what you want will get you to your goals.

“Everything you need is already inside you. Just do it.”

♥

goal setting with GARMIN

dreams, energy, girls, great girl voice, possibilities, power, think
goal setting

As I sat down to write this blog post, I was quickly interrupted by our 17 year old cat, Samantha. She wanted to be fed and she was going to keep meowing and whining until I did. In her old age Samantha continues to teach me a slew of lessons- the one this morning came with the unrelenting desire to get what she wanted. Goal setting and following through is just like that: you must have an unrelenting desire to get what you want in your life. Now, I’m not suggesting that you whine and meow until you get what you want; I’m suggesting that you keep pushing forward to get what you want.

My friends joke that anytime we talk that it is “Goal setting with GARMIN” because I love love love love setting goals and setting new possibilities for my life and the lives of the people around me. So before we move on, last week we reviewed the past year- the things that worked, didn’t, the things we liked and didn’t and reflected on themes, messages, and patterns. This week we are going to build on that. So, pull out your lists and notebooks.

There are lots of ways to set goals. The one that has worked for me is the BHAG method. BHAG stands for BIG HAIRY AUDACIOUS GOALS. So basically in its essence BHAG means, what would you do if you knew you could not fail? What seems like the most absurd, hardest goal you could ever think of? What have you dreamed of your whole life? What is number 1 on your life list?

Furthermore, setting big massive goals like this can be oh so overwhelming and so I often pick 1 or 2 goals for each of the following categories; emotional, physical, spiritual/religious, and professional/career. So in the end you should have 3-5 BHAGs for the year. Now. Take those goals and double check that they are specific. You are not a vague person and neither should your goals be. Get specific and detailed. Work out the nitty gritty. Vague goals will never get accomplished– I promise you that (and I don’t promise much in life).

I will share the BHAGs I have had in the past. Run a marathon, read the entire Bible, yoga 4x a week, write a hand written letter every week, read a book a month, no carbs (not one I would ever recommend. Ever. Cross that off your list right now), run 800 miles in a year, no reality TV for a year, get a 4.0 GPA, make my own decision about college and not let anyone influence me in my decision, and save ½ of every paycheck. These are just a handful of the ones I’ve set. There are as many types of goals as there are people.

My BHAGs for this year are:

1.  365 challenge/project life.(www.projectlife365.com/)

→ Take a photo a day for an entire year. If stuck, I will follow the prompts on the project life 365 blog

2.  #missionkilllyme

→I’ve been fighting Lyme disease for a while now. This is the year I will try everything in my power to put it into remission.

3.  Write a letter of gratitude every month

→ In Alaska this past summer I really ‘got’ what gratitude is. It clicked and  infiltrated my body. And now I have to do something with that. I have to send it out into the universe.

4.  Discover one new song/artist a week

→ After losing my iTunes library twice this year my music selection has dwindled significantly. And as an artist, an educator, a yoga teacher I have a responsibility to know what’s up in the music world.

 ♥

Goals only work if you do. The final step for this week is to put your goals out there; put them out in the universe. Post them below here in the comment section, post them on Facebook, tell your friends, post them on your blog. The universe conspires to make things happen.

“You must do the things you think you cannot do”

So what are you going to do PowerGirl? What seems so crazy that it makes you want to scream? What is the hardest place in your life? Where do you shine?

Stay tuned for next week where we will talk about how to work our goals and manifest what we want into our lives. Happy New Year!!!

♥♥♥

 

 

root down to rise up

acceptance, compassion, dreams, energy, girls, kindness, peace, possibilities
roots and shoots

Root down to rise up; this is probably the most common phrase you will hear in any yoga class. And yet it describes so many different areas of our lives. I think it’s nearly impossible to move forward or grow up and forward if we don’t know where our roots are. That concept is one of the reasons why I love this time of the year– it’s a looking back, reflecting, evaluating, and then moving forward time. This will start a 3 week series on the blog, each week taking on one of these topics; reflecting, setting new goals and intentions, and manifesting. Personally, I think that we as a culture make these tasks so freaking complicated, complex, long, and way too difficult and so in an effort to break that down, I’m going to try my hardest to make this process as simple as possible. I think in the simplicity we can find that this process can be so incredibly helpful in learning to live into our full potential, power, strength, and keep us moving in an upward, unrelenting, forward motion.

This week we reflect. I’ll use myself as an example and then you can do your own reflecting, thinking, and sorting through.  I always love to start with numbers: What were your numbers? What did you do a lot of? What did you do a little bit of? What is an accomplishment to you?

This year I’ve been on 29 flights. I lived in DC, Alaska, and New York. I visited Seattle, San Francisco, and New Paltz for the first time. I went to 4 conferences/professional development workshops. I hiked 3 mountains: West Butte and Mendenhall Glacier in Alaska, and Giant in the Adirondack Park. I only went to the hospital 3 times, 2 for myself. (THIS IS HUGE. The year prior was 11). I read The Lorax aloud approximately 100 times. I worked 253 hours at my cupcake job. I lost my iTunes library twice and I only kissed one person.

Then to the tangibles: What were your goals, if any? How did you do on them?

My goals/intentions for last year were:

1. Yoga 4x a week.

2. Learn Tennis.

3. Camp push up challenge.

4. Practice making friends.

5. Cultivate gentleness.

I think we as a culture can fall into a trap of ultimatums, either yes or no, without any middle ground possible, when really that’s only as true as you make it. And so all my goals and intentions came with the asterisk of trying my best; that’s all the universe can ask of us. With that in mind, I “accomplished” all of them except number 2. As much as I put intention into it, yoga came to the forefront of my life and tennis didn’t come into fruition, and I’m ok with that. We learn, grow, and become the people we are supposed to be at our own pace. My pace this year didn’t include tennis.

Finally, I think the last part to reflecting comes with finding themes: what themes, thoughts, patterns of living, or constants appeared in our lives? What were the hardest moments? What were the easiest moments?  Where did you shine the brightest?

In my life this year the themes that surfaced were finding ease, limiting drama, letting go of things that don’t serve me, finding and expressing gratitude, and being authentically and truly me with no apologies. I think my hardest moments were admitting I need help and then letting people help me; this is still a huge struggle for me. My easiest moments and the moments where I shined the most were at camp in Alaska; I got down, dirty, gritty, and real with the people around me and I taught from my heartspace and not my headspace.

And so where does all that reflecting leave us? What’s next? I think it’s more thinking, processing, lingering, and reflecting until next week when we will transfer those thoughts into actions for the next year. What do you want more of in this next year? What do you want less of? What isn’t serving you and your life? What makes you oh so happy?

 

Possibilities

dreams, education, energy, great girl voice, peace, possibilities, think

(Intern’s note: This is the third interview in our ‘Possibilities’ series here on the thinkpeace blog.  We believe it is just as important to share our own stories as it is to hear about other powerful women who are living into their own greatness. They show us that no matter our age, financial situation, location, abilities, or stage of life, you can create possibility for your life. In my life, ceramics teachers have been the people who most encourage me to change or put a spark in me to live bigger. My current ceramics teacher, Akemi, has done exactly that. I’ve made work this semester that I could never have dreamed possible. And on a side note, I have to say that Akemi has the coolest sense of style of almost anyone I’ve ever met!)

Meet PowerGirl Akemi Maegawa

The Interview:

Age?

45

Nickname in Middle School or High School?

Giraffe

What did you want to be when you were growing up?

International traveler

What do you want to be now/what are you doing?

I do what I like to do now.

Flavor of Ice Cream that most describes you (not your favorite… the one that describes you)

Coffee

How would you describe yourself in one word?

Passionate

If you could flashback to your high school self would you tell her anything? If so, what?

Keep on going. You are doing great.

What do you love most about yourself?

That I have empathy.

Which one person has changed the course of your life? And why?

My husband. He saved me from my worst physical and psychological condition from my previous life and walked with me all the way to find myself again.

How do you motivate yourself?

I listen to my body and mind; eat well and sleep well.

How do you live into your full potential? How do you go after what you still want to be?

I try to fully appreciate what I have now and show my appreciation to the people around me. I do believe in the synergy effect and I believe an immeasurable happiness can be achieved only by sharing with others, not by keeping things or ability for myself. I want to find out how happy and excited we can be as human beings.

What do you think is the biggest issue facing girls in the world? How can we change the course of this?

The world is so big and girls live differently in different countries and different cultures. In some countries girls do not have basic human rights and they are treated like slaves or family commodities. That has to be stopped. Education is the only way to change this.

What’s next in your life for you? What is the next big action in your life? Change? A plan or goal that’s big?

I do not have any big plan or goal. I live one day at a time and try to do right things every day. One step is a small step but I think everything starts from the one step. When I have a chance to do something positive, I try to take an action instead of just thinking or talking. Moving one step further everyday towards the direction I want to go with all my friends and families will eventually lead to a big happy society and the world. To die in a better society is my goal.

☮

Possibilities

acceptance, compassion, energy, great girl voice, human rights, kindness, peace, possibilities, think

(Intern’s note: This is the second interview in our ‘Possibilities’ series here on the thinkpeace blog.  We believe it is just as important to share our own stories as it is to hear about other powerful women who are living into their own greatness. They show us that no matter our age, financial situation, location, abilities, or stage of life, you can create possibility for your life. I met Jessie late in the summer of 2011. I was immediately captivated by her warmth and love– and the fact that we attended the same high school. She was a vital player in my coming out as queer. I can honestly say with my whole heart that she meets people where they are, holds space for who they are and want to grow into, and genuinely cares for humanity.  She has been and continues to be one of the most influential people in my life.)

 

JJ teaching GARMIN to chop wood, PowerGirl style!

Meet PowerGirl Jessie Justin

The Interview:

Age?

34

Nickname in Middle School or High School?

Sometimes people called me by my last name “Justin”, or “J”.

What did you want to be when you were growing up?

Someone who could help people. Counselor or therapist…

What do you want to be now/what are you doing?

I want to be an art therapist in a school or private setting, with individuals and groups. Or/and, a facilitator for workshops/groups about social justice, white privilege, race, etc. Or, combine all of the above.  I am currently working as a mental health clinician visiting families in their homes, helping folks manage the stresses in their lives and navigate the federal and state programs that are in place to help support families in need.

Flavor of Ice Cream that most describes you (not your favorite… the one that describes you)?

Oreo is my favorite and probably best describes me. Sometimes it’s just a vanilla base, but often the cookie crumbles get pretty mixed up in there so it’s not as basic as it’s often described. The Oreo is sometimes crunchy, sometimes soft and mushy — I am sometimes hard shelled, but sometimes rather vulnerable. Sometimes when you bite in you get a chunk, a good chewy experience. Other times you can just ease right on through, simple as that. I can be both intense and easy going. There are lots of different types of Oreo ice cream… Each brand is different.

How would you describe yourself in one word?

Here.

If you could flashback to your high school self would you tell her anything? If so, what?

I would probably tell myself that it gets better — every year gets better and better (but I don’t know how I would have believed that when I was younger).  I was told something in high school by someone I respected, it shifted my world: Stand up straight, take your hands out of your pockets and put one foot in front of the other.

What do you love most about yourself?

My ability to be a witness. Sometimes to be a bridge.

Which one person has changed the course of your life? And why?

My mom. She’s my mom. She was one of the coolest people I’ve ever met, and a really good friend. She was a do-er. She was a change maker. She was someone who would love me, and someone who would challenge me. She helped me grow and be aware of the world around me.

How do you motivate yourself?

Good question. I try to check in with my feelings, my desires, my needs — combine them and head in a direction that seems like it will help me participate as a whole human being.

On the blog and in staff meetings we have been talking about being a “YES!” to our lives… what does this mean to you?

Being a YES, not just saying yes: positive attitude, hope, setting self up for successful steps.

What do you think is the biggest issue facing girls in the world? How can we change the course of this?

Very big question.  Ultimately, to narrow it down to “the” issue — sexism. What falls under this topic: internalized sexism, identity, sexuality, social equity, financial equality, all the oppressions, rights, etc…

What’s your next bold move?

To live my life through love and freedom. Make positive change for myself and others, while not oppressing others or myself in the process.

♥