Living The Emerson Rule

October 10, 2014December 30, 2022

Alive and Kicking

“Bad things happen to good people” – that was a major theme in the book I just heard, Monday Mornings, by Sanjay Gupta. And boy, did bad things ever happen his characters. There was a point I knew something was going to happen to this one woman – and I expected it would be awful. It did; and it was. The abundance of bad things that happened in this audible reminded me of a woman I met in book club – an aspiring writer. She said she was having a block because she didn’t want “bad things” to happen to her people. Apparently the workshop she was attending implied this storyline tactic was obligatory.

An extreme version of this tactic was NOT applied to a movie I saw recently, Boyhood. It was a good movie; novel concept. It was a long movie – I kept waiting for something really bad to happen (how indoctrinated to formula am I?). Stuff happened (eh), but nothing extraordinarily bad. Life happened. The movie got 4-1/2, almost 5 stars – and I could relate. Yes, it was a good movie. Still, my main take-away was how fricking looong it was. My life – or the lives of my friends would be equally as interesting. His life wasn’t astonishing, unusual or strange … It was just life.

Bad things happen to good people. That’s life. I have my own personal legacy of bad stuff; occasionally handled with grace. I’ve been known to say that my life twisted me; permanently. These twists and turns that are me are not bad or ugly – they can be quite beautiful; when I embrace the contortions. I know my buttons and what pushes them – and when I use my logical brain instead of my lizard brain (as Seth Godin calls it), I can stop my desire to run like hell; OR punch you out. Sometimes.

Bad things happen to good people. Is that what makes us grow? Does the Universe have a message we need to get? Imagine a life with no struggle, no pain (heavenly!). When I look back though, I know that the painful junk is what sent me to the next dimension. Sucks, but there it is. I found the key is in how pain is faced, acknowledged, accepted and dealt with. I can choose to learn and grow, or I can just be pissed off and wrecked.

This week as I was living my life, guess what queued-up on my iPod! – “Alive and Kicking” by Simple Minds

Who will save me? Me! – I will save me! As long as I am alive and I am kicking!

By emimusic:

October 5, 2014December 30, 2022

Edges of Passion

“The goal.. was to explore the edges of their passions and do the work they had never done before.” – Seth Godin, The Icarus Deception on “Shame, Vulnerability, and Being Naked.”

Explore the edges of my passion!

My passion? I’ve got way more than one!

I am passionate about my dogs; easy place to start – they’re my family, my babies.
I am passionate about learning things; reading, talking to people about what I read – talking about all kinds of stuff – and finding the connections.
I am passionate about my family and friends; especially the ones who “get” me and my weirdness and will debate ideas.
I am passionate about moving, exercise; dancing!
I am passionate about travelling to places I’ve never been (and yes! put exercise with travel like Backroads® does and I find the best of both! Whoo hooo Nova Scotia, Utah, Wyoming!)
I am passionate about growing and sharing – scares the be-jee’bees out of me, but what a rush!

… explore the edges of my passion – at my favorite dance class MADD-X®, I explore the edges (oh yes I do) .. and may even be the rhythmic, sultry hip-hop dancer and not the stiff-rigid, old white lady. Right!

October 4, 2014December 30, 2022

Pick Yourself

She came across a book “that I had to read” – and she was going to get it for me. How did I want it; in book form or audio? Well, if you want me to get to it quick give it to me in audio; I’ll have plenty of time to listen to it in Atlanta traffic – on the way to work. How enthusiastic was that?

Then it showed up: Seth Godin’s The Icarus Deception; How High Will You Fly? And listen I did! Three times! Then I signed up for Seth’s daily blog, and when he launched Krypton College I organized and led three sessions. During the inaugural Krypton session, I pledged to my fellow participants to launch my Blog July 2014 (only after talking about it for YEARS). It was up-and-running May 2014 and fully launched in September. To keep my momentum going, I ordered Icarus in book form so I could sit back and savor it once more. Okay – I’m enthusiastic now!

What is it about this book that strikes such a chord? What resonates so strongly for me? Seth is calling me to create art. Create my art – and put it out there – out in the world. He calls me to join the connection economy. The world I was born to, our great industrial age, is waning. Seth explains we are in the midst of change – change from the industrial worldview to something new. This change requires us to behave differently. I feel it. I see it around me. Lucky me, haven’t been pinched by it financially (yet), but I have good friends who have. Instead of waiting to be picked – picked by a company to be their employee, by a publisher to write a book, by a record label to create music – Seth calls us to pick ourselves.

But we are not brought up to pick ourselves. We are taught to be quiet and fit in, regurgitate our lessons on standardized tests. Wait to be chosen – for prestigious schools, the next rung on the ladder. We are taught to swallow the story that to buy-buy-buy and keep up with the Jones’ is good for the economy. Why do I need that car, that house, those shoes? Who am I trying to impress? And we wonder why we are so dissatisfied and unfulfilled. Why Friday is the best day of the week.

But to Pick Myself! Scary! Unproven! Risky! NOOOOO….. you will surely laugh my butt off the stage.

There is no map or guaranteed method of success. Uncomfortable! According to Seth when “faced with a choice of dying inside as the world mechanizes or confronting the fear that we have been indoctrinated with, many may choose the path of quiet desperation.” These words remind me of another sage philosopher, Henry David Thoreau who in Walden, observed that “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”

Why? Why are we so scared? And of what? Me – my fear is that I’ll end up on the streets as a toothless bag lady. Really?

Again, Seth says we can give in to our fear – it is our “privilege…but understand that it’s a choice.” My choice. Your choice. Am I going to wait around for someone to pick me? Or am I going to pick myself?

Thank you my dearest friend for bringing me this book that lit my fire – I am PICKING MYSELF!!

“Fear doesn’t go away. The warrior and the artist live by the same code of necessity, which dictates that the battle must be fought anew every day.” Steven Pressfield

September 30, 2014December 30, 2022

Cat Happy

“A big cat saw a little cat chasing its tail and asked, ‘Why are you chasing your tail so?” Said the kitten, “I have learned that the best thing for a cat is happiness, and that happiness is in my tail. Therefore, I am chasing it: and when I catch it, I shall have happiness.”

“Said the old cat, “My son, I too, have paid attention to the problems of the universe. I, too, have judged that happiness is in my tail. But I have noticed that whenever I chase after it, it keeps running away from me, and when I go about my business, it just seems to come after me wherever I go.”

– C. L. James

Just stop chasing my tail – novel idea!

September 28, 2014December 30, 2022

The Path: An Examined Life

Plato documented in his Apology that Socrates died for his convictions – he would not run away, he would not be silent. Socrates knew that his jury would find his choice to be steadfast in his convictions hard to believe; and ultimately his belief “that the life which is unexamined is not worth living,“ and “would be disobedience to a divine command” – would bring a death sentence.

Thankfully I don’t face death in a court of law defending what I believe. There are those that do; and many who face censure from their community, family, friends and places of work – just for what they believe.

Mostly I fit it – am I too quiet because I want to fit in? Do I conform because it’s right for me, or because I don’t want to cause turmoil and drama? Do I bite my tongue because I want to be liked, loved, admired and trusted? Do I walk the party line at work because I’m afraid if I don’t they’ll throw me out on my ear and I need the paycheck? Do I even know who I am and what I believe – that I would risk my life for the right to be that? Do I have the courage to find out?

Confession: I have a DVD recording of a talk I made during a women’s leadership seminar 5-years ago that I (still) have not watched. What the heck am I afraid of? That I sucked? 5-years ago? Yeah – I’m scared shitless to see myself suck. Hahahaha!!! Oh jeez.

I have calendar diaries and journals that I’ve kept since the late 80’s. Once I thought – oh my, I better get rid of these things, someone might read them and realize how f***’d up I am. Then one day I dipped into “1987,” and it was kinda (ridiculously) inane, poorly written, full of drama, fuss and frankly boring. Betting any hapless, poor sap reader would find it good fire-starting material.

But what a treasure trove for me. Let me examine my life! Maybe discover why I quit writing in 2005 – be brave – be tenacious (trudging through the trashy, melodramatic drivel) and look for nuggets that may educate and enlighten me. I agree with Socrates about an examined life. I want to know me – know what I am willing to die for; more importantly what I am willing to live for.

“Fear springs from ignorance.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson, The American Scholar