Seth said it again! I love it when someone hits it on the head, something you might think about all the time, but when you see it in words, on the page, it really strikes you. I love fabulousness…and I love it even more when I see it around me, being created, especially by those I know, or by me; but also just everywhere…

Seth is the man, Seth Godin, that is… what more can I say?

he said:

Fabulous

This is so cool: because we only look at things we want to look at, only talk about things worth talking about, the amount of fabulous in the world continues to rise exponentially.

Even though we’re at the tail end of the great recession, think about all the cool stuff in your life. Not just stuff you can buy, but experiences, works of art, innovations of all kinds… the bar has been raised for what you need to do to be noticed, and the market is responding.

Not only do I notice more fabulous, but it sure seems as though the creators of it are more engaged, dedicated and yes, joyful, than I can remember. If there was ever a moment to follow your passion and do work that matters, this is it. You can’t say, “but I need to make a fortune instead,” because that’s not happening right now. So you might as well join the people who can say, “I love doing this.”

Posted by Seth Godin on November 08, 2009 |

just had to share that…I just released A Tribal Dancer’s Anthology (see previous blog posts to purchase) , and I”m damn excited about that. Such lovely words to share with other dancers, artists, anyone who is interested in art and making the world go around. And I think it is pretty fabulous.

And you? I know you want to share…

What are you doing? Come on, tell me…

How do you get inspired? the ongoing topic…

A way for me to get inspired is by reading what other people do, what they think and write, it’s as if they were a mirror, or not, and gives me a time to reflect on myself and what I am doing and what I’ve set out to do… Derek Silvers, an ex-circus man turned musician then ingenious entrepeneur, the former owner of the amazingly successful CD Baby, keeps things moving for me…

HIs blog topic yesterday was…”What do you hate not doing?”

http://sivers.org/hatenot

Derek writes: We’ve all asked ourselves, “What do I really love?” or “What makes me happy?” I’ve wrestled when the emotion-based answers conflict with expectations. (I’m a musician, but I love working alone. Does that mean I should be a producer instead of performer? I’m an entrepreneur but I hate doing business deals. Does that mean I’m more of a CTO than CEO?) Last week I thought of it a different way, that I like better:

What do you hate NOT doing? (What makes you feel icky, irritated, annoyed or off-track if you don’t do it enough?) .

..and I thought this was just a super positive way to look at what I am, am not doing. So…

*I don’t like not moving my body every day, wether it be dancing, doing my personal workout, throwing hay to the goats, gardening…I am a pysical person, I need to move my body or I get super restless.

*I don’t like not reading every day. I must read, it does something to my psyche, me brain, my thought processes.

*I don’t like not writing every day. It helps to clear my mind, gets my ideas down on paper, gets my work done so that I can move forward on to the next project or idea or chapter.

*I don’t like not feeling connected, to myself, my family, my animals—every day. When I get too busy, it takes its  toll on my personal well-being, and my connection to my immediate community. Although good family and friends understand and accept those times of extreme busy-ness, no apologies necessary, it does not make me feel good. So there….do check out Derek’s blog…

How about you?

Can you approach your intentions and inspirations from that angle? Or think about what you want to do in terms of what you hate not doing? Bring it on!

~~~~~~~And down to my reading…

~~the $64.00 Tomato, by William Alexander Hilarious, made my howl out loud, which I love to do when I ‘m reading…

~~Tribes: We Need You To Lead Us, by Seth Goldin Here is something to get your brain cranked up!

~~Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything. by  Elizabeth Gilbert the ever popular book and author these days, and I still love it, and her! The writing is so authentic and soul-searching.

Here is a lovely clip from the TED conference with Elizabeth speaking about creative genius, what do you think?

Elizabeth Gilbert

In my Heroes and Gods story, I write about some of my favorite books and musicians. Here is a quick link for you to check them out if you are interested! Amazon does make it easy to shop this way, and it helps support this blog if you buy from this link…

Henry Miller, Sexus from the Rosy Crucifixtion

 Diane Ackerman: A Natural History of My Garden, and A Natural History of The Senses. 

Isabel Allende: Aphrodite, A Memoir of the Senses

 Rainier Maria Rilke: Diaries of A Young Poet

Anais Nin

As I was going over notes from the past, little tidbits of writings that I have filed away, I ran across these two quotes from fellow dancers.

Peggy wrote to me a bit about the spider, “Spider teaches, spider awakens. Spiders can spend a day weaving their web and if it doesn’t work untie it and let it float away. Spider can teach us to weave our lives, but we always have the ability to re-weave what we don’t like.”

*** Niamh wrote, “There is honestly nothing more brave and beautiful than a woman living, and living for herself. What an adventure! If only all women could have that adventure.”

Thank you beautiful women, for writing, it means so much to me. Our dance can be so simple, sometimes so difficult, but always so profound. I so believe the dance has helped to make to make and keep women connected together in a strangely beautiful community of sorts, and helped to make them strong and beautiful individually and collectively!

Niahm also suggests these two books as making an impact on her and wanted to share them as well…

1. The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

2. The Sweet Breathing of Plants, Women writing on the Green World by Linda Hogan & Breanda Peterson Let me know what you think!

I like to spend my early morning writing and reading, sometimes before I feed all my goaties, dogs, and cat, sometimes after. It is my time before I get into work mode, at least I try to stick to that routine, or discipline. It does not always happen, and I let myself get carried away by work emails, gigs, set lists, and more emails. It is important for me to try to stick to it, because it is my most creative time of the day, and I fuel myself that way. It is my time.

Today I was doing just that, and came across a fabulous phrase that I want to share with you. I read  Julia Cameron’s work, her writing-help books have been invaluable to my creative process. She is brilliant, and quite disciplined, although she prefers to call it stickting to her routine! This is from a fabulous book called The Right To Write, and it makes me think of so many dancers, and artists, who don’t value themselves and what they do. I see that in my dance classes, when I see such beauty in each woman who is taking the time for herself to do this dance that she loves. They don’t credit themselves enough, or brush off my compliments. Why is it so easy to not accept a compliment. I am all for the mutual admiration society! We are all exquisite creatures!

Anyway…
“Valuing our experience is not narcissism. It is not endless self-involvement. It is, rather, the act of paying active witness to ourselves and to our world. Such witness is an act of dignity, an act that recognizes that life is essentially a sacred transaction of which we know only the shadow, not the shape. As we attune ourselves more and more closely to the value of passing moments, we learnt that we are something of moment ourselves.”  

Isn’t that an incredibly meaningful passage? I love it. What do you think?  

This is the book… the Right to Write