Read, Create, Explore, Expand

See the power of art to transform people, cultures and thought processes.  How inspiring is this for the start of a New Year? 

Even war cannot take away their music

This documentary on the children of Uganda’s war zone is a testament to the human spirit, expressed in music and dance.  It is unbelievable what these children have gone through and yet are able to feel and express their inner joy and powerful emotions.  It’s  heartwarming, and inspiring . 

Gail Brokaw
http://www.embracethepossibility.org
http://www.facebook.com/gail.brokaw

Memories Made Tangible

I received a newsletter recently from one of my favorite life coaches, Jennifer Louden .  She talked about her friends who just lost their home to fire in Santa Barbara and that the first thing her friend thought of after she heard her house was burned to the ground, was gratitude.  She was so grateful that her family was safe and that her friends were offering her support and assistance.  What a great way to deal with a hardship.  Instead of dwelling on the loss, she focused on what she did have and how lucky she was to have it. 

Jennifer writes, “If you’ve ever lost things to a disaster or accident, you know it’s not about the stuff, it’s about memories made tangible: the plaster handprint your child made in kindergarten, the picture of your father right before he died smiling at the camera with an impish grin of gratitude, it’s the dusty teapot from your honeymoon in Ireland.”

My response to Jennifer follows:

Jennifer,   I loved your newsletter as it touched a cord in my emotions.  It is so true that “it’s about memories made tangible”.   After my parents died and I watched the house I was raised in  be torn down, I felt the loss like the loss of a loved one.  As brick and wood came down, I thought of the family picnics in the back yard on long summer nights, the measuring place on the back door edging where grandkids could hardly wait to pass up their short grandma.  I remembered bringing both my babies to visit their grandparents and play in the yard I played in.  They flew kites in the field next door with their grandpa. I remembered the fireplace my father kept fueled in winter and the one special stormy day I came home from school to find him home with Mom ready to enjoy tea and cookies with my sister and me.  I could go on and on. . .    Anyway, after the devastation, I hope your friends can begin to start reminiscing and reminding each other of those special things and memories and then write them down before they start to forget the details.  They sound like very special people indeed.  Loved the visual of grabbing the duck broth!   Thank you for sharing and reminding us of what’s really important and about the challenges and creativity involved in transitions.  Please send my best wishes to your friends. Gail Brokaw http://www.embracethepossibility.org You can check out Jennifer’s blog at http://www.comfortqueen.com/  She is a wonderfully talented writer.

Daily Conversations Appreciated

I’ve had some interesting conversations with a coworker this last week. 

*  “We are each special – just like everyone else. . . no, really. . .it’s a good thing.”

*  Loss and grieving and how it affects each of us differently, as she talked about a child who just lost his father to suicide.

*  The little things in life that bring us joy, like a parking spot close to the office after a year of having to walk from a block away.

*  How the loss of a parent early in life can affect a person’s personality, outlook and expectations throughout their life.

*  Similarities and differences in growing up in a Mexican, Black or White blue collar family – - Who’s happier the blue collar family or the CEO of a corporation?  Then there were rememberings of our blue collar families, the closeness we felt, the memories of childhood get-togethers and the warmth.

*  Who wears yellow to a memorial service? 
There are cultural differences that require understanding.

We’ve annoyed each other, laughed with each other, shared intimate details of loss and sorrow and joy, and learned from each other.  It was a good week.

And I received a Chinese fortune cookie note “A good position and a comfortable salary will be yours”  It’s now taped on my computer. . .

 

Gail Brokaw
http://www.embracethepossibility.org

The Secret

The Secret

OK, don’t stone me, but I have a problem with The Secret and the Law of Attraction.  I think it seems to work for some in the world of opportunity, money and connections, but what about the people of the world living in poverty.  My guess is that they wake up every morning praying to their god that they live a better life with more money, better housing, more opportunities and some connection to someone that could help them.  They haven’t been exposed to the kind of education or thinking that allows them to create businesses that will thrive because they put up a note on their ceiling to see each morning saying, “I am a millionaire.”  Sometimes some of this Secret jargon seems like self-indulgent, want to have more, more, more, with magical thinking mixed in for effect.  It reminds me of a story I used to hear about a woman who belonged to a church that believed in speaking in Tongue (God speaking through them in some unknown language).  This woman loved her church, trusted the elders, and lived a good life trying to do everything she was told would get her closer to God.  She witnessed others in her church in prayerful moments going into a trance and speaking in Tongue straight from God.  She never experienced that and went to her death thinking there was something so wrong about her that God would not come to or through her.  How sad.

 

I do believe in positive thoughts, positive intentions, and making plans of actions to get us where we want to be.  That is very important.  I do believe that putting up notes around the house to remind us to stay focused on our intentions and plans does help us meet our goals.  And I’m incredibly thankful to live in a society that allows most of us the opportunity to creatively make our lives better each day by the words and actions we perform.  But sometimes I feel a bit jaded because I get tired of the phrases and words we hear like:

 

The Science of Getting Rich, a book from which the inspiration for The Secret came says in the opening sentence of Chapter 1:

“Whatever may be said in praise of poverty, the fact remains that it is not possible to live a really complete or successful life unless one is rich.”

 

Really?!  This seems like an absurd and ridiculous point of view.  Not to say that money can’t make a person’s life easier, but “not possible to live a really complete or successful life” unless you have an over abundance of money?  This infuriates me.  What happened to the values of having “enough”, values of helping others, creating for the sake of creating?  What about the values of spending time with family and friends, versus spending money on family and friends. I feel we, as a country have gotten so off track from what makes a truly satisfying life that we don’t even realize what our values are for a joyful and healthy life.  When was the last time you sat still and thought about what was really important to you and your family?  If you only had six months left to live, my guess is that you wouldn’t spend it building your financial empire.  You might want to say something to someone that needs to be said, you might want to travel to a place you’ve always wanted to see, you might want to throw a big party for all those in your life that are special to you, you might want to go camping with a grandchild and feel the newness of discovery through their eyes, you may want to learn to paint or quilt or do something to express yourself.  What would you want to leave behind?  That is the secret.  What can you do today that will bring meaning to your life?  Who will you touch by your kindness, your energy, your sharing? 

 

Layoffs and Opportunities

Our family has been hit by this recession and layoffs like so many others.  It is an emotional time and a time for reassessing our lives.  In a flash, there was shock, hurt, and a bit of panic, followed by anger, though tempered with an understanding that the decisions by the company were purely financial.  Then there came some depressive feelings with a realization that life is just not fair sometimes.  After the initial shock, here are some things that I have found can be helpful to feeling more in control of our own destiny.

 

 Take this time to review your past employment and see if it is a good time to make a change.  Look at this transition time as one that gives you an opportunity to get retrained, learn new skills, take a new direction.  There are lots of classes and books available to help you get started.  Just don’t sit at home and feel sorry for yourself.  Make it your job to find a job or new career.  Work at it every single day.

If you haven’t got one, create a budget showing all your income and expenses.  Where can you cut expenses?  Make some decisions that will help your bottom line.  Stop an unnecessary service or sell something you don’t really need.   If you have a financial planner, talk to them for advice.  Check out Suze Orman’s website for practical information that can get you back on track financially. 

You are in control of your time each day.  If you need to, make a list each evening that will help give you direction the following day. Then get started.

 

 

 If you haven’t received your COBRA information for continuing your insurance within a couple of weeks of your layoff, inform your employer’s Human Resources staff.  They make mistakes too and sometimes that can delay your COBRA information from arriving in a timely manner.  And we all know how important it is to keep that health insurance in effect, if at all possible.

 

If you are without health insurance and can’t afford to obtain your medications, look into Partnership for Prescription Assistance.  It is a cooperative for 475 Prescription Assistance Programs which have rolled their assistance opportunities into one-stop shopping that can be accessed through the web or by telephone.

 Apply for unemployment benefits, even if you were just reduced from full time to part time.  They may cover the lost hours and that will surely help your bottom line.  Your employer should give you information regarding this process.

 

 

Start posting your resume with online job hunting sites, like Indeed.com, Monster.com, CareerBuilder.com, Craigslist.org, Care.com, snagajob.com, usajobs.gov.  If you know of other great sites, please add a comment below and share the information.

 

 

 If you are spiritual, don’t forget to let your beliefs and practices help guide you to a more assured sense of wellbeing.  Having a basic belief that things will be alright is essential now.  Mindfulness skills, meditation, praying, positive thinking, and giving to others are ways to help us focus on what we can do to help ourselves and others during this difficult time.

 

 

 Tell all your friends, colleagues, past and present, and family that you are looking for work.  There is no shame in losing your job.  That’s just the way of the world at this point in time.  It will get better.  Get signed up for LinkedIn and Facebook and let your social networking help you with leads.  If you have time, volunteer with an organization that inspires you.

 

 

 Plant a garden to help with the grocery bills.  It’s great therapy to get outside, and gives a sense of accomplishment when those plants begin to bloom and produce fruit or veggies.  

 

 

 

I know this can interrupt your sleep, but try deep breathing relaxation exercises or listening to calming soft music when hitting the sack and keep reminding yourself that even though things are not as they were, you can adjust and create a new life.  There is an end to this recession. 

 

 

There is a new beginning just waiting to happen.  Embrace the Possibility!

 

 

 

What a wonderful life!

Coy Watson, Jr died at the ripe old age of 96. I have such fond memories of him.   He had such a love of life, that he made everyone around him happy.  He was a caring, spiritual, fun loving,  joker who brought some very fun conversations to my family.  He moved from Los Angeles to Elk Grove, CA  in search of a quieter slower life but I think it was just too slow for Coy.  He needed energy around him and though he enjoyed our then peaceful fields and small town, he just had to get back down south to the big city.  When I think of Coy and Willie, his wife, I think of lots of laughter and story after interesting story of his life in Southern California, in silent movies and as a camera man. 

When my daughter, Julia Francis, was a little girl, our two families drove up to the foothills for a day-long picnic.  On the drive home, I remember Julia and Coy trading songs and stories all the way home.  They were both hams, through and through and had such a fun time entertaining us all.  He said at that time that he knew she’d be an entertainer, and he was right.

Coy, you will be missed.  You left many people with wonderful memories.  Thank you for making this world a better place and thank you for all your contibutions to movies, the news and friendships.

This image provided by Pattie Watson Price shows Jackie Coogan, left, and Coy Watson Jr. in a 1927 production of "Buttons". Watson, the former "Keystone Kid" who appeared in dozens of Mack Sennett comedies and other silent films before abandoning acting for a long career as a newspaper and television news photographer, died Saturday, March 14, 2009, of complications of stomach cancer, according to his daughter Pattie Watson Price. He was 96.

http://www.seattlepi.com/movies/1402ap_obit_watson.html

The Cycle of Turning

Mid air sculpture by Andy Goldsworthy

As I watched the video, Rivers and Tides, about Andy Goldsworthy, an environmental artist, philosopher, and architect,  I felt calm and contemplative.  His work is meditative and gives me so much to think about.  The following link shows him completing one of his works on a beach and we watch the tide come in and gently lift the sculpture off the rocks and into the water.  The water gently pulls and pushes and slowly the sculpture begins to change and become something different.  It doesn’t fight against the change. (I need to remember that in my life.)  His artwork is as impermanent as life.  Andy calls it the “cycle of turning”.  Here is a excerpt of the video which I highly recommend if you are in the mood for something calming and thought provoking.  Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBcdL8uO71E

Gail Brokaw
http://www.embracethepossiblity.org  (join my monthly newsletter)

How to Cook Your Life

 

The video, How to Cook Your Life is comtemplative and inspirational. I find myself wanting to make bread now and to slow my thinking down and let things rise from my mind as the bread dough rises after being fed with all the ingredients it needs to nourish our bodies.
Zen priest and chef, Edward Brown talks about life through food preparation. As with everything we do, we can look at the way we prepare our food and eat our food and compare our actions in the kitchen with the actions we usually take in our lives. This documentary visits Tassajara Zen Center, Green Gulch Zen Center, and the San Francisco Zen Center as it instructs and inspires us to live our lives consciously and with purpose.
Edward Brown looks at the metal tea pots with dents and creases and likens them to our lives with wrinkles and troubles. They are what makes us who we are and we continue to be useful with any and all of our dings and dents. That’s a good, good thought to keep in mind as I age!  Sometimes I think I need to be that perfect shining tea pot that performs as if new all the time.  I have to remember patience and forgiveness, mindfulness and appreciation as I move through my days.  Oh yes, and don’t forget to breathe!

The Giant Buddhas

Bamiyan Buddha, Afghanistan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I just finished watching this wonderful documentary, The Giant Buddhas from Netflix on my computer. I highly recommend this program. 
The documentary mentioned that originally the Buddha had a wooden face covered in gold and jewels.  The face could be tilted so that the Buddhist monks could light candles behind the eyes.  I now have a mental picture of the Buddha at night with lights coming from behind giant ruby eyes, shining over the Bamiyan Valley. What a fantastic vision it must have been. Makes me wonder though what is happening in that region of the Silk Road now and how sad it is to have lost these world treasures to the Taliban’s twisted perspective.

I am  so appreciative for the life I lead as I watch how difficult it has been and continues to be for generations in that area.  Those families that had lived in the cliff dwellings for generations have now been “relocated” by the government to a seemingly undesirable and inhospitable  location, farther from water and in an extremely cold and windy area.  It made me think of  how the US “relocated” the  American Indians to the Reservations.  It looks like a life of  survival, not really living or being able to appreciate.  I can’t imagine how difficult it must be to live in that region.  This helps me to remember that I have nothing to complain about. 

The Giant Buddhas
(2005) NR
Christian Frei’s documentary traces the tragic tale of the giant Buddhas of Afghanistan’s Bamiyan Valley, which stood as monumental landmarks for 1,500 years until 2001, when the Taliban declared that all non-Islamic statues in the country be destroyed. Despite international protest, the statues were blown up. Through interwoven narratives from past and present, Frei’s film sheds light on the disturbing consequences of religious fanaticism.

Here are some links with more information about the Buddhas.

http://buddhistlinks.org/BuddhasBamiyan.htm

Here is something about the uncovered third and reclining buddha.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iMwnIv89hH3Q7rvdzmDQH9zCL6KA

And here is a video discussing the possible rebuilding of the Buddhas.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9Cu5iOjHQo

Gail Brokaw
http://www.embracethepossibility.org