I just wanted to drop a little note here letting you know that next week I will be taking some much-needed time off. I have my morning quote posts all scheduled to go up, there will still be a rockin' Kind Kindred post on Monday, maybe a sponsor post throughout the week... but yes, I will be spending less time online in general next week.
On Monday, I am getting braces (!!) on my top teeth, I am only assuming that there will be some pain involved plus my sweet in-laws are coming next weekend from across the state, so I want to take the week to rejuvenate from all that teeth shifting before they arrive.
August is going to be a super-busy month at home. I'm outlining a few new & exciting projects, hoping to take a few wholesome & heartening classes toward the end of the month, which I am super-stoked about. We are making some decisions on whether we want to have Zenin go out of the home 2 days a week to a classroom setting this fall. So the blogging schedule will be light, there will still be a post or two every day, but they will be low-maintenance posts, I have a few sweet giveaways planned, but I hope to unplug more than I usually do in August & come back feeling light, alive & full of awesomeness to share with you.
Thank you so much for being here, I'm serious, you all rock my world.
I was poking around in the App store on my iPad this week & came across this app - squee! - I bought it without hesitation. A few years ago Keri Smith released Wreck This Journal which was a huge success, I knew this had to be awesome too... & it is! Keri gives you the space to be silly, creative & make mistakes... she gently pushes you to be creative, even if you think you don't have a creative bone in your body, you just may surprise yourself playing with this app.
She is offering an introductory price through August 16th too! If you don't have an iPhone/Pad/Pod - you could always buy the book!
If you're on your mobile, simply click here & it should take you to the App Store, if you're on desktop it will take to a preview page.
From the description:
With Wreck This App, you'll tap into your creative side in an entirely new way: by exploring your best mess-making and destructive abilities. Guided by more than 50 prompts and using a spectrum of drawing tools, you can tap "holes" through the screen, "Drip" different inks, and then smear them all together, deface your least favorite picture of yourself, scribble furiously, color outside of the lines! And when you've wrecked your app, you can post evidence of your creative destruction on Facebook or Flickr!
I spent some time playing with it this week, you can add photos, there are various tools you can use:
The app is worth purchasing just for the drip tool! You touch the screen & then you move your device around & the paint slides in the same direction, so awesome :
You can add text too:
Great way to relax & relieve stress :
I thought that this would be an awesome way for you to get creative this weekend! I have one more post scheduled for today, it won't be my usual Friday Lovelies this week, but just a little update from me :)
If you take any activity, any art, any discipline, any skill, take it and push it as far as it will go, push it beyond where it has ever been before, push it to the wildest edge of edges, then you force it into the realm of magic.
When you carry out acts of kindness you get a wonderful feeling inside. It is as though something inside your body responds and says, yes, this is how I ought to feel.
—
Harold Kushner
Pssst, opps *blushing* my apologies! Embedding has been disabled, you will have to click here to watch it but trust me, it's worth it. ;)
Toy Otter is my etsy shop, in my shop you will find items that I have made with my hands. These items are made to keep your portable electronics safe and protected from the ghastly powers of dust, dirt and other elements that may keep them from looking shiny and new. Did I mention that my handmade items are pretty darn stylish and appealing to the eye?
Come inside. Take a peak. Let me make one for you. Your laptop will thank you...
There is no controlling life.
Try corralling a lightning bolt,
containing a tornado. Dam a
stream and it will create a new
channel. Resist, and the tide
will sweep you off your feet.
Allow, and grace will carry
you to higher ground. The only
safety lies in letting it all in –
the wild and the weak; fear,
fantasies, failures and success.
When loss rips off the doors of
the heart, or sadness veils your
vision with despair, practice
becomes simply bearing the truth.
In the choice to let go of your
known way of being, the whole
world is revealed to your new eyes.
Our story starts off pretty simply. Two recent college grads meet on a working holiday in Australia. They become close friends, but eventually go separate ways to travel and start new chapters in their lives.Two years later they reconnect while back in the States, and decide together to do something different. They commit to starting a business, a clothing line to be exact, with the intention of changing the paradigm of fashion and consumption.
Fast forward a year later and we, Kristin and Shannon, have found ourselves on a journey where there’s no turning back.
We are attempting to do what no one in the fashion industry has ever done before. A completely sustainable, 100 percent organic, travel apparel line that promotes minimalism and un-consumption, and says “no” to cheap fabric, cheap labor, and the environmental damage of traditional textiles.
But that’s the short version.
In the Beginning
In May of 2010, I was wrapping up a nine-month stay in Cape Town, South Africa. I had spent the past months bartending for 10 US dollars per nine hour shift, working on a non-profit photography and writing project in the townships, and loving every minute of it.
At the time, the thought of going home, just as the World Cup was about to start, was almost impossible to comprehend. Even worse, I was on the brink of turning 25, and dealing with a combination of extreme return-culture-shock and the pressure of becoming a part of the “real world.”
Just one week earlier I was riding in an open-air vehicle through the savanna of Namibia -- and now I was supposed to go home and sit in an office cubicle?
Kristin
I got an e-mail from Kristin a few days after I got back home. She had been in New Orleans for the past six months, bartending and struggling to find direction. Her declaration of a “quarter-life” crisis was exactly how I was feeling, and we committed to figuring out a solution together.
I’ll never forget the feeling I had after hanging up from our first phone call. The brainstorming had begun, and we couldn’t stop bouncing ideas back and forth. The amount of relief and excitement was overwhelming -- I knew we were onto something.
By mid-July, we had plans to fly to Central America in the Fall, start a blog to document our journey, learn Spanish, and find a product to import back to the States.
Designing a Clothing Line in Guatemala
I met Kristin in Guatemala in October, and we spent the first two weeks living with a local family in the town of Antigua. During that time, we quickly came to the conclusion that there wasn’t a local product we were interested in importing.
We did, however, realize how difficult it was to live out of a backpack and still try to look somewhat presentable, mixing and matching the only clean pieces of clothing we had left and not worrying about whether the colors matched or not.
And that’s when we started designing a travel apparel line. Ten different pieces -- from a maxi dress to a cardigan -- that could be worn together to create over 100 different looks. They would all fit in a backpack or suitcase with room to spare, all the colors would go together, and each piece could be reversed or worn a different way.
The ultimate clothing line in functionality, versatility and minimalism.
From tiny coffee shops with unreliable internet connections, we started to research how to start a clothing line. It didn’t take long to realize that there is a right way and a wrong way to produce textiles and that, for the most part, the fashion industry has an incredibly toxic and destructive effect on the environment.
So, we decided to figure out how to do it the right way. We flew back to the States and dove in head first not fully grasping the scope of the challenge we had ahead of ourselves.
Where We Are Today
It's been a year since we decided to pursue our business and travel passions, and document our progress.
We have a full set of designs that are currently being made into samples in Denver, Colorado. We are in the midst of very hopeful conversation with a potential manufacturer in Australia, and we’re starting to design our new website, as well as put together our investment campaign for the Fall.
Our blog has taken on a life of its own and we have built a community of incredible supporters, who have virtually traveled with us to organic cotton farms in Nicaragua and to expert consultations in the textile belt of America.
We've all learned a lot. We've learned that many companies claim to be 100 percent organic when, in actuality, they aren’t. We’ve learned that organic cotton makes up about .76% of all the cotton in the world. We’ve learned it’s very expensive and that the manufacturing process is incredibly tedious.
But we've also learned that it's possible. That doing business doesn't have to be destructive to environments or laborers in the developing world. That it doesn't take a masters degree in sustainable design to change an industry. That when enough people care about something, change will slowly come.
Exciting times are ahead. Join us as we make this shift, because we believe the woman who changes her clothes, changes the world.
Shannon Whitehead, along with Kristin Glenn are the creators of {r}evolution apparel -- coming 2012. They blog about their experience in starting a clothing line at All of Us Revolution, as well as write about a range of other topics like, consumption, minimalism, the environment, social entrepreneurship and travel. Follow their journey on Twitter (@AllofUsRev) or on Facebook.
Everything you are, and everything you have, started as a thought in your mind. Your body is merely there to manifest physically that which the mind tells it to do. Everything starts with you telling the mind what you desire.
Modern handcrafted Eco-friendly vintage button rings, earrings & bracelets. All buttons I use are vintage, one-of-a-kind and range in date from 1890-1980s. HEYCARYANN is an online boutique for unique handmade GREEN gifts for you and your friends.
I have been making jewelry since I was a little girl. My father taught me all the basics. He nourished a passion for jewelry in me. I enjoyed beadwork for many years and now it's morphed into buttons. HEYCARYANN has helped in so many ways. Its more than a business to me, it's a creative outlet.
Today, many will awaken with a fresh sense of inspiration. Why not you?
Today, many will open their eyes to the beauty that surrounds them. Why not you?
Today, many will choose to leave the ghost of yesterday behind and seize the immeasurable power of today. Why not you?
Today, many will break through the barriers of the past by looking at the blessings of the present. Why not you?
Today, for many the burden of self doubt and insecurity will be lifted by the security and confidence of empowerment. Why not you?
Today, many will rise above their believed limitations and make contact with their powerful innate strength. Why not you?
Today, many will choose to live in such a manner that they will be a positive role model for their children. Why not you?
Today, many will choose to free themselves from the personal imprisonment of their bad habits. Why not you?
Today, many will choose to live free of conditions and rules governing their own happiness. Why not you?
Today, many will find abundance in simplicity. Why not you?
Today, many will be confronted by difficult moral choices and they will choose to do what is right instead of what is beneficial. Why not you?
Today, many will decide to no longer sit back with a victim mentality, but to take charge of their lives and make positive changes. Why not you?
Today, many will take the action necessary to make a difference. Why not you?
Today, many will make the commitment to be a better mother, father, son, daughter, student, teacher, worker, boss, brother, sister, & so much more. Why not you?
Today is a new day!
Many will seize this day.
Many will live it to the fullest.
Why not you?
I’m Fabeku Fatunmise. (Hi!) Business awesomizer. Suck exorcist. Punk rock alchemist. I help people turn up the awesome in their business through the magics of sound. In my spare time, I sip sweet Darjeeling, talk to Joey Ramone in my head, and wander the internets in search of the perfect luchador mask. Find me + say hey. That would be fabulous. Site: fabeku.com :: Twitters: @fabeku :: Facebook
To be sensual, I think, is to respect and rejoice in the force of life, of life itself, and to be present in all that one does, from the effort of loving to the making of bread.
Crystal, a 9 year old girl, saw us as we were delivering bunk beds to her neighbors. She came up to me & told me that she lives with ten other kids, none of which have beds, & did we have any more left for her family...Every bit counts:
Embrace Your Essence: What signifies your existence? What does it mean for you to be alive? When you think about You, what comes to mind?
What’s love got to do with it? : Love is the single most essential element in your business. It is the air you and your business breathe.
Soulful Summer Camp : Because we think you deserve a little soulcare this summer.
Two FREE & incredible events happening : World's Biggest Summit : 100+ of the world’s most inspiring teachers & TrailBlazer : get paid to do what you love.
More goodness : The Joy Up : 10 days of Joyful emails full of sparkly, passionate & gorgeous guests, including me! Thank you Hannah!
A little over a week & the second issue of Wild Sister will be out, so excited! Did you pick up Issue #01 yet?
Those who don't feel this Love
pulling them like a river,
those who don't drink dawn
like a cup of spring water
or take in sunset like supper,
those who don't want to change,
let them sleep.
—
Rumi
The way to express our gratitude for life is by being truly alive, not hiding from life in a corner, or watching life pass us by. The biggest fear we have is not the fear of dying, but the fear to be alive, to be ourselves, to say what we feel, to ask for what we want, to say yes when we want to say yes, and no when we want to say no. To express what is in our hearts is to be truly alive. If we pretend to be what we are not, how can we be truly alive?
—
Don Miguel Ruiz
Truly Alive
There is so much in me that wants to be expressed, so much I want to say and convey and share and shout out and whisper. Sometimes I struggle with where to begin but that's just because there is this little mind part of me that still tries to get me to think there is a right and wrong way. Thankfully, that part of me is no longer in charge... it's still there throwing out all of its nonsense but I see it for what it is and am continually practicing saying yes to that quiet, calm place, the place that knows that what's right is what feels alive and free and true.
I want to ask you a question. I'm asking myself too. What if, seriously what if you stopped thinking there was a right and wrong way? What if you let go of trying to be good, of trying period? What if it didn't have to be perfect before you published it or shared it or wrote it or painted it or tried it? What if you let go of trying to edit and please... what if the only thing you concerned yourself with is just being True to what's inside? What if you got all of the shoulds out of the way and simply said YES to what wants to be expressed through you? What if this creating could be fully about expressing something beautiful and sacred inside? What if you could get "little me" out of the way and honor that what wants to come through is a divine gift that has been freely given to you -- for the sake of expressing and sharing, not suppressing & hiding away?
The people that are close to me know that I am continually asking these what if questions, but really----what if? Have you really asked yourself what life could be like if you dropped all of the bullshit/ pleasing/trying to be good?
I used to think there was "a Way."
I used to think that if I just met the right person or landed the "right" job or got to be "good enough" at whatever it was I was trying to do, all would be well.
I used to think I needed others' approval before I could feel good about myself.
I used to think I lacked the "talent" everyone else had been so freely given.
I used to keep all of my writing in notebooks, notebooks that were shoved away in closets and drawers and corners.
I used to not write because I feared it wouldn't be good enough.
I used to not begin because I thought there was a right way to begin.
I used to work on a poem for days and weeks before having the nerve to ask someone if they liked it, if it was "good" enough. If their response was anything other than elation, I determined that it wasn't good enough. I'd shove it in a drawer with all the rest of my words. Each time I did this my light grew a little bit dimmer, the sadness inside grew a little bit sadder.
Essentially, I was shoving my spirit in a drawer, I was deciding that "good" was more important than God.
I started writing poems when I was just a young girl. I used to carry around one of those little lock journals and jot things down as I went through my day. There was such a feeling of sacredness there, pen and journal in hand, me pouring my little heart all over the page. I felt safe there with my words. I felt like a writer. I valued this about myself. One day, I was sitting at the kitchen table with my journal and my Dad beside me, and he picked up my journal and read a poem that I had just written...one that had come from the deepest place in my heart. And this is what happened next: he laughed. And then he said (with sarcasm in his voice), "that's deep." It crushed me. It crushed the part of me that was scared and uncertain and hesitant and already felt not good enough.
It's taken me many many years to get over these moments, to tune back into that little girl that just wants to express. But, here's the thing...I've found her again! I think losing her for a long while makes finding her that much more beautiful and gorgeous and precious and sacred. So, truly, I am only thankful for it all.
How liberating would it be if we could just let go of this trying to be good? If, despite the perceived obstacles in our way, we just did it anyway? If the only indication of whether or not something was good was how it makes us feel? Instead of asking, is it good? We could ask:
Is it kind? Does it make me feel Alive, excited, invigorated, nurtured, loved, inspired, FREE, like more of my beautiful Self?
Here's my vow...
I will never ever allow little me (or little you) to get in the way of this true, precious, sacred expression. I vow to allow that free little girl in me to have a voice, to let it pour. I vow to turn my attention to all that is beautiful and True and Alive and good. I vow to say YES when I want to say yes and no when I want to say no. I vow to keep showing up, to keep beginning even when little me has no idea how to do that. I vow to let go and let go and let go. I vow to ask for guidance again and again, to get quiet and listen, to stop trying to do it all with my little shoulding voice. I vow to allow myself to be human, to make mistakes, to not know, to be messy-all-over-the-place, beautiful, unique, just right Me.
I vow to allow God to be more sacred than good.
During the small windows of time when her two little girls are occupied elsewhere, Julia paints and writes and contemplates the deep questions of life. More than anything she wants to sprinkle some good around in this world and is always looking for ways to do more of that. If you’d like to join her on this path of shedding & opening and living from a place of truth and authenticity, please visit her at paintedpath.org, she’d so love to have you there.
Would you like to Spin Your Story? Get the details here! Please take note of the new email address {spinyourstory@gmail.com} & response times on the guidelines page, thank you!
I know you’ve heard of or may have even done a diet detox, where you juice it up for a couple of weeks, or maybe you’ve experienced the joys of the vegan detox?
Let me ask you this: How many times have you ever enjoyed the life-changing experience of detoxing your soul?
Detoxing your soul is all about getting rid of every bull-shit belief and excuse that you have ever used, and even the ones that you don’t know about that are buried in your subconscious mind.
I know you may be thinking, here comes another self-help e-book what’s different this time? Well the first thing I can tell you is that the person that created this course (that’s me!) has directly dealt with death, abuse, loneliness, suicide, being broke and homeless , and like a phoenix I have risen out of the ashes and created an amazing life full of opportunity and purpose. I live my life by design.
If you have the will, I can show you a way to find your own phoenix in the ashes.
But don’t just take my word for it. Please take a sneak peak of DYS by checking out four videos that I have put together, which gives you an insight into what this is all about. You can watch the four free videos by clicking here.
Storytelling is how we survive, when there's no feed, the story feeds something, it feeds the spirit, the imagination. I can't imagine life without stories, stories from my parents, my culture. Stories from other people's parents, their culture. That's how we learn from each other, it's the best way. That's why literature is so important, it connects us heart to heart.
Meet Holly Hirshberg, she was nominated & chosen as feature (she)hero of the week for CNN's Everyday Hero series.
Holly founded The Dinner Garden, a nonprofit that provides free seeds packs to people so they can grow enough food to feed a family of four. Since 2008, The Dinner Garden has provided seeds to 65,000 families across the United States. Incredible!
I love CNN's Everyday Hero segment, so inspiring. You can meet the 2011 CNN Heroes, read their stories, watch their videos & get involved in their work here.
Do you know someone that is an Everyday Hero, are you an Everyday Hero? Would you like to spin your story here on Kind Over Matter about it, contact me!
My gorgeous and five year old boy has a knack for puzzles, which became clear around age three. Discovering his ability to see how the pieces fit together, his puzzles became full of smaller pieces and increasing in difficulty. He struggles with what to do with himself much of the time as his body is growing and his mind is tangling around that growth. When sitting with a puzzle his awkward feelings melt away and the pieces slip together with little trouble.
I often find myself inside the overwhelm of my own struggles. My tangle is around the growth of myself as a woman, a mother, a business owner, a writer, a coach, a wife; each piece looks to fit inside of the other. I am a nurturer, an introvert, a believer in love. How do I match those pieces to the pieces of my impatience, my need to be seen and heard, and my often stubborn attitude?
He gets it from his father. That is what I would say about my little guy’s ability to fit those tiny pieces together, while I am in the kitchen creating a new meal or blending up a green smoothie, hoping he won’t need my help. Tiny puzzles make my eyes hurt. The puzzle of my overwhelm inside the growth of myself as a woman, and the journey that each woman takes, that is the one I get excited about. Looking inside the overwhelm I can see the pieces that want to connect and yet, through the resistance, lay piled up. Many of those pieces become lost (self-care, home-cooked meals, moving our bodies, dancing just because) and we have holes where a piece should be.
Our puzzle as women, often living inside overwhelm, is magical because the edges of each piece are flexible and flowing. When we stop looking at our life within rules, control and shoulds, that magic starts to show up. The pieces no longer have to fit in just one spot, they get to move around and wiggle into new spots and beautiful new pieces show up when we are in that rhythm of allowing. I like to say that greens will change our lives. This is because those greens bring forth magic and start flowing into the other pieces of our beings without struggle. Chocolate can show up in the form of home-made, pure ingredient delights and the green foundation glows through you; this is magic.
I imagine my puzzle is shaped like a spiral, limitless and flowing. The times of deep struggle, the voice in my head trying to keep me from my joy and the need for excuses gaining strength, all exist within that spiral. They exist beside seeking support, asking for help and the drive to keep moving forward. Expansion of joy and passion exists within the overwhelm. Not in-spite of it.
Remember that magic and flow of allowing? I see it on the funny faces my son makes as he puts each piece of his puzzles into place. I feel it inside each time I do one thing to keep my household moving forward or sit and watch the kids play. It comes when we allow the fight to melt away. It is there, always a part of our puzzle.
Hannah Marcotti is coach, mama, passionate woman and writer. You can find her guiding your course to the gorgeous life on hannahmarcotti.com.
The lyrics above are from one of my favorite songs: 
