fear

Truth

You’re looking at f***ing determination and truth and creativity. You’re looking at loss and sorrow and the effort for a deeper perspective. You’re looking at satisfaction and happiness. You’re looking at a manifestation of a connection so deep and rooted that it’s more real than I am. You’re looking at my face.*

FACE: One Square Foot of Skin by Justine Bateman

*https://time.com/5953951/justine-batemans-aging-face-and-why-she-doesnt-think-it-needs-fixing/

On the Run

Whenever I see a coyote in my neighborhood, I get concerned about them. So many people use their “fear” of them as an excuse to shoot them.

And I’ve been asked from friends if I am “OK” and if anyone is harassing me or threatening me (because I am Asian).

Suddenly, I identified with the coyote…just living life in the moment. Hyper-aware. Ready to fight and defend myself, but feeling fine and going about my business.

Stop Swinging

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If we choose to continue believing our ego, we will spend our lives swinging up and down. The energy behind our compulsive thinking is the energy of fear. It keeps us looking outside ourselves for the next thing, person or project for fulfillment. However, there is a space between the up and down of our emotional seesaw, when we are equally balanced in the middle. The outer and inner noise disappears; this is where we are able to connect to the essence of our being. It is here, in the stillness, we connect to the energy of love, kindness, equality, a deep sense of worthiness and lasting inner peace. Accessible in every moment, it is within you and me, right here, Now. Our happiness and inner peace can’t be found in the past or the future, but only in the stillness and awareness of the present moment.

Eckhart Tolle

Death and Dying

In the span of the last 12 months, I lost my father, a very close family friend, and my best friend from college.

This past year has been a deeply reflective period on mortality and legacy.

Lately, I’ve been drawn to dead and dying things in nature. They, like people, are so undervalued in our eyes. Once vibrant and colorful, they continue to feed the earth with their “bodies.”

Here are a few beautiful leaves I saw while on a walk:

 

and my interpretation:

 

I believe that the more we live in presence, the less we fear “death.”

What We Tell Girls

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Larm Rmah

He didn’t mean to be mean

He was just playing when he grabbed you too hard

He’s sorry and you should just move on

He’s not stalking you, that’s your imagination – you need to work out it, both of you

What did you do to make him do that?

What were you wearing?

Why were you alone with him?

He’s just a touchy-feely kind of guy

He does that to everybody