May you...

May you never stop dreaming, loving, learning,
Never stop lingering in your own thoughts,
Never stop trusting,
Never stop yourself from saying, doing, being what you know is true,
May you never stop listening,
Never stop touching,
Never stop playing,
Never stop forging
Never stop
Never stop
Never stop
And may you never stop thanking, thanking, thanking.
With each breath of life,
Never stop thanking.

Quick thank you...

to my parents.
For giving me the discernment to know when I am being manipulated and the strength of character to walk away.

Quality poetry

Listen to the Mustn'ts, child,

Listen to the Don'ts

Listen to the Shouldn'ts

The Impossibles, the Won'ts

Listen to the Never Haves,

Then listen close to me --

Anything can happen, child,

Anything can be.

Shel Silverstein

I'm going to break the rules

and spend my Tuesday morning at the beach. Memorizing lines. But, still at the beach.
And, I'm going to finally try out M Cafe de Chaya (the one in culver city) because I'm craving some creative macrobiotic (Oh, Souen, how I miss you). Lalalalala. It's fun to be free.

Sentence 2

Show me your darkness, and I'll show you your light.

Perfection

Stewart+Brown

I'm loving all the eco-friendly designers I've been introduced to because of Daily Candy and Earth Day. Here is one LA based designer with whom I am particularly smitten. They have just the right amount of frills and details to keep their clothing chic but still fun. Light and airy. Perfect for Spring.


Plus they make a great simple tee.

And, they have an adorable how-to on wearing their lengthened tees. Click picture above.

Specificity...

gets me every time.

I love being around people who really know how to appreciate the world. The people who find beauty, humor, tragedy in the smallest moments. My grandmother who can watch her cats play together for hours like they are the most practiced of comedians. My mother who always points out the obvious like it is a huge surprise, because to her it is. My father who I catch staring at me and the rest of his children like we are the most magnificent creatures he has ever seen, because to him we are. My old acting teacher Larry who looks at his fingers and palms with the deepest of gratitude and says, "These are my hands," as if he is just discovering it in that moment. Alesha who will shriek with excitement when the average person would just pleasantly smile. Alex who, once hooked by a certain topic, will research it until the sun goes down and up again. My sister who will recall and laugh at strange sounds made or stupid things said years and years ago. And, so many more people. In art, this kind of specificity is crucial. It takes a general feeling or idea, compacts it into a bullet, and directs it straight at your gut. If we do not pay attention to these small moments, our art will never make any sort of impact. We will be left grasping for intangible, muddled ideas, as the truth slips through our fingers.

My New Mantra

Spread peaceful smiles and joy,
Chocolate and Green tea.
Give your heart, your hand,
And free massages.
Camp out. Breathe out.
Sneak out of the house.
Count your blessings,
Your family and friends,
And let them count on you.


credit to photographer

Peace

"A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself."

-Abraham Maslow


I have not, for a long time, been this at peace with my decisions, my direction, my life.

photo: Maile Roseland

sugar Sweet sunshine

Such an inspiring "if they can do it, i can do it...with the right amount of determination, of course" story. Now, all I need is a cool concept, the start-up money, and bit of restaurant experience under my belt.

Missing...

Oh, late night Ukrainian food, how I miss you.
Borscht
Dill infested salad
Stuffed Cabbage
Perfection.

On Commitment

The Three Treasures:

"Hard is it to be born into human life. Now we are living it. Difficult is it to hear the teachings of the blessed on. Now we hear it. If we do not deliver ourselves in the present life, no hope is there that we shall be freed from suffering and sorrow in the ocean of birth and death."


A Starbucks cup that was brought to my attention by a friend:

"The irony of commitment is that it's deeply liberating -- in work, in play, in love. The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade around like rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life." -Anne Morris




Photo credit to Linnea Lenkus, Vampire Zombie on Deviantart.

In a room filled with coral...

Coral makes me so happy! As a splash of color or a bold statement, it always makes me smile.

JAPAN!

It is well known that I love Japanese people. So, when I stumbled upon Terunobu Fujimori's architecture in Dwell magazine, I had to look up more of his work. His designs captured me without their delicate whimsy. I like that they are playful without being childlike, witty without being ostentatious, capricious without being unfocused. They reminded me of Issey Miyake, who uses draping and pleats to unexpectedly create strong, modern shapes in his clothing. Oh, to live in one of those tree houses!

CLARA, Pt. 5

Clara dies.

...writer's block?

Doubt

When will this doubt seep out of my truths until they are pure? When will I learn to trust? Trust people as I trust this chair to hold me? Has there been so much deceit that it has permanently marred the face of those who are genuine? Or, am I right to suspect fraudulence? It’s really the debate between life as an individual experience or a shared experience. Are we here for a self-preserving or a communal purpose? Is our consciousness solitary or collective?

Crack, Split

"We danced too wild, and we sang too long, and we hugged too hard, and we kissed too sweet, and howled just as loud as we wanted to howl, because by now we were all old enough to know that what looks like crazy on an ordinary day looks a lot like love if you catch it in the moonlight."

Pearl Cleage

Liberation

“It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for something you are not.”

Andrew Gide

Sentence

She found purity in privation and desired to have nothing.

Care, listen, answer

It's all there.

Down These Mean Streets

Brew walked over to Alayce and bent down and picked her up gently. He looked at her face and his hands made her look up at him. They didn't say anything, not a word. Brew put his arms around her. I'd never seen my boy so gentle.

"Alayce, honey," he said, "there ain't nothin' so bad can happen that'll make one ashamed of what they is, if they's proud enough."

Piri Thomas

Earbuds

Earbuds never fit. .

Stories

I wish I had stories.