Inspiration: A Marathon to Remember

It is not a rare thing for me to read an inspiring story about someone overcoming great obstacles and end up crying. Let me tell you… I’m a crier. But it is a rare thing when the very thought of that person’s story still has me choked up nearly a week later just upon thinking of it. And that is why I’d like to share Claire’s recent achievement and share just what it means to me.

Claire Lomas is paralyzed from the chest down – the result of being thrown from her horse during competitive riding finals in 2007. This past week, after 16 arduous days of slow and careful stepping, she became the first person to complete a marathon in a bionic suit. So first of all, that is already one of the most badass things I can imagine. On top of that, her ambitious goal gained the attention of many, including sponsors and other supporters who donated to her cause. By the time she reached the finish line, Claire had raised over £132,ooo for Spinal Research. Wow.

What amazes me most about this story is that it’s not just about one woman and her goal to walk again. There is so much more here. The fact that she used her walking for a greater good – making it a goal so seemingly insurmountable as to not be ignored. And of course it inspired a world of people, who in turn showed immense outpourings of support for her bravery. Then I begin to think of the bionic suit itself… and the scientists and engineers who must have poured their hearts and souls and uncountable hours into creating such a thing. Imagine what her success meant to them – and what their creation has meant to her. And finally, I think to myself, my god, what if I were paralyzed? And I saw this woman halfway across the world who just walked a marathon! Sure she has a $70,000 suit in order to do it, but she is walking again. That would be enough to change my whole world.

 

Thank you Claire, for living your life with gusto! And, as I have read in almost every article written about your story, doing it while always wearing a smile.

*Photo credit: CARL COURT/AFP/Getty Images

 

Resources:

Donate to Claire’s Cause for Spinal Research

“Badass Paralyzed Woman Finishes London Marathon in a Bionic Suit” – Gizmodo

“Paralysed Claire Lomas completes London Marathon” – The Telegraph

“Paralysed Athlete Finishes Marathon” – Independent.ie

 

The Right Attitude & The First Flying Job!

For those of you who found my blog via Freshly Pressed a little over a month ago, you’ll recall the post I wrote about my boyfriend Andrew completing his Flight Instructor Certification for helicopters. I’m ecstatic to update you guys that within a month of getting his cert done, he has found his first commercial flying job! To even have a chance at a job within a month of finishing this level of training is pretty unheard of, much less actually landing the thing. Many heli pilots spend 6 or more months trying to get that first job. Obviously we’re pretty excited!

The other great part is that he will be flying around the state of Texas mostly, so for now he will not have to move halfway across the country. Always a bonus when we don’t have to live far apart! He just left Monday for his first gig, flying rides at a small town fair in East Texas. And could it get better? Why yes, it does. His birthday it today… and he has deemed this the best present he could have gotten. I know not everyone believes in the universe working with you, but I sure do. And I definitely happen to think the universe is pretty darn in-tune with him right now. Good stuff. I could not be happier for him.

I thought I’d share something he wrote last year to some fellow helicopter pilots. I think it really applies to being successful in any field and says a lot about what attitude can do for you…

“Attitude… The attitude you have every day when you walk into the flight school will have a big effect on how successful you are at this pilot thing. I don’t mean just having a good self concept and being confident that you can learn this stuff, but even after that when you’re getting close to [Certified Flight Instructor] and wondering what your next step is going to be.

I look around at the 20 or 30 people I know who started about the same time as me. Only a few have jobs. Why? Part of it is that they went into flight school with a good attitude. They knew they could learn the material and they did. What’s more, when the bottom fell out of the helicopter job market, they kept trying. They kept a good attitude, they moved when needed, and they just kept at it until someone gave them a shot.

They’re all people who carry themselves well, who act professionally and really don’t complain too much. This is not an industry for whiny people. There will be many times in your career where you may end up back at square one and have no idea what the next move is.

I’m not saying the ONE factor that will GUARANTEE a job is a good attitude, but let’s face it… People don’t want to hire miserable people as the face of their company. They want confident, happy people who know when and how to deal with the frustrations that come with a down economy. Sure, a good part of at least two of those jobs was being in the right place at the right time, but there were 100 people behind them going for the same job, too.

Anyway, when going into this helicopter thing, just know it’s not always blue skies and calm winds. It’s tough out there, and you will have to learn how to keep your head up.”

Nicely done sir. I look forward to giving some future updates every few months about what he’s up to and where he’s flying… lots of rides at fairs around Texas, a  tactical shooting course or two (i.e. people shooting targets out of helicopters for training), and perhaps even some cherry drying up in Washington state! Oh the adventures =)

Stuff To Do: The Adventure Project

The Art House Co-Op is always putting together some new and fun creative project that anyone anywhere can participate in. I’ve been following along for a few years now watching them grow. They’re latest endeavor is The Adventure Project, a fun (and free!) short video project. Here’s the details a snagged from their site:

Sign-Up Deadline: March 28th (hurry!)
Video Deadline: April 30th (uploaded to youtube)

“Can you capture an adventure in 30 seconds?
This week, we’re challenging ourselves to go on an adventure and document it in a video. It could be as simple as a walk around the neighborhood or as daring as you can imagine. The Adventure Project asks artists to shoot a 30-second video that captures an adventure, great or small. Upload your video to YouTube and send us the link (projects [at] arthousecoop [dot] com) — we’ll add each submission to our channel and exhibit the project online. Feeling adventurous? Then grab a camera and show us what you find.”

Since my boyfriend got an awesome GoPro camera recently that is great for shooting extreme sports and such, I’m excited to finally have something we can put it to use on! Perhaps a kayaking trip is in order soon… what sort of adventure would you film? I’m curious to see what sorts of things people come up with for this! I urge you to join in the fun and sign up to play! Don’t wait – signup ends on March 28th!

15 Creative, Clever, Inspiring Blogs!

So I just learned there is this wonderful little award floating around the blogosphere (first time I’ve used that word, yep, I feel nerdy)… it’s called The Versatile Blogger award and is a really lovely thing I happen to think. Basically, the rules are; Thank the person who nominated you and share their site, share 7 personal things about yourself, and nominate 15  other bloggers who will then repeat the process. I happen to think it’s a pretty cool way to help get attention for your own blog as well as share and support some great blogs out there that people might otherwise not find… blogs building upon blogs… everybody wins!

I’d Like to Thank…
So first I’d like to give a shout out Munchow and Brenda Stonehouse for nominating me for this award via their blogs. Munchow’s Creative Photo Blog is a great blog about creativity and photography and is – from just the little I have seen – a very talented professional photographer. Brenda has a wonderfully gutsy project called Pencils, Paint and Pixels in which she is doing some form of art every single day for a year! Very inspiring stuff… Thank you both!

15 Creative & Inspiring Blogs!
Here are 15 of my favorite bloggers doing some really awesome creative things!

1. Skeptycal — Random creativity, inspiration, and bits of widsom from my brother’s life! (by Michael Treanor)

2. Middle of Nowhere — Home of Gretel Parker, the creator of ‘Puddletown Tales’, children’s illustrator, needle felter and toymaker living in a tiny cottage in the Cotswolds countryside, England. She was the first to inspire me to take up needle felting – one of my current obsessions!

3. FabFiftyFive — The (Mis)Adventures of a Junior-Senior. Speed skating, rock climbing, circus school… Julie Wise is celebrating turning 55 in a totally fab way!

4. Blissbombed — Living a divinely-inspired, kick-ass life (that rocks the world), Stephanie writes about relationships, love, life, and spirit in a refreshingly balls-out way – (By Stephanie St. Claire)

5. MusicalChairs — Adventures of Katharina Hoehendinger, who recently quit her well-paying job to focus on all the creative things she’s always wanted to do (and moving to China while doing it!)

6. FromSonika – Lovely and genuine poetry, inspiration and tidbits of life from a wonderful writer. (By Sonika)

7. Daily Walks — This is where I go when I want to feel incredibly jealous of someone’s daily walks. Just go there, you will agree. Seriously gorgeous photography. (By Diane Varner)

8. 12 Books in 12 Months — …Need I say more? (By Ali George)

9. Miriam’s Well — Poetry, Land Art, and Beyond (by Miriam Sagan)

10. Talin Orfali – Wonderfully inspiring writer sharing her wisdom, positivity and perspective with the world! (By Talin Orfali)

11. Burrard-Lucas Photography Blog — Two brothers from the UK, doing some incredible wildlife photography, much of which helps to raise awareness for preserving endangered species. I am a big fan. (By Will & Matthew Burrard-Lucas)

12. The Shine Project — A very passionate and vibrant woman with a wonderful mission to spread joy and helps others to find theirs through charity projects, scholarships for children, etc. Wonderful! (By Ashley)

13. Lightstalking — Awesome photo blog & community with tutorials, tips, themed photo collections weekly, and more.

14. The Pioneer Woman — So help me, I can get lost for endless amounts of time on Ree Drummond’s site about a city girl who became a country girl and now blogs voraciously about recipes, photography, country living, homeschooling and more.

15. Looking At The West — Beautiful photography blog exploring the landscape and culture of the American West. (By Andrew McAllister)

7 things about me you didn’t know:

1. I don’t like shoes. And I don’t like winter because I am forced to have to wear shoes. I like my toes to be able to roam free!

2. My favorite ice cream is mint chocolate chip. (my favorite anything really is mint + chocolate) I used to eat a bowl with my dad many nights as a little girl while we watched Disney’s Fantasia.

3. I have a skull collection I started back in early college.. sparked by digging up the skull of my childhood cat when we moved out of our old house. Yes… I’m aware this is creepy.

4. My favorite color was once described as “baby poo green” by my design professor in college.

5. Both of my parents have passed on, my mom 20+ years ago, and my dad just a few years ago. Although I’m a pretty together person, I still have those days where I just want to be able to call up my parents and fall apart a bit over it. You never stop missing them.

6. I went hot air ballooning, para-sailing, sky diving, firewalking and met the man in my life in 2009.. yeah it was an adventurous year!

7. “Part of Your World” from the Little Mermaid and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” are my shower songs. They are the only two songs I sing in the shower, and I never sing them outside of the shower.

Read more about the Versatile Blogger Award.

Inspiration: Nurturing Creativity

My brother recently shared with me this wonderful TED talk by Elizabeth Gilbert – author of bestselling novel Eat, Pray, Love. I loved her book and was so moved by this talk that I had to share.

This got my mind wandering on the topic of nurturing creativity and what sorts of things get in the way for me from time to time…

I cannot imagine the tremendous and daunting task of continuing to do work after having a bestselling novel out in the world. But I can certainly relate to the frustration of trying to figure out just what to do with that creative energy. I skip around from one thing to the next so often – one day its photography, the next it’s welding, or needle felting or wire art or design or illustration or cooking sumptuous new recipes. It’s very fun and satisfying, but for the past year I’ve been a bit haunted by the notion that I am just flitting about – touching the surfaces of many things but not really diving into any of them deeply. My logical self doesn’t see anything wrong with that. But there seems to be some old messages playing in me that tell me otherwise.

We are taught to go to school to become an expert at something and then do it until we can’t anymore. Sorry, but I don’t love any one thing that much. Sure I have a career as a graphic designer, and yes I am darn good at it and I do enjoy it. But it’s not my life’s work nor my greatest love by any means.

What if I just want to be an expert at experiencing many things?

So, I sometimes find myself building up this impossible ideal in my mind where I MUST succeed at ONE thing.. as an artist and creative person, because of some sort of talent I was born with. I’m sure anyone out there who’s had some kind of talent since they were a child has heard many a times the old line.. “when you’re famous I can say I knew you back when!” Although they mean well, for a child, that can create such an immense weight to be somebody. And such a pressure to find your niche and really dive into it and be an expert at it. I’m not sure how other creatives have dealt with that idea – some seem to embrace the idea of doing many things very openly. Others seem to find their niche and just pour themselves into it.. which is wonderful. But what if you are someone who doesn’t have a niche?

It’s true, I don’t love any one thing enough to totally commit my life to it. And I am slowly becoming more comfortable with that as I explore my creativity. What if – at least for the time being – I don’t want to pick ONE thing? What if the thing that I want to be an expert at is experiencing many things? Well, I’m deciding this is a wonderful thing. We need specialists just like we need generalist in the world, after all.

I think my Muse is a Bimbo

I like the old Greek/Roman philosophy Elizabeth is speaking of in this TED talk. I like it a lot. This idea that our creative spirit comes not from within us, but from some divine precious thing that stops by for tea from time to time. It sure takes the pressure off or trying to force it into existence or bottle it into one area of expertise. Perhaps my divine muse just gets bored quickly. Or maybe she’s a bit of a bimbo (that would explain a lot!) and just likes to flit about and play in many different pools of creativity… and just maybe, its not my job to try and stop her from doing that. Maybe it’s my job to always be open to whatever new creative adventure she would like to take me on. Maybe that is all we are ever really supposed do with that creative energy when it arrives – just open the door and invite it in for tea.

____________________________________________

How do you nurture your creativity?
What things get in your way of opening up to that creative spirit?
How did Elizabeth’s talk resonate with you? I am curious to know what you have to say.

Quickly! I must post this NOW because my ditsy creative muse just got distracted by a flower in Timbuktu and ran off and I can feel the self doubt about this post quietly tiptoeing back into my mind! lol – oh to be human! ;)

Resources:
Eat, Pray, Love (Elizabeth Gilbert)
Refuse to Choose: A Revolutionary Program for Doing Everything You Love (Barbara Sher)
Creative Generalist – What Exactly Do Generalists Do?

 

Small Steps toward the Big Goal

Reblogged from Münchow's Creative Photo Blog:

Creativity involves dreaming. Dreaming encourages the creative process. Dreaming is good. But dreaming can also halt your creativity – completely. That is if dreaming becomes nothing but a dream. If you don’t turn the dream into action, nothing comes out it. I have written about this before, talked about doing the work. And we can talk about creativity till the end of time, but if we don’t do the work, we are not creating.

Read more… 646 more words

A great post about creativity, doing the work, allowing time to dream, and remembering that big goals are achieved with small steps!

Inspiration: Walking Into A New Year

It’s amazing how we take so many simple things in our lives for granted. Like walking. Being free to meander down forest paths or stroll down city sidewalks, soaking in all the life around you. How often do you take walks or go explore the world on foot? I know for me, it’s certainly not nearly as often as I’d like.. maybe once a month or even less. There is someone I know who has been walking a lot lately though. Someone who has inspired me to really embrace this simple gift of two good legs and a strong back to carry me wherever I want to go…

My brother has been battling back pain for over 10 years now, ever since he injured himself working as an inventory manager at a cabinet factory. Fortunately, not long after the injury he completed his degree and was able to move on to teaching – but the injury has limited his ability to do even something as simple as go for a long stroll or go hiking in a state park… things he dearly loved. That all changed late last year. In November, he began to realize – out of nowhere – that his back wasn’t hurting like it used to. He’d had no procedures or surgeries or new therapy. Nothing. And just like that, the pain was going away with no explanation for why. I’m so wonderfully perplexed by this.

And so, after over a decade of being restricted to only small trips to the store and straight home, my brother took his new found freedom and began to walk. He walked and he walked, for hours. For days. He bought a pedometer to track all his walking. By the end of January he had walked 45 hours and 42 miles! I’m so inspired by this walking journey of his. It made me think about what it would be like if I couldn’t just go out for a long walk or spend the day hiking at the lake… or the other physical things I enjoy, like rock climbing or kayaking. All the little things that can be so easy to take for granted, his story has helped to remind me to be very grateful that I have a healthy body that allows me to experience this journey of life in as many ways as I can imagine.

It has also inspired me to think of small ways to embrace the simple things in life. Today for example, has been an unseasonably warm and beautiful day in Dallas. With a cool breeze and temperatures in the 70′s (in February!), I decided to go home for lunch. I rode the whole way with all the windows rolled down and it was glorious. It wasn’t a 7 hour walk – but it was some small way to just stop from the hustle and bustle of life and soak in the beauty that is all around.

Thank you Mike. =)

To read more of Mike’s journey and other random awesome stuff he posts – visit his blog here!

 

The Day the Internet Found Me

Every blogger out there fantasizes about this moment… when somehow the little blog you’ve been pouring yourself into suddenly gets noticed and explodes all over the internet – even if temporarily. Most of you are likely reading now because you saw my last post about my boyfriend’s recent accomplishment’s on the Freshly Pressed page of WordPress. I would like to share with you how this weekend went down…

We had a party Friday night with some close friends to celebrate all the goodness of the past week… hooray! Lots of bowling, laser tag and air hockey – as we are just giant 12 year olds around here. In the morning, as Andrew went off to work I stumbled sleepily to my desk to catch up on emails and the latest happenings of Facebook and as usual, visit the blog and see if maybe I’ve broken my record of 95 visits in a day. I’m staring at those status bars thinking to myself “hmmm that’s so weird, the one for yesterday is like disproportionately huge compared like ALL the past weeks.. what is wrong with this thing?” *refreshing page several times* Then I rollover the bar of epicness and the visit number 1,274 shows up…. whaaaaaaaa!

I then go into a fury of checking email and comments and likes and followers – whole crap! How has this happened?! Thank you WordPress for showing me how people found my blog! Freshly Pressed?! What! OMG *girly noises and dancing around the house in pj’s scaring the cats… this goes on for some time* And then I realized I have to wait ALL DAY to tell Andrew about this coolness and how tons of people are sharing in his achievement since I can’t call him at work. Baaah! So there I sat in the quietude of the morning with this thing that felt so big and expanding and connected that it was about to explode the room. And my favorite part of this was that it happened not because of something I did – but because of someone’s story that I shared… and that wonderfully interconnectedness of his story and mine and the whole journey that has meant to much to us.

By the end of the weekend our little post and the blog overall had over 10,000 visits (TEN THOUSAND!). That is a number of people so inconceivably huge-tastic to be connected to for even an iota of time that my only reaction was really just to laugh in lighthearted joy and utter amazement.

Now of course I realize this won’t last – and that probably everyone who’s even been on Freshly Pressed writes a blog entry just like this one afterwards… but do I care if I sound ridiculous? Nope. Unapologetically dramatic is how I roll. I really have no clue if anything like this will ever happen again and I’m just going to bask in it fully and outwardly – with all of you!

So THANK YOU to all of you wonderful shining people who took the time to visit, read and comment… to follow, reblog, and like. It has taken several days, but we’ve read each and every comment you left, and have gotten to see so many cool new blogs we would have never otherwise found! You made a special event in the lives of two people down in Texas even more incredible with all of your kindness! And to think, I almost didn’t post this because I thought it might be cheesy or no one would like it. Just goes to show that anytime we doubt ourselves we should really just take the chance and go for it… because you never know where it will go. =)

All my best!
*s