The Soul Sorority

Something to think about as you head into the weekend:

"It doesn't matter how fast you get somewhere,

                if you're heading in the wrong direction."

Get busy.

"Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy."

--Dale Carnegie

Monday quote...

"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great."

--Mark Twain

Start stripping, ladies...

So, if you don't already know, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling delivered this year's commencement speech to the graduating class at Harvard. Although she spoke June 5, it's taken me awhile to really read and digest her speech, which I think is brilliant even though some Harvard snobs may disagree. I'm going to blog about it in a few separate posts, to let the brilliance last...

In the speech, Rowling talked about the benefits of failure, and how, when she graduated from college, she struggled with her personal ambitions vs. the path her family wanted her to follow. Rowling knew -- she KNEW -- that she wanted to be a novel writer. She was lucky enough to identify her dream. But she didn't follow it, at least not at first, because her family wanted her to choose a more secure profession.

(Now, take a second, and imagine the world devoid of Rowling's imagination? Imagine a world without Harry Potter? I mean, even if you don't like the series, at least respect it for how it's helped encourage millions of children to READ instead of text or MySpace.)

Luckily for us, she found a way to get back to her core, even if it meant personal struggle. With a failed marriage, no job and barely any money, she was probably told -- repeatedly and by everyone she knew -- that she should get a job, any job, even if it meant sacrificing her dreams. I mean, at that point she even had a kid, so she had EVERYTHING TO LOSE.

But her passion screamed so loudly inside of her, it couldn't be ignored. And because she chose to stay true to herself, we have a world where J.K. Rowling is an incredible author and not a secretary. Not that there's anything wrong with being a secretary. It just wasn't her path.

She says it best here:

"...Failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged. I was set free...and so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life."

Yes, J.K., yes. Because anyone suffering from Octopus Syndrome knows that by flailing around, trying to be everything you think you are supposed to be, you leave no room, spirit or time for what you DESIRE to be, at your deepest self.

I vote we start stripping away the inessential. Now.

Sex and 70-year-olds.

My best friend and I were the two last people on the planet who hadn't seen Sex and The City The Movie, so we caught the flick yesterday. About eight other people were in the theater, including this 70-year-old couple. I am convinced they were just there for the fleshy goodness that is Sex and the City. ;)

Anways. No spoilers here, but this love letter, written by Ludwig van Beethoven, was mentioned in the movie. It's beautifully written...classic. I chopped it up a little for blog purposes, but you'll get the gist.

Though still in bed, my thoughts go out to you, my Immortal Beloved, now and then joyfully, then sadly, waiting to learn whether or not fate will hear us - I can live only wholly with you or not at all.

Yes, I am resolved to wander so long away from you until I can fly to your arms and say that I am really at home with you, and can send my soul enwrapped in you into the land of spirits...No one else can ever possess my heart - never - never - Oh God, why must one be parted from one whom one so loves. And yet my life in V is now a wretched life - Your love makes me at once the happiest and the unhappiest of men - At my age I need a steady, quiet life - can that be so in our connection?

Be calm, only by a calm consideration of our existence can we achieve our purpose to live together - Be calm - love me - today - yesterday - what tearful longings for you - you - you - my life - my all - farewell. Oh continue to love me - never misjudge the most faithful heart of your beloved.

ever thine

ever mine

ever ours.

Box up the past.

I read a fantastic article in the June issue of O Mag, that talked about the power of organizing, and how it can help you shed the shackles of your past when you're trying to move forward. I used to think that the physical environment did not affect my emotional, or spiritual self, but I am starting to believe I'm wrong. (It ain't the first time.) I think if you subconsciously hold onto your past as you're trying to grow, you stay rooted in your old identity and you never give yourself the chance to bloom into something new.

Here's an excerpt. It's written by Julie Morgenstern, author of, "When Organizing Isn't Enough." Morgenstern was an ambitious theater student before leaving that profession to start a successful small business.

"In my work with clients, I've found that without a framework, most of us stumble blindly through transitions. For example, if you think of every object or activity as a treasure and can't bring yourself to heave, you won't free any space for growth. If you value nothing from the past and always jump straight to the heave stage, you'll end up leaving some wonderful gems behind and feel empty. When you don't re-connect with your identity, it's easy to get caught up in someone else's vision of who you are. And if you're afraid to move forward, you'll stagnate in the present, limiting your ability (and opportunity) to achieve the change you want."

Tomorrow -- change, continued...

Live the questions.

From "Letters to a Young Poet" by Rainer Maria Rilke. It always brings a tear to my eye.

You are so young, so much before all beginning, and I would like to beg you, dear Sir, as well as I can, to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.

Audrey was wise beyond her years.

*For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
*For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
*For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
*For beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day.
*For poise, walk with the knowledge you'll never walk alone. People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed. Never throw out anybody.
*Remember, If you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm. As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.

--Audrey Hepburn.