approaching joy

Lately...

Paige — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 12:32:51 -0500

I've been working.

Planning.
Painting.
Writing.
Photographing.
Emailing.
Tweeting.
Not a lot of blogging.

I feel a big transition and I haven't fully been able to grasp it. Lots of swirling thoughts, lots of staring at the ceiling at 2am, and lots of possibility, but nothing concrete. It's coming. Promise.

Until then, do me a favor and check out two sites:

Pars Caeli (Where MJ has a lovely interview that started my process of considering how I would change this blog space.)

Month of Mae (Rad people, rad fancies: What more does a person need? But more on them soon...)

Talk soon.

Inspiration :: Practicality be Damned

Paige — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 07:00:00 -0500

Five and a half years ago, the day after Christmas my younger brother and I walked the grounds of the United States capitol building. It was a cold night but the combination of the Christmas lights and the happy anxiety of starting a new job in a new city in an area that was far away from everything we had ever known, kept us both warm enough.

I was happy enough with having the chance to explore a world outside of my small hometown. My brother was excited about the fact that I had the chance to work in politics. Politics- the subject that woke him up in the morning on his television and the thing that he went to bed thinking about at night. The thing that he would discuss (argue?) about passionately, intelligently, insightful- discussions when, afterward people of the opposing party would comment, "I appreciate the fact that he knows the "why" behind his position instead of blinding trusting those who he has seen in the media." Politics in general and Washington D.C. specifically was the place the my brother who was apprentice for an electrician at the time, never imagined he would be allowed to join.

Who was he but a kid who graduated from a high class of less than a hundred from a high school who considered the first day of deer season a holiday?
How would a guy who had tried college but had never found a good fit be allowed in those circles?

Passion, desire, drive aside- all these were irrelevant when faced reality and if there is one thing my family excels in, it is in being extremely practical. My brother wouldn't even allow himself the pleasure of dreaming of eventually taking this same walk and feeling that same new job high. Practically said this was never going to happen so he encouraged me and kept walking in the cold.

Fast forward to yesterday when I received a text message reading, "GOT IT." He has been offered an internship in D.C. and his excitement is tangible despite the fact that we are 300 miles away from one another. This excitement, in my mind, is because he has beaten the almost invisible nemesis of practicality.

Apparently, practicality didn't get the memo that people go back to school. Practicality doesn't understand that when you go all in with your passion and you follow your dreams, that you can do what you had literally never allowed yourself to dream about. Practicality didn't take into account that my brother was much stronger, smarter, and driven than he'd ever given himself credit.

I realize that this whole post may seem as if it steeped in cliche and that it teeters on being hokey.
"Follow your dreams!"
"Don't allow your circumstances to get in the way of what you want to do!"
"Bet on yourself!"
Sayings like this may give us a minor boost when we scroll by them on whatever social media channel we prefer but this- this is real.

And yes, I've scrubbed up this story so that all that you see is the pretty. I didn't mention the hard time he had when he realized that college wasn't working out the first time and didn't mentioned how much harder it was for him to transition back into being a full-time student. I don't mention how uncomfortable it is to be surrounded by people who, though only six years younger, are in a totally different place in their lives despite the fact that they are physically only one desk over. I don't even claim to know all of the challenges he's had to face to get to this place.

Being an intern is only the first step. In the grand scheme it's a small step. I know that. You know that. He certainly knows that. We get it.
But more than anything, this small step is a win over the barriers that are daunting and make our dreams seem impossible. More than anything I am a sister who is exceedingly proud and inspired by her younger brother.

Inspiration :: TedX Fayetteville

Paige — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 11:21:13 -0500

Apologies ahead of time if you follow my Instagram feed and have already seen this photo. I was so taken with the event and the people and the experience I just kind of forgot about taking pictures. That, ladies and gentlemen, is saying something.

Until last week I thought that everyone had seen the Ted videos that float around the internet. Videos of inspiration and science and education and art and sharing- real genuine sharing between real genuine people who are absolutely passionate about their story that they are sharing.

Then, I got my ticket to TedX in the mail. And, Lord, was I excited.
And the Mister (my lovely, intelligent, informed, and up-to-date husband) asked, "Who's Ted?"
So with that knowledge, I'll give you the quick explanation, like I gave him, in case your own personal world has not been rocked with Ted awesomeness.

Ted is a yearly seminar series, where people from all around the world share short (often 10 minutes or less!) stories which are radically different from one another but all offer a inspiration and awareness through the passion and presentation of the speaker.
TedX is the series of local spin-offs of the original concept. TedX is what happened in Fayetteville, AR yesterday (and will hopefully turn into TedX Northwest Arkansas eventually).

Yesterday, attending TedX, was an opportunity to be filled up. That "stuck-ness" I was talking about earlier this week? Yesterday provided traction. Yesterday was a breath of fresh air. Yesterday was an opportunity to be filled up. Yesterday was every other cliche about inspiration of which you can think.

Yesterday was all about community in my mind.

Community in the sense that all of the speakers were local and amazing. Seriously, it will not surprise me when, in a month, these videos come out and then blow up on YouTube. Leadership equations, food insecurity, global warming, gifts, talents, the power of stories, the power of experience, the power of small talk… So. Very. Good.

And really, they were all talking about the power of community. How that leadership equation is maximized within your community culture. How food insecurity can be worked through via community. How global warming directly effects our community. How you can use your talents to effect the community. How community can be maximized through experiences. How even seemingly benign things like small talk can create a micro-community where hate is much less likely to happen.

And the feeling of community of simply being there. Really discussing life-effecting issues over lunch with people who have the passion, ability, and drive to actually change things. That doesn't happen everyday. That is powerful stuff.

It posed more questions than it answered, but in a good way. I went to bed on the inspirational equivalent of having caffeine jitters- so many thoughts, going in so many directions, just a buzz of energy. And I'm trying to stay away from being hokey, but this really makes me want to go out and, you know, dominate the world with awesomeness.

My question to you is this:
Where (how?) is a good first step after such an abundance of inspiration?