January 30, 2017

Stand

Little bit of a different blog post comin’ at you:

Have you ever heard the phrase “If you stand for nothing you’ll fall for everything?” I believe it. And these days especially we need to figure out exactly what we stand for, and then be outspoken and unafraid to share about it. That’s why all the Women’s Marches that happened around the world on January 21st were so important and inspiring. They shined a light on things that millions of people in this country stand for and will not compromise on, and it happened in a peaceful, loving way.

I wasn’t at the Women’s March in Boston, and at first I was embarassed as to why. I had an appointment for a massage. I told my friend this, who was on her way to Washington, DC, and she said “Don’t be embarrassed. You are practicing radical self care.” I thanked her, and agreed. I still had major FOMO, but thankfully so many of my awesome friends were at one march or another, posting photos so that I kind of felt part of the action. (Thanks, friends!)

Here are a couple things I stand for (among others, but I know you have places to be 😉 ) :

Love over hate:
Loving yourself and those who do right by us is EASY. Loving strangers, the people who are different from us, and the people who hurt us is the challenge. I am not perfect at this; I don’t think anyone is. But I do believe this kind of non-judgmental love is out there, and possible, and I believe we should work hard at it every day. America is a big, colorful collection of cultures, languages, faiths, genders and music tastes, and each and every one deserves as much the respect and acceptance as the next. Show love over judgement. Be love instead of hate. Along these lines: on my heart, especially right now, are the refugees and immigrants who are currently being affected by the ban. This is so not American, and so not out of a place of love. “When hate is loud, love cannot be silent.” I believe we are going to fix this, but it’s going to take a lot of people willing to stand up for what is right.

Equality:
I’m standing and hoping that equality, in all sense and aspect of of the word, will become the norm in our country sooner rather than later. I feel like that’s all I need to say about that.

Self care:
It’s natural that we want to put others before ourselves: to help and care for and motivate them. And that is so great, unless we forget to also care about ourselves in the process. That’s why we need to practice self care. It’s SO different for each person, remember that. For me, working out and being outside in nature are practices that make me feel energized. I also like to buy myself flowers when I need a pretty pick me up. Set up a regular self care routine so you can take care of your body and your heart. When you’re upset or in a funk, when you’re lacking motivation or happiness, do something that YOU need to do for you.

Big ideas:
I majored in communications design in college. Our professors taught us the principles of design, but they put even more emphasis on thinking for ourselves, acknowledging our ideas and making our ideas come to life. Basically: YOU HAVE IDEAS. Find them. They are in you, and you need to think and draw and write and fight them out of you. Set aside the bad ones, develop the good ones, and then go share them with the world.

Exploring + Understanding:
I’m a big advocate for exploring the great outdoors, but over the last 2 years I’ve also become a believer that ANY type of exploring is good and needed. I want to explore as many new foods, cultures, music, cities, & countries as I can. And I don’t only want to explore them, I want to understand them. I want to know them. Explore more to understand more.