February 2019 – Creative Meanderings

This morning, I had the luxury of not having much on my schedule until the afternoon. Although I had initially thought to try a new hot yoga class at my gym, I was not committed to that plan. 🧘🏽‍♀️ So, when I looked at The Power by Rhonda Byrne book, I thought it was as good a time as any to read it.

Little did I know that my soul was thirsting for something like this. For three straight hours I read the book cover to cover. 🤓

Many years ago, I read The Secret at a time when new age spirituality was making an entrance to the mainstream. People were skeptically discussing the Law of Attraction and I was absolutely no exception, if you read the linked post about my thoughts on it. 🤔 However, the 2010 version of myself has changed greatly in the past eight years and I find myself regularly thinking how to ‘secret’ things to go my way.

Even stranger is that when I met my husband, he was also a big believer and fan of the book. 💑 He was/is more of a believer in the Law than anyone else I had ever met. So, when The Power entered our family this Christmas, it came around to me “by chance” through M. He said it was better than the first, but I still hesitated to read it for some reason.

Recently, I started reading The Dalai Lama’s My Spiritual Journey, which should have been a sign that I was in need of some spiritual refreshment. So, I had planned to read The Power once I finished this.

Then, this morning happened.

It was indeed better than the first and gave me quite a lot to think about. Here is a quote that stood out for me:

Life isn’t happening to you; life is responding to you. Life is your call. You are the creator of your life. You are the writer of your life story. You are the director of your life movie. You decide what your life will be – by what you give out.” p. 35

The whole premise of the book is that the power that we have to make everything that we dream of happen is within us and based on the love that we give out. This ‘love’ is a combination of agape (charitable love) 💙 and philia (brotherly love) 💕, not eros (sexual love). By focusing on what we love and loving others, we are creating positive karma and reflecting the positivity that is returned to us. 💞 When we don’t, the opposite happens.

Reading this fits into my 2019 goal of not enabling others to affect me negatively. 🙅🏽‍♀️ I’ve already struggled with this, but now I see that perhaps I was attracting it. So, with this in mind now, I feel better armed 💪🏽 to make this goal easier to reach and within my control rather than blaming other people for their affect on me. 😛

Another point that I need to incorporate more concertedly is waking up with gratitude. 🙏🏽 The truth is that most mornings I feel a sense of denial that I have to get up. It’s not particularly a negative thought nor it is it a positive one, but more of a neutral view of the choice and preferring to go back to sleep. 😜 However, if I were to practice a view of gratitude towards being able to wake up, being healthy, having a job I like, seeing a husband I love, etc., then perhaps my view towards the choice will be filled with love and light instead.

Accepting that having a good or bad day is based on my own creation and what I’m sending out into the world, I am definitely more motivated to focus on the positives. I mean who doesn’t want to have a great day every day?! 🤷🏽‍♀️

So, I still have some points that I am processing and will probably touch on in future posts here, but if nothing else, I am grateful for the time to be able to consume a book 📖 in one sitting. That in itself is a great day! 🥰

~T 😀

I have always hated being asked Who inspires you and why? It’s always sounded like a cliché question and a kind of judgment since most people annoyingly say The Dalai Lama or Mother Theresa or some other icon of sycophants’.

Sound cynical enough for you? 🤷🏽‍♀️

In my reality and view of the world, I think independence and self-determination includes not looking to anyone else to motivate or ‘inspire’. I believe these should come from within us, then it’s more achievable.

I might pedantically accept the phrasing of Who do you aspire to be like? over the former.

What’s the difference? you might be questioning…. lemme ‘Tara ‘s’plain’.

It comes down to the source for action.

Aspiring to be like someone means that one must work within themselves to emulate another whom one looks up to. Being inspired by another is a passive act. The grammar alone proves that. Aspiring is active. But, you have to be inspired from an outside force to take action.

So… no one inspires me really.

That question will always vex me because I have never been extrinsically motivated to take actions in my life. However, if I ever were forced to choose someone, I believe I finally have a name that I might tentatively share, though the fear of falling into a cliché would likely stop me. 😛

Reading Michelle Obama’s book _Becoming_ is the reason I have a possible name. She came from a middle class family and acknowledges the opportunities that were not only placed before her, but also those she worked to make for herself. Through hard work and being a decent human being, she touched lives and has made a difference in the world.

The frequent saying that the best leaders are those who don’t want to be is one that I would absolutely apply to her. Though she makes it clear that politics was never her thing, once she moved into the spotlight, she shone bright and guidingly.

While not everyone liked the Obama administration, just like many do not like our current one, I always try to avoid making much of a political statement. I believe these kinds of conversations are only safest amongst the very nearest and dearest to keep the peace. I respect everyone’s point of view even if I strongly disagree, but this isn’t always the case for others.

So, I do not feel inspired by Michelle Obama because of the politics connected to her, but rather for her determination to be the best that she can be and to help others to do the same. She may have had a leg up compared to others like her, but still she worked hard along with her husband to become who they are today.

It is this fact that moves me as a humanist, who believes that every person has the opportunity to be anything even those in seemingly dire circumstances. Sometimes, it is easier for some than others, but we can all be more than we are if we want it to happen.

Therefore, while I liked the public persona that she presented before I read the book, I like her even more after reading her story. It’s a shame more people like her and her husband don’t get to share their stories as examples of inspiring human beings.

Thus, if I haven’t made it clear, I highly recommend this book. It’s put me on the path for aspiring to find inspiration in others. 😉

~T 😀

One of my goals this year is to read more. Though I do read a relatively good amount most years, it is usually done in a binge-style manner on holidays like a plant 🌱 soaking up water when it’s soil is dry.

So, to avoid this pattern and to shift what gets inputted into my mind, I’ve made a bit of a reading list based on recommendations from FB friends (thank you!!! 🙏) and my own Amazon wishlist that seems to only grow longer.

Also, in my aim to write more myself, I have learned that I need to expose myself to a variety of writing styles and methods to find what resonates with my own style.

In less than two months, I have covered these five books with Becoming being the one I just finished yesterday.

Many years ago, I listened to audiobooks especially as my dad liked them while on road trips and such. In those days, it was cassette tapes or DVD 📀 recordings. Now, it’s all on my phone 📲 coming from some ‘cloud’ above.

The digitalization of books may have been a lament to paper book 📚 lovers, but traveling and frequent moves has pushed me to appreciate digital ones. Of course, there is still something to the tactile experience of flipping pages and connecting physically to the book itself.

However, I’m finding that the joy of audiobooks is useful for long walks to the station, commutes and workouts. While I still love my podcasts, which is like a TV series vs a movie, I run out of episodes very quickly so then I can ‘read’ while waiting for new ones. Strangely, I prefer TV series to movies though….

Anyway, three of the five titles above were ‘read’ aurally rather than with my eyes. But, I have experienced them similarly.

Plus, my reading 📖 consumption has practically tripled! 😉

As for my thoughts on them, they were all enjoyed in different ways. So, I’ll only write a few sentences or two on them.

The Sakey book is part of a trilogy and I will definitely read the next one. It’s a bit like X-men without the extreme fantasy side of their ‘talents’.

James Patterson is always a good quick read on a cold or sick day. 🤪

I discovered Olsen from trolling someone else’s reading requests online as he’s a Pacific Northwest writer. It’s nice to read/hear the references to ‘home’ along with his engaging storytelling as a psychological thriller type author. This is the second of his I’ve read and won’t be the last.

Listening to Trevor Noah with his voice was amazing really as there is something about having the person tell his own story. I don’t follow him on The Daily Show as it’ll never be what Jon Stewart made it (sorry…), but I feel it was an inspiring story of his beginnings.

Having just finished Becoming, I am still processing it. Probably I’ll write a separate post on it soon as I can only express my feelings at the moment in one word – inspiring. And, I really have a hang up about this word…yet there it is.

So, by increasing what goes in my mind through reading, I am enjoying mundane activities each day more while maintaining my before-bed reading habit and fueling my own imagination.

Can’t wait for my next read….

~T 😀

Back in the day, I used to really love sumo. I would watch it regularly on Japanese TV as something of an oddity in the culture.

My early days of studying Japanese was challenging because I really had no appreciation for much of its culture despite learning the language. Perhaps it was too close to my own unknown mother culture that I thought it a betrayal to both my native and adopted ones. Perhaps when I was learning about other worlds I was still uncomfortable in my own. Perhaps it really boils down to my lack of experiences outside of my own survival. Whatever the reason, I found Japanese culture more than foreign.

However, my high school Japanese teacher worked hard to encourage us to find aspects of the culture that we could like. It was through her efforts that I became interested in sumo.

In the midst of unfamiliarities, mankind can generally find commonality in sport. While most Western countries enjoy inflicting pain at seemingly all costs to win, the traditional sport of sumo wrestling has the perfect Japanese twist.

The bouts are generally quick once the fight begins with one man getting pushed out of the ring or falls to the ground. Yet before the fight starts there is a process of squatting, lifting legs, throwing salt and pysching out the opponent. Aside from the strutting like any good cock fight, there is a spiritual element of calling on a Shinto god to help them win the fight. This intertwining of the simple and complex defines my understanding of Japan.

When I attended a tournament before, it was to enjoy the sport and see a superficial side of the sport. This time, being definitely older and only somewhat wiser, I enjoyed it on a different level. Possibly sitting closer to the action helped as well. ;D

In any case, I recommend it as an experience of something so strange and at the same time so simple.

Here are some pics from the great day of sumo wrestling!

Sumo Jan 2019 / Google Photos

~T 😀

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Creative Meanderings

Waking Up With Gratitude

Aspiring Inspirations

What Goes In

Sumo January 2019 Tokyo Tournament

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