A New Year!

Hello everyone!  Happy New Year!  

Peace, Love and Happiness to you and your loved ones!

Please please forgive me for my long unannounced blogging hiatus!  My end of year move was hectic and riddled with struggles and problems.  But guess what?  It's finally over!  I feel free as a bird and ready to do great things this year.  By the way, that reminds me of a funny little quote I saw floating around on Facebook yesterday....

"Dear God, my prayer for 2011 is for a fat bank account & a thin body. Please don't mix these up like you did last year. AMEN!!"

To be honest, it's hilarious and cute but I know better than to pray to a higher being for such things.  I need to make them happen myself!  I don't care too much for money ("....money can't buy me love!") but a little to spare would certainly be a relief this year.  As for the thin body, I've gotta hit the gym and tone up, as they say, no more beating around the bush!  I know these aren't exactly original New Year's resolutions, in fact I'm fairly sure they are two of the most common!  However, this year won't just be about saving money and losing weight, it'll be about getting the so-called ducks in a row and fully accepting that at 26 I'm a full-blown adult and there's no turning back.  I've got to start moving forward consistently instead of taking two steps forward and three steps back (it feels like that is what I've been doing for the past few years).  

Except, of course, for Inspire Bohemia, which has been a great leap forward with regard to acting on my passions.  I have my boyfriend to thank for inspiring me to start this blog, and especially for encouraging me to press on when it seemed like I had no audience.  Now, almost a year and a half after I first started Inspire Bohemia I have over two hundred followers and have received a lot of compliments, attention and exposure from all different directions.  For that I am very thankful, it encourages me to charge on and most importantly, it serves as a small personal affirmation that I am headed in the right direction, towards fulfilling my passions and developing the things that I'm good at.

With that said, I know I will always be a work in progress.  I need to gain some peace of mind and do some major self-reflection.  I want to find ways to be happier and improve my life and the lives of those around me that I care about and I want to eliminate as much of the negative from my life and my thoughts as possible.  I need to understand myself better and learn how to control my anger and my snap judgments, my insecurities and jealousies, and my own harsh judgment of myself.  I need to stop overwhelming my mind with the frustrations of how to get where I'm going, how to be all that I can be and all that I'm meant to be  in this life, and how to bring my passions to fruition.  In the words of Paul McCartney/The Beatles, I just need to let it be!  I need to trust my instincts, trust the power of my convictions and trust that continuing to follow my passions, all of them (however scattered they may or may not be) will get me where I want to be and where I should be.  I need to trust that at the end of my life I will be happy with how I've lived it.  Why?  Because at this moment I know that I have not betrayed who I truly am so far in life.  I have not lived a lie or denied myself the things I love to do and the things that I'm good at.  That is why I trust.  Be true to yourself and you will find happiness, even when things are bad and seem insurmountable, they inevitably lead to better things.

Wow, I better be careful or I'll turn this blog into a spiritual and theoretical think tank on life overnight!  And believe me, I can.  I've written a plethora of college papers on everything from Philosophy and The Gordon Rule, ghosts and spirits, Buddhism and other religions, sociological issues, anthropological issues, gender issues, men and women, sexuality, women and sexuality in the media and the list goes on and on!  I have been meaning to start another blog that focuses on those other major interests that are part of who I am on an everyday basis; however, I don't want to mix it in here so as not to drive away those with conflicting views who just want to stop by for some design, decor or gardening inspiration.  In fact, my boyfriend and I are going to start that blog tonight and collaborate on it together.  We are both great thinkers and, in our own way, philosophers... we are both great writers too, so it should be a fun endeavor.  I will keep you posted on the status of that new blog.

In the meantime, I invite you to check out a very interesting site that I stumbled upon yesterday called Thought Munchies.  Thought Munchies is written by an anonymous person and consists of exactly what it is titled - thought munchies, a.k.a food for thought, a.k.a. very interesting ideas, thoughts, observations, perceptions and analysis of various topics relating to humanity and the struggles of life.  It really impressed me.  I find a lot of this person's ideas and thoughts to be profound, insightful and incredibly identical to many of my own thoughts and beliefs.  If anything, it will really get you thinking, hence the name of the site, hehe.  

Oh, and guess what?  It's Friday!  Waaaahooooo!  I hope you've all had wonderful holidays and I wish you nothing but the best for 2011 and beyond!  I'll be back soon with some great posts to kick off the new year.

:)

xoxo

Music To Make Happy By

It has been a bad few weeks around here. Economic problems have finally hit home. Employment's down. My health care costs are way up. Daylight is down. Obama's down. The nearby Cici's has just gone out of business. America's standing in the world is down. There's a serial killer in the town next to where my daughter goes to college. Stocks are down. Disposable income is down. Blogpost comments are down. I'm down. Maybe you're down.

But I realized, for about the one billionth time, driving into work this morning and listening to Paul Westerberg's "Dyslexic Heart," that, yeah, listening to music makes me happy even when most of everything else doesn't.

As we head into the darkest days of the year, here's a little counterprogramming, a little bit of something to perk us up. Make you some happy. Now.

The stuff that follows is fresh, mostly new, most of it bands I don't normally listen to that I encountered while cruising around the web. Hope it picks up your day.

Atmosphere--"The Best Day" (mp3) My daughter sent me this one. I don't listen to a whole lot of hip-hop, but this one is catchy and positive and catches me where I am right now.

Scott H. Biram--"Lost Case Of Being Found" (mp3) I hear echoes of Dylan's "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" in this creaky little folker.

Lelia Broussard--"Dancing In The Dark" (mp3) Splendid cover of the Springsteen song. It's cool how she's able to maintain the intensity with just some sparse piano. And, wow, the song itself really works from the female perspective. Who knew?

Oh Land--"Sun Of A Gun" (mp3) She catches your attention because she's beautiful, and then you stay for the music.

The Decemberists--"Down By The Water" (mp3) You don't expect to find the Decemberists on a "happy" mix, but there's something about this one, a little REMish because Peter Buck is on it, a little sweeter because Gillian Welch is singing backup, that just makes it a bit friendlier than the typical Colin Meloy. Maybe it's the trashcan drums that kick the whole thing off.

The Sadies--"Another Year Again" (mp3) One of those resignation rockers that somehow triumphs over regret and inevitability.

LoveLikeFire--"From A Tower" (mp3) "Close your eyes/Rest tonight/You can try again tomorrow." 'Nuff said.

Oh Land--"Wolf & I" (mp3) See "Sun of a Gun."

Lloyd Cole--"Double Happiness" (mp3) From Lloyd's latest, Broken Record. It kind of rocks a little more than the other songs on there, has a little more of slightly-out-of-control lead guitar and is kind of catchy even though it's a minor-key happiness both in melody and content.

Sheryl Crow--"Mother Nature's Son" (mp3) One of McCartney's prettiest melodies, and she does a solid version.

Happy Diwali!

Good morning world!   

Happy Diwali!

 

Popularly known as the Festival of Lights or "the awareness of the inner light" (read more about that below), Diwali (also: Divali and Deepavali) is a very meaningful five day festival of Hinduism, Jainism and Sikhism.  An official holiday in many countries, Diwali marks and celebrates the triumph of good over evil, the word Diwali derives from the word Deepavali which translates into "row of lamps," which is why Hindus, Jains and Sikhs light clay oil filled lamps throughout the five day festival to celebrate this triumph. 

I really love the significance of this holiday, in fact there was so much stuff I wanted to paraphrase from Wikipedia that I just gave up, I want to post it all, so here goes...

This explains the specific significance of the holiday in each religion that celebrates it:

"Diwali commemorates the return of Lord Rama along with Sita and Lakshman from his fourteen year long exile and vanquishing the demon-king Ravana. In joyous celebration of the return of their king, the people of Ayodhya, the Capital of Rama, illuminated the kingdom with earthen diyas (oil lamps) and burst crackers.^[4] In Jainism, Diwali marks the attainment of moksha or nirvana by Mahavira in 527 BC.^[5][6] In Sikhism, Deepavali commemorates the return of Guru Har Gobind Ji to Amritsar after freeing 52 Hindu kings imprisoned in Fort Gwalior by defeating Emperor Jahangir; the people lit candles and diyas to celebrate his return."  (via Wikipedia)

This explains the spiritual significance of the holiday, which I really love [read: bold text]:

"In each legend, myth and story of Deepawali lies the significance of the victory of good over evil; and it is with each Deepawali and the lights that illuminate our homes and hearts, that this simple truth finds new reason and hope. From darkness unto light — the light that empowers us to commit ourselves to good deeds, that which brings us closer to divinity. During Diwali, lights illuminate every corner of India and the scent of incense sticks hangs in the air, mingled with the sounds of fire-crackers, joy, togetherness and hope. Diwali is celebrated around the globe. Outside India, it is more than a Hindu festival, it's a celebration of South-Asian identities.^[4]

While Deepavali is popularly known as the "festival of lights", the most significant spiritual meaning is "the awareness of the inner light". Central to Hindu philosophy is the assertion that there is something beyond the physical body and mind which is pure, infinite, and eternal, called the Atman. The celebration of Deepavali as the "victory of good over evil", refers to the light of higher knowledge dispelling all ignorance, the ignorance that masks one's true nature, not as the body, but as the unchanging, infinite, immanent and transcendent reality. With this awakening comes compassion and the awareness of the oneness of all things (higher knowledge). This brings Ananda (joy or peace). Just as we celebrate the birth of our physical being, Deepavali is the celebration of this Inner Light.

While the story behind Deepavali and the manner of celebration varies from region to region (festive fireworks, worship, lights, sharing of sweets), the essence is the same – to rejoice in the Inner Light (Atman) or the underlying Reality of all things (Brahman)." (via Wikipedia)

 

Ommmmmm..... :)

I really think every person in the world should celebrate the message of Diwali, regardless of their religion.  Why?  Because it's a very good message and something we must always remember within ourselves.  Besides, the world could use more joy and peace. especially these days!  The world needs more people to self reflect, to overcome ignorance and issues of race and religion in order to come together and attain true love, peace and happiness.

(All information about DIwali is from Wikipedia.org and images are via a Google image search)

Daphne the Gay Ninja

One of the Boys - Mott the Hoople (mp3)
Divine Thing - Soup Dragons (mp3)

Massive positive buzz abounds for a blog entry from a mother whose 5-year-old preschool son dressed up as Daphne for a Halloween party at his school. Here’s the intro, but I highly encourage you to read the entire piece:

My son is gay. Or he’s not. I don’t care. He is still my son. And he is 5. And I am his mother. And if you have a problem with anything mentioned above, I don’t want to know you. I have gone back and forth on whether I wanted to post something more in-depth about my sweet boy and his choice of Halloween costume. Or more specifically, the reactions to it. I figure if I’m still irked by it a few days later, I may as well go ahead and post my thoughts...

I find myself uncomfortably conflicted by her post. Perhaps my reaction speaks poorly of me, but the devil's advocate can't stand the absolute onslaught of warm fuzzies she's receiving. A bajillion people have commented how much they adore this woman’s post, and my reaction wasn’t nearly that simple.

Foremost, some of her zingers are absolutely awesome and righteous, particularly this line:

If you think that me allowing my son to be a female character for Halloween is somehow going to ‘make’ him gay then you are an idiot. Firstly, what a ridiculous concept. Secondly, if my son is gay, OK. I will love him no less. Thirdly, I am not worried that your son will grow up to be an actual ninja so back off.

Good stuff, that. She makes some great points, and most of them have Ka-Chow!

Admittedly, however, I have problems with her overall spiel. First, I don’t really believe someone capable of writing this well can be as clueless as she purports. If she didn’t see these reactions coming -- which officially makes her more socially naive than her 5-year-old -- then she doesn’t get out much. Besides, if she didn't see the negativity coming, then why were all her pals high-fiving her down the hallway?

Therefore, I question her motives. Was she really out to make her sweet precious Boo happy, or was she willing to use her son for her own combative lust? (And, if the answer is a little of both, is that OK?)

Third is my reaction to her conclusion:

And all I hope for my kids, and yours, and those of Moms ABC, are that they are happy. If a set of purple sparkly tights and a velvety dress is what makes my baby happy one night, then so be it. If he wants to carry a purse, or marry a man, or paint fingernails with his best girlfriend, then ok. My job as his mother is not to stifle that man that he will be, but to help him along his way. Mine is not to dictate what is ‘normal’ and what is not, but to help him become a good person.

I’ve got bad news for you, honey. Instant happiness and long term happiness are almost entirely unrelated. One of today's biggest cultural problems is that making your child happy has superseded making them good people, and you are clearly and admittedly in that Insta-Happy Camp. (Happy: first sentence. Good person: last sentence.)

Your son might be "happy one night" taking a dump in his pants. He might be "happy one night" biting dogs. He might find "joy one day" eating maggots off the couch and without utensils or his hands. He might be happy doing lots of things that aren’t “right.” I’m not saying purple tights and purses are wrong, but I’m saying that we as parents are charged with raising and educating our children about that very cruel world this mom seems to have magically discovered on Halloween 2010, several decades into her life.

Five-year-olds aren't soldiers. They shouldn't be used to fight our battles. If she'd encouraged her son to dress as Papa Smurf rather than Daphne, she didn't somehow kill his soul. He's FIVE.

Being a parent isn’t always about making our children happy in the now. Happiness is not a goal you can reach by aiming for it. Happiness is the desired by-product of other meaningful pursuits.

Let me be crystal clear here, because this is important: When your first goal as a parent is your child's constant and immediate happiness, you are at best a naive parent, and at worst a horrible one.

Cross-dressing, marrying someone of a different race or religion, moving to Pakistan to become a Christian missionary, opening a medicinal marijuana farm. These are not the same kinds of decisions as whether to brush your teeth at night. I’m not saying any of these life choices are Wrong, because I'm a lib'ral relativist. But in our time and in our culture, to suggest that parents don’t have a responsibility to educate and prepare our children for the world that might not approve of everything they do or want to do... to let your children ride their bikes into traffic without at least informing them of the risks and dangers... well, that’s shitty parenting.

Evangelize to cannibals in the Amazon. Cross-dress. Marry a lovely Hindu man. Whatever. As your parent, I’ll love you regardless, but I do have the responsibility to make sure you are aware what you might be getting yourself into.

Again, I admire at least 80% of what this mom says. And I admire the ferocity with which she defends and loves her son. But to say the moms are bullies? Get over yourself. Snotty? Callous? Condescending? Insensitive? Sure, to all of ‘em. But when we start labeling their behavior as bullying, we have watered down the term so much it’s meaningless. It’s like calling a kitchen knife a WMD.

Her claims of social cluelessness and her prioritization of quick happiness, however, are worth questioning. If she didn’t know it might be controversial, why were all her pre-warned pals giving her high-fives down the hallway like she was about to enter a WWE wrestling ring? Don’t couch it like your toddler has more social awareness than his mother.

And here's the last part for this mom and all her cyber-huggers. Kids are more resilient than any of you seem to realize. Her precious Boo won't remember a thing about his Halloween party in two weeks, because nobody ever said anything to him or did anything to him.

Her blog isn't about her precious Boo. It's about her.

It takes a self-absorbed blogger to know one.

Peace, Love and FRIDAY!

It's Friday and I'm ready for a little PEACE, LOVE and HAPPINESS this weekend! Hehehe... Tomorrow I will be attending a fashion show that my sister Danielle and her camp will be participating in... she'll be dressed in Hawaiian theme! Growing up, my father nick-named her Greta Garbo because of the way she would dramatize at moments... Needless to say whenever my sister is given an opportunity in the spotlight, she's a riot! So we'll see, should be fun!

Other than that I plan to start [seriously] packing all the junk sitting in my art room into my car for an upcoming slew of garage sales that my mother and I hope to orchestrate once the weather here in Miami cools down. Lately I've been struggling with the issue of too much stuff, I realize that I've accumulated too many things I don't need. In the past few years I've come to cherish certain things and not others, I've started to see possessions in a new light. I prefer Goodwill treasures to decor found in Marshalls, TJ Maxx and Ross, I prefer the trinkets from my travels, my art and things that belonged to my father more than most things I see in stores these days. I hope this is a turning point for me and my life, from now on I want my life to be less cluttered and more open and light. Something about making way for new opportunities to come into my life that is motivating me more than ever.

Anyhow, I'm not going to get into a long ramble, but I'm just in a great mood today. I'm excited for the weekend, I'm excited to go home today after work and have that relieved it's-Friday-night feeling and just relax with my love. Note to self: AND, concentrate on finishing some artwork - a post on that later today! :)

What about you all, what are your plans for the weekend? Any projects, excursions or travels planned? Let's hear'em! Whatever it may be I hope you enjoy it to the fullest!

Stay tuned for some sweet inspiring posts before the end of the day! ;)

xoxo

Hippies, Bohemians, Gypsies.... and Fashion

Okay, so by now I'm sure it's glaringly obvious that I'm a modern day hippie/bohemian... Yes, it's true, I was definitely born in the wrong era... Though, I'm beginning to think maybe I do belong in this one for some special reason, perhaps to touch a small part of the world with my idealistic free thinking, creative ambitions and eye for design, who knows? :)

Either way, there's something in me that can't resist hippie/bohemian/gypsy inspired fashion! Styles that mostly originated back in the 60's and 70's seem to be making a comeback into the hearts of the fashion world under the term "Boho-chic," but there are those of us who don't need the fashion world to dictate the orchestration of our style... For me, fashion is ruled by the same laws as interior design and decorating: personal taste and the expression of my personality, NOT trends. Anyway, here are some recent AND not so recent images of celebrities and common folk [and little extras] that portray the essence of bohemian style.

Don't forget, like in design, ones fashion style should be a diverse mix of patterns, colors, materials and layers that come together in such a way that tell a story about YOU (not VOGUE magazine)! ;)

A Bohemian Ensemble
A Bohemian Ensemble Part II

A Bohemian Ensemble Part III

Bohemian Rhapsody

(Images via various sources, I do not claim ownership of these photos. Sources include: Flickr, Visualize.US, Bohemian Vintage, La Vie Boston, various other blogs and Google Images.)