on being small

January 22, 2016 - Daily Notes

“Well-trodden paths from house to house, that is the image that holds hope for our future.”

— David Steindl-Rast on On Being, Anatomy of Gratitude

Every morning almost, I walk from my house to the coffee shop. I know the baristas by name and they know me. They ask things like, "How's Lucia coming?" and "Did you get any text selfies from your niece this morning?"

I ask them things like, "How was the show last night?" and "Have you found an apartment in New York yet?" We know one another. A little bit more each day. Enough to lift our spirits in small exchanges with genuine interest and curiosity.

Last night I had tea with a new friend. He is an entrepreneur with an exciting business that is helping people connect with one another face-to-face in meaningful ways at airports. We met last autumn while learning to dance salsa. He asked if I could do a small writing project for his startup--writing from the heart in exchange for exposure to his audience. What he proposed inspired me and I could feel new ideas bubble up as we talked. I said yes.

I've been thinking about the power of connection for awhile now. How huge and overwhelming the world seems when I enter the network of social media. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn...billions of links to be made. Creative possibilities seem endless but I think the real potential--the ability to inspire and enlighten--comes not with the number of followers one has or the size of the audience they reach, but with the meaningful exchanges that can only happen when there is a well-trodden path from one heart to another.

I think in order to have this sort of true connection, we must be able to inhabit and treasure smallness.

The women and men who have contributed writing and artwork to Lucia are people I know personally or have gotten to know better in the past year. Each new relationship is meaningful and will take time to develop. We listen to each other. Some stick around. Others flow away. It's really beautiful. 

My heart feels tugged in the direction of small. It might not be what Lucia's original business plan and cash flow projection called for, but it feels fundamental somehow. I can't quite put my finger on what this means yet, but I think it isn't so much about getting thousands of likes for a few fleeting seconds with a photograph of a cappuccino or paintbrushes on social media. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing beautiful images. But what I notice is that the more powerful inspiration comes from relating to and being inspired by real connection: conversations, meetings, meaningful exchanges. One heartbeat at a time. 

How will this translate into success in the independent magazine business? I don't know yet. I guess my work is cut for me. So I'm having another cup of coffee this morning and treasuring smallness for now. You?

xo
laura

keep going.

January 20, 2016 - Daily Notes

Last weekend, I discovered another new independent magazine that encourages women to write from the heart and has no advertising. My heart sank.

I took a breath and called one of my advisors. She is single and brave and in her late twenties. She is working on a so-far memoir and told me this story: Recently she discovered someone else already wrote the book she has been living, breathing, and writing for the last two years. Her mom sent her the link to it on Amazon a couple weeks ago and her heart sank.

This morning she sent me a link to another blog...another woman who, on the surface, appears to be doing exactly what my friend is doing. Except this woman shares only gorgeous, hipstery photographs and notes about herself and her boyfriend and their little dog all happily traveling around the country. There is no mess. It's all perfect-looking.

"How nice for them," I wrote to my friend. "This does not interest me."

Then I wrote this: "Your memoir is not about the uniqueness of life on the road. People have been doing that for decades now. The beauty and power and draw of your story is that you are a courageous woman, sharing her inner journey and the big questions that are alive in her heart. Read some Brene Brown if you have not already. Keep going. I am envisioning your book...it's beautiful. And needed. Not because there's an epic road trip. Because there's you."

My point is: Everything we do creatively has already been done. In fact, someone else is probably doing it right now. Do. Not. Worry. About. Them. 

There is a need for more inspiration in this world that you can imagine. Keep the focus on yourself. Listen to your own heart. Express what you hear there. 

Keep writing, painting, photographing, filming, dreaming, traveling, blogging, inventing, dancing, teaching, helping. Share your work. Encourage your close friends and make time in your day for them to encourage you...give each other attention. Small is where it begins. Intimate is how we make a difference.

After hitting send, I realized...the fact there is already another woman creating another beautiful magazine to give voice to the heart...it's exactly what I dreamed of when I started Lucia. It's starting. We've barely just begun, but we are already changing the world. You are part of it.

Let's keep going.

xo
laura

only light can do that.

January 18, 2016 - Daily Notes

““Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” ”

— Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

I've been sleeping in since November. It is winter and in this northern latitude morning light does not come through my window until the hour hand is on the eight; most days my feet do not touch the floor until it does. "This is my secret," I tell myself. "My hidden fountain of youth, my private reserve for creativity."

It's also when I dream. Sometimes I wake up at seven a.m. and blink for a moment in the darkness. "One more hour," I whisper to the sky outside my window and go back to sleep so dreams can come. 

Telling people about my slumbrous winter habit feels strange. I do not even mention what time I rise in December. I let summer speak for me, those days when my eyes flutter open at six a.m. and do not close again until midnight--a routine which feels more accepted by our culture of busy. People understand busy. I wish we could understand still. 

Today, our country commemorates the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., a revolutionary peace-seeker who had a beautiful dream that one day our nation would rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I thought about him as I watched the light pour through my window this morning and as I walked to the shop to buy coffee. How he gave us clues as to how we can actually fulfill this dream, he told us what we each can do in our own way. How even I can make a difference...me, little old me. By shining light. You can, too. 

Light is a warm smile for a stranger. 
Light is self-forgiveness.
Light is an open mind.
Light is patience with a difficult person.
Light is remembering to breathe.
Light is stillness and listening for heart.
Light is gratitude.
Light is giving your full attention to someone when they speak.

{...and if you need to sleep in until eight a.m. during the winter months to recharge your inner light too, then hey, I fully support that!} 

xo
laura