Stop it! No, Seriously, stop a minute... read this.

Take a minute and breathe.

All Photos are my own works.

I had to stop a moment, just now, because for just a moment the Portland drizzle let up and the clouds broke.. And with the blue sky to frame the clouds in the sky you have a point of reference to see how freaking fast they are whipping by!

My eyes opened wide and I stared like a goof for a solid minute then I fished out my phone for some photos.

It is really amazing how stopping for a minute and really appreciating the beauty of the world around me can make me feel as though my heart grew two sizes.

I find that so often I am hurdling though my day. I roll out of bed and fall into an outfit and stumble into my car. Impatiently and gracelessly I get to work as fast as possible even though I dread being stuck there. *clink clink clink* swing your pickaxe at the dry, rough, craggy earth of the corporate salt mine for 9 hours. Don't make eye contact, keep your head down until the whistle blows.

Barrel into traffic to see if I can make it across town for before a store closes make it there 5 minutes before they flip the sign… "did she really just glare at me and sigh for walking in here? Does she know what traffic is like!? Ugh.." Grab what you need and slap some money on the counter and dash, just freaking DASH to the next thing.

And… you get the picture. I am living bucket-loads of life man, can't you see that? I mean, it's low quality but I have a ton so that makes up, right?

I feel like this is one part how we live our lives and one part fear of death and a sprinkling of a hyper-speed society making me scurry just a little faster than needs be. When, in reality, I find that it is those moments that I don't think "why is this old lady chatting me up, I have NO time for this…" and instead know that I have time to be kind, I have time to engage and connect and appreciate and that will truly fill my day.

The best days that I can think of are those where I have been open and allowed myself to be swept up in the conversation. When I reach out to a stranger who is eyeballing a cherimoya in the produce department with a look of fear and trepidation and say "those are awesome, totally with a try" and give a big smile and a thumbs up I have fun.

It takes time, it takes effort but by god it makes life so much better. The problem is that you have to stop, you have to slow down, to be able to accomplish these little golden moments and that is hard. It is so hard to step out of the stream of this fast paced life that whips around us and just enjoy the clouds racing by.

P.S. The clouds are still whipping by but it is also sprinkling again but the golden morning sun is hitting the rain and making the world look like it is covered in a layer of gold cellophane.

Stupid and desperate - Drinking to Cope

Yeah we've all had a lick of liquid courage to get through a rough spot but it isn't a healthy crutch.

Appropriate since I went to Bend... and to that brewery...

My mom invited me to go away with her this last weekend and I agreed. We were to leave same day and I was excited but that was short lived, of course. I started to panic. I was leaving my safety net, I was leaving my partner alone for the weekend, I was going to have to get to sleep alone and deal with the "Bad Thoughts" alone. 

It was mostly that one word, I felt 'Alone'. I was freaking out because I would have to go out into the middle of nowhere and be alone with my thoughts... you know what pumpkin? That should scare anybody. 

So here was my masterful frat-boy inspired plan. I would drink until the idea of leaving home didn't feel like it would make my heart explode and I'd like to level with you now. Wow that was a stupid idea and here is why: nobody is fooling anybody when you've had six hearty drinks. You are not 'passing' for normal people..

I immediately felt super self conscious about the fact I was three sheets to the wind and sitting next to my loving, adorable, awesome mother. "What shameful thing have I done?" I thought. "I'm a terrible person." I should explain that when I am that drunk I have an experience that is much like having a completely lucid person riding shotgun who is trying to talk sense into me or in this case, provide real time shame and regret for what I am unable to stop doing... (Side benefit, I never blackout, ever, I always remember in perfect detail what I did and said for-freaking-ever. Yay.)

So I came clean, I told her the thought of leaving home was so terrifying I drank. She said "Duh". So I went on to try to explain what I had been dealing with the last two months and I got to feel something new. Confiding in my mom meant she was able to open up to me about experiences she had and offer excelent advice. I felt stupid. If I had called her and said "I still want to go but I am freaking out, what do I do?" she would have explained and made it easy for me. 

I realised that most of my anxiety is centered around something that scares me that I am trying to keep secret from the world. When I can pluck up the courage to say "This freaks me and and here is why." someone has always been willing to help me and explain. Be honest with your feelings and they won't be able to blackmail you into making awful decisions. Like drinking before going on a three hour road trip with my mother...