After Dinner...

This past shabbat was the first time I had friends over for dinner in my new place...Parshat Noach. It was sooo great....I love having guests and having a reason to create atmosphere...
I have been working really hard to conquer the everlasting project of making my home feel like mine and this was no exception. I had to carry out the vision for my meal, complete with lighting, color choices for tablcloth and setting out utensils. I am not one for small talk at my shabbat table or even in general, so I was happy to know that my friends would be open to my expectation of high level conversation along with a holy meal.

I love having guests, being able to share a bit of the world I create of healthy food, kosher, vegan and appropriately spiced. (Hopefully). Some tidbits from the carefully crafted menu was date honey challah and brown rice curry, vegan brownies and apple-pumpkin ginger soup. I love to cook because it results in an experiential experience for all and it's an art form I can relax into rather than constantly critique myself while I'm doing it. But, I digress....

After Shabbat ended, I was in my apartment, surveying the wonderful mess that was left behind. Empty wine and grape voice bottles, telling the story of intense discussion over their lofty aromas, crumbs on the carpet and stains on the tablecloth, not to mention the pile high of dishes in the sink. But I didn't care, I was happy to clean up...for their was an energy of home in the air that hadn't existed previously despite my initiatives to decorate and organize to my heart's content. This time, I had invited guests to participate in a holy, organic experience. And when we decide to create that level of atmosphere and use our home as a canvas for uplifting the physical, that resonates longer than the experience itself...it lingers long after the guests had left. So now my home is infused with the holiness of Shabbat and I hope it lasts a long time....
thanks to my friends for so easily helping me make that experience.

Shavua tov....

Free Spirit Moves the World

I have a friend. He lives in a constant state of positivity and forward motion. I have known him since I was nineteen and have always been amazed at his total and complete ability to define for the world in the truest sense what a real free spirit is.
Just because he wanted to, he decided one time to just move to an island, learn how to survive there and create a business from new artisan skills he developed in between rocking out to reggae rhymes and becoming deep friends with locals and tourists.

So now he has his own jewlery business...he sells coconut jewlery at concerts and festivals, online and wherever else he finds a place. At first, it was a small business venture, but it quickly grew with time. The coolest thing about my friend is that he doesn't have a business degree or anything formal...he truly operates out of his confidence, raw spirit and intuition. And it's so refreshing to see someone who is super successful working out of his core.

I recently got one of his rings and I was talking with a student and she noticed the ring. Turns out, she had a similar one she bought at a festival in California, from him. Random! I thought it was pretty cool...but then one day I was out to lunch and as I glanced over at a random booth, I saw a woman who was wearing one of his bracelets. In Chicago, no less. This was pretty cool, but then I saw someone in shul wearing it as well! And then someone on the street....ok, now this was no longer coincidental...

Everything that exists in the physical relm has a spiritual reason for being there. Let's take this bracelet for example. It's very physical, there to add beauty to the person who chose to decorate a limb. But behind that bracelet is a person who had a vision and created a business because he was passionate about his product. And he truly seeks beauty in the world, identifying it and praising as he goes along...so it makes sense that I am seeing his jewlery all around since his powerful free spirit is behind his work...enthusiasm goes a long way no matter what...perhaps one of his reasons for being here is to help make people feel good about themselves which is why he is so successful...

But I do know for sure that when I see this jewlery in the random places, it's a continual message to me, that he is there and so is his gift in the world...which reminds me that whatever actions we are taking on a daily basis, whatever we are doing with our spirit, be careful...because whether it's on someones wrist, conscience or scar tissue, we are leaving our imprints in small but powerful places in the world.

Art is not for ego....

Anyone who knows me knows that one of my favorite musicians is Ani Difranco.
She embodies an example of what I feel is the main purpose of art.
Some use it to illustrate ego. Some use it for attention and to show off.
But for those who falsely operate under these guidelines, I am here to say that the real responsibility of the artist is to bring light into the world, straight from a vision in their mind...
hopefully, this creates dialogue, raises questions and spearheads stimulating conversation amoung those who view it...hopefully it's validating or challenging on some level....
and so here, I share one of my favorite pieces, one that i feel very personally connected to...
read between the lines....as I step off my soapbox.

swandive
cradling the softest, warmest part of you in my hand
feels like a little baby bird fallen from the nest
i think that your body is something i understand
i think that i'm happy, i think that i'm blessed
i've got a lack of inhibition
i've got a loss of perspective
i've had a little bit to drink
and it's making me think
that i can jump ship and swim
that the ocean will hold me
that there's got to be more
than this boat i'm in
'cuz they can call me crazy if i fail
all the chance that i need
is one-in-a-million
and they can call me brilliant
if i succeed
gravity is nothing to me, moving at the speed of sound
i'm just going to get my feet wet
until i drown
and i teeter between tired
and really, really tired
im wiped and im wired but i guess its just as well
because i built my own empire
out of car tires and chicken wire
and i'm queen of my own compost heap
and i'm getting used to the smell
and i've got a lack of information
but i got a little revelation
and i'm climbing up on the railing
trying not to look down
i'm going to do my best swan dive
into shark-infested waters
i'm gonna pull out my tampon
and start splashing around
'cuz i don't care if they eat me alive
i've got better things to do than survive
i've got a memory of your warm skin in my hand
and i've got a vision of blue sky and dry land
i'm cradling the hardest, heaviest part of me in my hand
the ship is pitching and heaving, my limbs are bobbing and weaving
and i think this is something i understand
i just need a couple vaccinations for my far-away vacation
i'm going to go ahead and go boldly because a little bird told me
that jumping is easy, that falling is fun
up until you hit the sidewalk, shivering and stunned
and they can call me crazy if i fail
all the chance that i need
is one-in-a-million
and they can call me brilliant
if i succeed
gravity is nothing to me
moving at the speed of sound
i'm just gonna get my feet wet
until i drown...