I have been a hippy, a biker, a partier, an entrepreneur + am now a senior still working.
I've been a tour guide, vacuum cleaner salesman, parking patrol officer,
private eye, animal photographer, actor, casting director
+ always an explorer of the mind.
No job or part of my life has ever truly defined me.
These are just bits + bites, but they are big parts of what has shaped me.
I have learned that we are all one -
every living thing, every molecule + atom on this earth + beyond.
Knowing this has given me great strength + courage to live this life I've been given
with intention + gratitude.
​~ Deb Barnes

I find it pretty easy to love others.
I fall in love quickly, with friends, with people + pets,
with spaces + ideas + dreams.
But when I'm feeling upset or sad or disappointed
or like my nervous system is on fire,
I forget how to love myself.
I forget that the way back to steadiness
​is to give myself what I'm craving from others.
~Carissa Potter

This has been a rollercoaster of a week. 

An election revealed where many voters place their hope...or possibly that their hope is languishing just beyond the scope of their imaginations.

And also...the other half of voters revealed their vision of hope. We are not alone.

I'm asking myself: In what ways do I feel excited about connecting with collective healing? (There will be, + always have been, so many areas for contribution.)

My list so far includes: 

• the environment
• affordable housing for all
• access to whole food nutrition
• women, infants + children's wellness + support

I want to connect with people...to share love right here, right now.
I want to work for harmony + healing + flourishing here + now.
I want to laugh + sing + dance + taste + feel love + connection + joy today + tomorrow.
I want to spread love like a failed dam + tenderness like dandelion fluff + joy like an unstoppable waterfall. 

May our imaginations expand + outpace the demand.
May our vision see clearly where there is work to be done.
May our vigor rise to meet the day.
May our egos bend toward collaboration.
May love rule supreme.

Let love rule came to mind + when I played it, I loved how there were gentle parts + driving parts that moved me to dancing wild.

Love is tender + fierce.

Tenderly + fiercely loved + loving,
Jane

All that clutter used to be money.
​~Joshua Becker

observing 
+ not absorbing
​
~Ty Williams

I don't think consumerism is that satisfying for most people.
We're taught that we need to keep up with these trends + buy all this stuff,
but it doesn't really make us happy.
Happiness levels are declining.
People have fewer close friends.
It's not like the current status quo is awesome + we should be fighting to hold on to it.
We just have a bunch of junk.
Instead of being surrounded by beautiful, durable, repairable things that we love,
we've got a bunch of single-use plastic garbage.
Having piles of garbage everywhere is not super delightful.

Having all this fossil-fuel-based plastic on every beach + in our drinking water
+ in our rain + in our beer + in our seafood, which is currently the case -
it's not like that's a life I want to hold on to.
Often we think about the changes that are needed,
+ we don't look at both sides of the coin.
We think about- this is going to be expensive,
or, this is going to be inconvenient,
without thinking about,
do you know how inconvenient + expensive climate change is?

This is an opportunity to live a different + better life.

~Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson

We must have courage to admit we have taken too much.
~Colette Pichon Battle (via)