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yestember

One of my friends is having a hard time of late. Especially in the area of being single. I set them this challenge and it is called yestember.

They have to complete all 30 by the end of September. It’s not actually about finding a man, it’s about mixing up their everyday and pushing comfort zones and generally just doing things that they don’t normally do.

Sometimes all it takes is a change of perspective.

I found this quote and I loved it…

“make a radical change in your lifestyle and begin to boldly do things which you may previously never have thought of doing, or been too hesitant to attempt. So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservation, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun. If you want to get more out of life, you must lose your inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter-skelter style of life that will at first appear to you to be crazy. But once you become accustomed to such a life you will see its full meaning and its incredible beauty.” Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild

So if you are feeling a little glum. It’s spring and join in Yestember with us.

Download the list here: yestember

* say yes to this project.

* Buy a coffee for a stranger.

* Go to the wine bar and talk to anyone whose there, The goal is to get someone to buy you a drink.

* Arrange a BBQ/ party at your house and invite people…

* Arrange a dinner in the city with a group of people.

* Plan a holiday at home (provide evidence i.e itinerary).

* Invite someone out for coffee (guy or girl).

* Talk to 5 guys at church…

* Go on a young adult camp/ retreat/ or organize a weekend away before the end of the year with young adults.

* Go to 3 different churches (and go to church every Sunday of september).

* Write a letter to myself and post it back to myself and open 1 October.

* Start a conversation with a guy in a shopping centre.

* Book a counseling session and talk about disappointments.

* Organize a chicks night at movies with pedicure, wine and chocolate.

* Dance naked around the house with music blasting.

* Start a journal to give to your husband on your wedding day.

* Go and burn any letter from x boyfriends and delete all text messages.

* Book two tickets to an event or movie and put on facebook a week before that you’ve got a spare ticket and see who wants to join you (Guy or Girl).

* At the Gym, ask someone a question about health such as “Protein shakes”, “How to use gym equipment”.

* Try a different sport i.e. Bikram Yoga or Crossfit.

* Cook a recipe that you’ve wanted to try.

* Go to a sports bar to watch a footy finals or the grand final with someone.

* Do a Random Act of Kindness.

* Join a volunteer group or event ie. Man the phones for telethon, Do the soup run, Visit an old peoples home etc.

* Read a new book.

* Be Confident and Open to what the month brings. Say yes to offers and chat to everyone even if they’re not your type.

* Go into a bottle shop and ask the attendant to suggest a wine that will go with your meal.

* Go dancing after your dinner in the city.

* Try a relaxation or meditation CD before you go to bed.

* Write your own positive message for the month and repeat it every day. Put it on your mirror & say it ie. “I will reach out of my comfort zone this month. I am strong. I am confident and I am willing to meet new people and let God lead me where I need to go”.

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A cup of tea with Em






I have only met Em from Tea Cups Too three times, maybe four in fact and each time I have encountered her, there is something about her heart and presence that makes me smile.

We have some mutual friends and we live a stone’s throw away from each other, but I stumbled across her blog whilst looking for pictures from an event we both went to on the weekend and I stayed at her place online for a while.

So, today I have put my little man to bed, my big man is scraping the peeling paint off our wooden window sills that have been corroded by the sea air and I wanted to have tea with Em online.

The isolation of motherhood has the capacity to take us to beautiful places and dark ones also. As I read your recent post on motherhood, it reminded me of a quote I have been repeating to myself lately.

‘Embrace the chaos’

For those who don’t know me, I am a stay at home mum with one son Maximus, one husband (who works in Juvi with young offenders and is a body builder, I know not sure what happened there…) and I write often here and also here.

Aside from my writing, I do heaps of other stuff, which you can find more about here. To say life is chaotic is an understatement. Max just turned eighteen months; 6 days ago, and the last year and a half of my life has tippled into toddler oblivion,my priorities and preconceived judgements on mothering have been dramatically turned upside down.

This is the quote recently that made me smile and I have decided to make it my summer mantra.

chaos

Chaos (especially in my house and my diary) often makes me feel overwhelmed, but there are moments when I stop my mind from trying to control the moment and I embrace the cry of my heart to live a life that contributes significantly and my little heart secretly starts to roar.

It’s like I have a little dinosaur inside me, that when I think thoughts of beauty and creativity, when I produce moments of inspiration and life, whose eyes grow large and a mighty roar begins to emerge. A roar that no-one can hear but I can feel it rise in my heart.

Finding a sense of purpose and contribution in my days, helps me to embrace the chaos and to allow the dishes to harden, the washing to stiffen, knowing that my time is being given to that which makes an eternal impact.

Your post Em, reminded that the times I spend with my son, screwing the lids on and off, the times that I walk slowly so that he can rip lovely flowers apart, are just as valid and important as the times that I am recording moments for radio, writing books and helping women in far off places.

Embracing the chaos and not trying to contain its place, allows us to live in those moments that full vibrant colour filled memories are made and allows us to build a life of beauty rather than contained order.

Does it mean I think allowing our lives to be messy and out of control everyday is helpful?

No, in fact spring cleaning, keeping my housework at bay and structure allow my creativity to thrive.

However, its just changing the priority scales of its importance and allowing the opinions of others to fade and the ideas that brew late in the evening hour, to become reality.

Embrace the ROAR Em.

Each time I have met you, I have sensed a great potential for beauty, awaken-edness and life.

You are delightful and your life produces beautiful things.

Let’s have a real cuppa soon, or watch the sun on the ocean go down with a glass of wine and forget that toilet training creates a lot of mess, on top of the dust piling on my lovely wooden floors.

Smile often,

Mumma V.

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A cup of tea with Em






I have only met Em from Tea Cups Too three times, maybe four in fact and each time I have encountered her, there is something about her heart and presence that makes me smile.

We have some mutual friends and we live a stone’s throw away from each other, but I stumbled across her blog whilst looking for pictures from an event we both went to on the weekend and I stayed at her place online for a while.

So, today I have put my little man to bed, my big man is scraping the peeling paint off our wooden window sills that have been corroded by the sea air and I wanted to have tea with Em online.

The isolation of motherhood has the capacity to take us to beautiful places and dark ones also. As I read your recent post on motherhood, it reminded me of a quote I have been repeating to myself lately.

‘Embrace the chaos’

For those who don’t know me, I am a stay at home mum with one son Maximus, one husband (who works in Juvi with young offenders and is a body builder, I know not sure what happened there…) and I write often here and also here.

Aside from my writing, I do heaps of other stuff, which you can find more about here. To say life is chaotic is an understatement. Max just turned eighteen months; 6 days ago, and the last year and a half of my life has tippled into toddler oblivion,my priorities and preconceived judgements on mothering have been dramatically turned upside down.

This is the quote recently that made me smile and I have decided to make it my summer mantra.

chaos

Chaos (especially in my house and my diary) often makes me feel overwhelmed, but there are moments when I stop my mind from trying to control the moment and I embrace the cry of my heart to live a life that contributes significantly and my little heart secretly starts to roar.

It’s like I have a little dinosaur inside me, that when I think thoughts of beauty and creativity, when I produce moments of inspiration and life, whose eyes grow large and a mighty roar begins to emerge. A roar that no-one can hear but I can feel it rise in my heart.

Finding a sense of purpose and contribution in my days, helps me to embrace the chaos and to allow the dishes to harden, the washing to stiffen, knowing that my time is being given to that which makes an eternal impact.

Your post Em, reminded that the times I spend with my son, screwing the lids on and off, the times that I walk slowly so that he can rip lovely flowers apart, are just as valid and important as the times that I am recording moments for radio, writing books and helping women in far off places.

Embracing the chaos and not trying to contain its place, allows us to live in those moments that full vibrant colour filled memories are made and allows us to build a life of beauty rather than contained order.

Does it mean I think allowing our lives to be messy and out of control everyday is helpful?

No, in fact spring cleaning, keeping my housework at bay and structure allow my creativity to thrive.

However, its just changing the priority scales of its importance and allowing the opinions of others to fade and the ideas that brew late in the evening hour, to become reality.

Embrace the ROAR Em.

Each time I have met you, I have sensed a great potential for beauty, awaken-edness and life.

You are delightful and your life produces beautiful things.

Let’s have a real cuppa soon, or watch the sun on the ocean go down with a glass of wine and forget that toilet training creates a lot of mess, on top of the dust piling on my lovely wooden floors.

Smile often,

Mumma V.

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#napkinseries

imageI was flying solo a couple of weeks ago to Sydney and I dug out a journal that I always used to write with, every time I flew.

It was a ritual.

I was on an aeroplane so often by myself that it became my high altitude muse.

As I leafed through these seasonal writings, it made me smile how many themes rolled from one year to another, but also how many themes fitted the exact season I was in.

I waited for my small, overcooked meal to come down the aisle and I lifted the journal to replace my tray and out tumbled some napkin drawings that made me smile.

image

Each beginning of the year as I travelled, I wrote on a single napkin, the one word I was to focus on in that year and brainstormed its output.

It was simple but it was revolutionary.

napkin series

This act distilled what I wanted to focus on in a creative way.

I have started a little napkin series and am encouraging you to do the same.

1) Find a cafe, restaurant, secret cubby house or a moment.

2) Find a nakin.

3) Find a sharpie.

4) Write one word that is necessary to focus on for this season.

5) Idea storm it.

6) hashtag #napkinseries for accountability.

A simple thought but profound one, if we actually do something with it.

Till we meet again.

Mumma V.

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SPARC inspired

erwinSquareTwitterI have just come back to earth after an amazing weekend spent with creative people from all over Australia. There were many themes throughout the conference but the most resounding one was ‘A life of authenticity’.

I believe everyone is creative. It is just how we allow that creativity to pervade every part of our lives that is the problem.

The guest speaker for the conference was Erwin Mc Manus who is a regular speaker at TED conferences.

He spoke openly and honestly about his creative pursuits, the future and his failures. To hear someone who we perceive as being so successful talk about all the things he had failed in, was so refreshing.

Here is a highlights video of our conference:

http://vimeo.com/user10306509/review/72184724/f6e7a9d58b

If you would like to come with me next year, blind registrations are open here: http://www.sparc.org.au/2014-registration/

Here is a message from a few years ago from Erwin Mc Manus for those who have never heard him before.

Exciting Days

Amanda