Despite the backlash (no pun)

of Taylor Swift's Grammy performance last night,

I must add my two cents.

Ladies, 

show me another woman who can

sit like that on a stage in front of millions of viewers worldwide,

rock out on the piano while throwing her head back and forth,

sing her heart out completely in OR out of tune,

spill her guts out on the floor in truth,

not give a shit if it was so personal and in fact was proud it was,

and all the while

 maintain such elegant composure,

keeping her clothes on,

such class,

such towering beauty

that you just want to reach into the TV and 

grab the vulnerability from her spine

and inject it into your veins.

Period.

The embodiment of beauty is the risk taken 

despite the outcome.

~L~

ugly tomatoes

I walked by this bowl of tomatoes in my kitchen yesterday

and thought wow those are smashingly ugly.

I was so drawn to their mismatched obscurity

and thought woah that's awfully bold 

to be in the same bowl together, all of you.

So I took a picture of them and put it through a filter.

What doesn't look good through a filter?

Now look at this beautiful bowl of tomatoes!

(( insert sarcasm here ))

What's behind your filter is MUCH more interesting, 

than the pretty picture

you spent all that time rearranging.

Now, how about a little raw selfie?

#nofilter

#beautiful

#truth

#vulnerability

Perhaps that's what drew me to you at the Green Market this morning,
little vulnerable assortment of intrigue that you are.

Food for thought on a Sunday morning.

~ L ~

humanity (shared)

"Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. 

It's a relationship between equals. 

Only when we know our own darkness well 

can we be present with the darkness of others."

~ Pema Chodron, "The Places That Scare You"

Now it's an even better Monday. 

~ L ~

stAnd out...

Ever go into a big test or competition 

and ask what you'll need to bring with you?

Usually the answer is

"nothing but yourself."

Maybe it's a #2 pencil or some running shoes

but nevertheless you feel so...

vulnerable.

But most of these 'tests' in life require nothing but YOU.

How ironic.

You were born this way and you will die this way.

No equipment. No information. 

Maybe you're even just a number.

Try taking up a hobby this lonely, this free.

Run.  Swim.  Jump.  Sing.  Dance.  Learn.

Where you need no other piece of equipment to help you perform.

Where all you have to do is move your body or your mind.

Then, live this free every day.

If you're just a number, just a body, 

you'll stand out somehow, some way.

Just you.

~ L ~

(#389215)

clothes off to 2014

If you're one of the 5,029,232 people who resolve to lose weight this year

but don't know where to find the push to do so,

Sleep naked every night.

The sheets don't lie.

Strip away the layers that shield progress.

If you toss and turn because you don't feel good about your body,

well ain't that the naked truth?

Make change happen!

We're on the other side of what hasn't changed-

time.

We're ahead of 2013.

now....go be naked.

~ L ~