Groovy Nike High-Tops

Waiting in line at Stumptown with some friends for the weekly coffee/bagel run, I noticed these shoes on a young lady at the counter.  Love them! They’re fun and funky and they make people smile. Wearing shoes like that must increase your cheerfulness a good 10 points.  Has to.

Reminds me of another young lady I saw in downtown Portland wearing some wild socks.

So much fun! And isn’t that what life is for?

My vision board

Plan your work and work your plan. The goals we set are the goals we get. What you focus on expands. It’s an automatic ‘no’ if you don’t ask.

There are a million expressions that say essentially the same thing: we are much more likely to get where we want to go if we create some sort of map for ourselves.  That’s not to say we have to figure out how we’re going to get there (by bus or plane or train), we just need to figure out where we want to go and begin moving in that direction. That’s one reason to create a vision board.  That, and they’re just plain fun to make.

Yesterday my whole family–kids included–sat around the dining room, listened to music, flipped through magazines, cut out images and words, and purposely placed them mat boards to create a vision of what we want in our lives. It’s becoming a new year’s tradition with us.

This process is a wonderful mix of dreaming, wishing, planning, deciding and playing.  It’s creating a vision of tomorrow and enjoying the journey while laying a foundation for our goals–a touchstone to remind us of the life we want to live.

And that’s the main purpose of life, isn’t it?  To be lived.

Welcome

Mom and I spent yesterday wandering.  Mostly on Hawthorne Boulevard in Portland.  The neighborhood there is a vibrant and fun and more than a little funky.

The neighborhood is that way, of course, because that’s how the people are who live and work there.  It’s a very welcoming place, with welcoming people.  What I love about them is that they are not afraid to show it.

They are not timid in anticipation of rejection or judgement.  They wear their welcoming on their sleeves and give you the option of taking or leaving it. They are open and confident and free of the need for the good opinion of others.

They paint their houses in any combination of colors that please them and proudly post their desires for “Peace on Earth” where ever they see fit (look closely at the window).

Strolling among such honest, endearing homes it’s easy to be swept up in the warm embrace of joy; content and grateful to find a pocket of life lived out loud.