LIFE: An Everyday Angel

I sat at a stoplight this morning immersed in my thoughts, musing over the closing of Jillian’s and the opening of the new pub on the ground floor.  I wondered why they added the sign as an annex to Jillian’s if it was closed and why they didn’t just take it down.  Obviously, my thoughts were of nothing important yet I was totally consumed by them and not the present moment I found myself in.

My wandering mind suddenly noticed movement outside my passenger window and I was catapulted back to the here and now.  A construction worker was working on the street and saying something to me, that I couldn’t understand and had been too distracted to fully catch.  I rolled down my window and he said, “I just wanted to tell you good morning.  I want you to have a beautiful day today.  It doesn’t matter what happens to you or what you do, make it a beautiful day.”   I felt like he had been sent as a messenger to remind me of the importance of everyday grace, and controlling one’s thoughts and emotions. As I drove away I thought about how cold it is and this poor man is outside working in it.  He sure isn’t going to let that get him down though.  His attitude and perspective brought him the warmth he needed to carry on and do his duties.

I wanted to share this experience of my encounter with an ordinary yet extraordinary everyday angel.  It’s difficult sometimes to remember that we are all connected and impact one another.  I hope to remain more mindful and not let the negative consume me and poison my day, leading to my poisoning the environment of those around me with my bad attitude.  If we all took a moment to smile, say good morning, help someone in need, or offer encouragement and wisdom as this man did we could make this world a better place.  Tell someone that you love them today, hug them, tell someone they did a great job, or give a dollar to a homeless person.  Do something.

TRAVEL DIARY: Amsterdam Street Art

I am fascinated by street art.  Every city I go to I feel moved to record the transitory art that is painted on buildings, bridges, or drawn onto stickers stuck on mailboxes and newspaper dispensers.   I refer to this art as street art versus graffiti because I believe it adds value and beauty to whatever object it appears on.  Graffiti to me is something that is ugly and destructive and I feel it harms its canvas rather than benefiting it. I’m not a fan of people tagging their names and leaving their mark in an ugly un-creative way.  Here in Indianapolis there is one such tagger that does this all over town.  He simply spray paints his tag name in a very boring way which cheapens and destroys anything  he touches.  I won’t mention his name, but if I ever meet him I’m totally giving him a piece of my mind.  I adore murals as well, but those have been approved and commissioned and they don’t have quite the same charm.  However, I did include a lovely one of flowers painted on a house.

I love Amsterdam for many, many reasons.   One in particular is the beautiful art that has been painted onto old buildings and is under most bridges.  I love rounding a corner only to be accosted with a breathtaking image that makes me stop dead in my tracks.  I can stand and look at these images for many minutes.  I always wonder who did them, and when they created it.   There’s such a beautiful co-mingling of old and new in Amsterdam.  The charm of the old canals and cheeky crooked old buildings is only enhanced in my opinion by the counter culture that has made Amsterdam it’s home.  There’s something comforting in knowing that the people are still in charge and make the city their own.

I don’t know who any of the artists are of the paintings below.  A large portion of the photos were taken on Spuistraat.  Others, I couldn’t even tell you the street names of where I took them.  I tend to not pay attention to these things.   Feast your eyes upon these beautiful images and enjoy. I took all of these images when I was in Holland in September.

LIFE: Love thyself

I have wanted to write about being yourself and the importance of doing so, but the words just wouldn’t come out.  Then I realized that I had already written about this topic in November of 2009, not that it is not important enough to repeat again, but not now.  If you would like to read that post and more on this topic go to Fly Your Own Course: Having the courage to be yourself.

While my thoughts were musing and circling around about being myself I realized that there is one important element that it would be near impossible to truly be yourself without.  That’s loving yourself.  I’m not talking about arrogance or being cocky or even egotistical.  Think more along the lines of believing in yourself, having self-confidence, and enjoying your own company.  Often we look outside of ourselves for things that we should be looking inside of ourselves for.  We tend to be mirrors for each other reflecting to one another what we project or projecting our own problems onto other people.  Therefore we seek out people, or people come our way to teach us more about who we are and how we are behaving.    Instead of looking for someone else to complete us we need to focus on completing ourselves.   Life really isn’t a fairy tale where Prince Charming will come and rescue us and sweep us out of indentured servitude or awaken us from a deep slumber.  We must do these things for ourselves and be our own best partner.

Give yourself the unconditional and perfect love you seek.  If you can’t accept yourself with all your past mistakes, perceived flaws and imperfections then you’re probably going to look for someone else to validate you.  Recently life has brought a few situations my way to help me heal some of my past scars even though at the time it felt as they were being ripped open and I was being torn to shreds.  Out of necessity I try to look on the bright side of life because I’d be endlessly depressed and quite fatalistic if I didn’t.

“I am a pessimist because of intelligence, but an optimist because of will.” -Antonio Gramsci

I started looking into the situations that I was encountering with people and seeing how my behavior contributed to the end result and what I needed to learn from the experience.  I try to live authentically and be the genuine me, but I realized that without loving and accepting yourself as you are there isn’t any room for the self to explore, try new things, learn, succeed or fail.   I had forgotten to love and nurture myself and was resenting the people that I was giving my time to because they weren’t doing anything to help me nourish and replenish myself.   I was mad at them because I felt like I was the only one doing all the effort and they were getting my time and energy in return.   While this may seem completely obvious, I assure you that even though it seems like common sense I don’t believe it’s that common anymore.

Lesson 1 – You must take care of yourself and give your body, mind, and soul the nourishment and sustenance that it needs to thrive or at minimum survive.

“If you aren’t good at loving yourself, you will have a difficult time loving anyone, since you’ll resent the time and energy you give another person that you aren’t even giving to yourself.”
~ Barbara DeAngelis

So, loves, let us all remember to be our own best lovers and remind each other of the beauty that lies within each other and within ourselves.

Natural Beauty: My Daily Face

For my day to day I keep my look very clean and basic.  I have very sensitive skin and try to keep my skin care and makeup products as non toxic and natural as possible.  Plus, chemicals are just not something I want to permeate into my system through the largest organ in my body, my skin. Gross. I never wear foundation except for on photo shoots and use concealer to hide dark circles or blemishes and finish the look off with a bit of powder.   I have been using the products below for three years now.  I absolutely love them.

I love the Korres line of makeup because they are formulated without all these toxic ingredients :

- Parabens
- Sulfates
- Synthetic Fragrances
- Synthetic Dyes
- Phthalates
- GMOs
- Triclosan

 

Concealer -

Quercetin & Oak Antiageing & Antiwrinkle Concealer – $22

(Image source and link to product: http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P287109)

I love that the concealer comes in a little pot.  Easy to apply with a finger tip or concealer brush.  Great coverage without looking like you have makeup painted on your face.  Plus, it has anti-aging and anti-wrinkle ingredients!  What woman doesn’t love that?

 

Powder –

Provocateur Mineral Pressed Powder SPF 8 – $30

(Image Source and link to product: http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P152703&categoryId=B70)

Great light coverage, takes away shine, but let’s my freckles show through!  I hate when makeup hides my freckles.  No makeup mask for me.

The powder is formulated without:

-parabens
-sulfates
-synthetic fragrances
-synthetic dyes
-petro-chemicals
-phthalates

Mascara

Korres Deep Colour Mascara in Black – $18

(Image Source and link to product: http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P199105&categoryId=B70)

I absolutely love this mascara.  It’s not waterproof, but I don’t like waterproof mascara anyway.  Great lasting power, doesn’t flake, ever.   Nice full brush for getting each lash covered and it gives the illusion of longer lashes.   Other mascaras make my eyes itchy, but I’ve never had a problem with this one.

 

Tinted Lip Gloss

Korres Lip Butter in Wild Rose – $12

(Image Source and link to product: http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P199109&categoryId=RPYMAL&shouldPaginate=)

 

This gloss has just enough color to add pizzazz and polish to my look without looking made up.   No staying power, it’s just a lip gloss and wears off pretty fast.  It’s not sticky though!

 

What are some of your favorite natural beauty products?

FASHION: My guest post for Indy Fash Bash:NYC Fashion Week on Indiana time

I wrote a guest post for Indy Fash Bash about my observations of New York City Fashion.

Click the photo to check it out!

 

http://indyfashbash.blogspot.com/2011/03/nyc-fashion-week-on-indiana-time.html

TRAVEL DIARY : NYC – BODIES…The Exhibition

Entrance to BODIES…The Exhibition.  Photo by James.Michael.

I have wanted to see BODIES…The Exhibition for ages and was thrilled to see that it was open while I was in New York City.    I had missed seeing BODIES…The Exhibition while it was nearby in the Midwest and had been asking them on Twitter when it would come my way again. I am a certified massage therapist and to be able to see the body in 3D and to see the muscles laid bare was an incredible opportunity.  Studying anatomy and physiology is an introduction to the intricacies of the human body, but to be able to see every piece and part laid exposed takes the education and perception of the body to a different level.  For the sake of transparency I have to tell you I was offered tickets to see BODIES…The Exhibition, and I accepted.  However, that will not color my opinion or writing about the experience.  Please note that unless I am quoting something from the exhibition or stating a fact, all of the opinions expressed in this blog are purely my own.

“Seeing promotes understanding and understanding promotes the most practical kind of body education possible.”
- Dr. Roy Glover, BODIES…The Exhibition Medical Director

Photo courtesy of BODIES…The Exhibition.

The New York BODIES…The Exhibition offers an intimate view into the systems of the body, including: the skeletal, muscular, nervous, respiratory, digestive, urinary, circulatory, and reproductive systems, fetal development, and the treated body.  Before you attend there are a few things you should know.  There are no cell phones or cameras allowed inside BODIES…The Exhibition but they do have a free coat check for your coats and bags.  I really loved this feature because it was rather warm in the Exhibition and ridding myself of my coat and bag allowed me to leisurely stroll through it at my own pace and enjoy it.  Also when I was there (2/16/11) there was a Foursquare check in and bonus offer.   Through March 31, 2011 you can order tickets online and save $6 by using the code NYCBODIES.

At the beginning of BODIES…The Exhibition, the intro read “Life Uncovered: A journey of self discovery whereby you gaze and marvel at real human bodies to discover what you are on the inside.”  When I told people I was going to visit BODIES…The Exhibition I received equal reactions of fascination and horror.  Seeing the bodies is not as gruesome as one might believe and the polymer preservation keeps the specimens in pristine condition.  It’s truly a marvel how they were able to preserve the bodies in such a way.  One of my favorite displays from BODIES…The Exhibition was the transverse sliced specimen gallery.

Transverse sections of the human body.  Photo courtesy of BODIES…The Exhibition.

Not only can you see what a normal organ should look like but there are many common diseases on display to observe such as lung cancer, peptic ulcer, ulcerative colitis,  liver cirrhosis, and kidney stones.   I hear that many people give up smoking after seeing the effects of smoking on the lungs.  There is a bin right by the display where people can throw away their cigarettes.

Normal lungs versus smokers lungs.   Photo courtesy of BODIES… The Exhibition.

I had never truly realized how many blood vessels are in our bodies are until I saw BODIES…The Exhibition.  One of my favorite parts was seeing the circulatory and respiratory galleries.  The bronchial trees and pulmonary arteries are downright beautiful.  I want to sketch them and create beautiful pieces of art from them.  The systems remind me of the intricate networks of roots that trees and plants have.

Circulatory system gallery.   Photo courtesy of BODIES…The Exhibition.

Did you know that our nerve cells create electrical impulses that reach speeds exceeding 270 miles per hour?  I didn’t.  Our bodies are such amazing, intricate houses for our souls.  We are so delicate, intricate, and elaborate.  What we put in our bodies for fuel or for recreation truly has a system-wide impact.  I hope that everyone goes and sees BODIES…The Exhibition at some point in their lives so that they can truly understand their bodies and understand the impact of living a healthy lifestyle versus an unhealthy one.

My absolute favorite part of BODIES…The Exhibition was the fetal gallery.  There are actual fetuses on display at various stages in their development so there is a sign asking you to please consider whether you want to go into the fetal gallery before entering.  I highly recommend entering and seeing this portion.  It is incredible how fast the human fetus develops and the detail that is apparent in its form from a very early stage in its development.   In the gallery it says, “The heart begins to beat during the fifth week of development.” I sincerely hope that everyone who has a view on abortion, on which we all should have a view, sees the Exhibition and decides for themselves what they think is right.  Let’s focus on science and not religion in forming our laws and points of views.  A fetus is very small to begin with and would not survive without a host.

I feel very honored to have been able to see this exhibition and am grateful to all the souls who donated their bodies for the sake of science and for the education of others. At the end of BODIES…The Exhibition they have computers and machines that perform a variety of health tests.  My friend and I both checked our weight, body fat percentage, body mass index, blood pressure, and blood oxygen levels.  It was fun and informative.  Make sure you don’t miss that fun little feature.

I would advise allowing at least an hour to see the Exhibition, but highly recommend spending more like two to three hours there.  I have a friend who spent six hours at BODIES.  There is so much to read, see, and observe that having the time to do so is imperative.

The Exhibition is located at:

BODIES… The Exhibition
11 Fulton Street
New York City, NY 10038

To purchase discounted tickets to NYC attractions please visit the NYC Ticket Machine.

BODIES… The Exhibition is located right near Pier 17 by the South Street Seaport. There are lots of little shops and restaurants there and it’s a nice place to take a stroll along the water.

Pier17. Photo by James.Michael

FASHION: HWA’s Morgan Sheets Takes Us Behind the Scenes at Michael Kors’ 30th Anniversary Show – New York Fashion Week 2011

In my Travel Diary series this is TRAVEL DIARY: Day 2 A.M. – N.Y.C.

I wrote a guest post for The Helen Wells Agency about my backstage experience at the Michael Kors show. Check it out!