A few people, places and things that are inspiring me right now:
- Abby Sunderland. She's a 16-year old young woman making a solo attempt to circumnavigate the globe in sailboat. Her brother did it at 17. Currently she's about a month into a six-month (and maybe more) journey. She's on her own with only a wind powered lap top to keep her company. She claims to only be scared of pirates! When I was sixteen I was so insecure, completely terrified of failing, of not being skinny enough, of boys not liking me and my friends abandoning me that pirates probably would have been a welcome distraction. So I am in awe of her passion, her confidence and her focus. I will be cheering for her, hoping she makes it the whole way around.
- Thalassa Cruso. I had no idea who Thalassa Cruso was three days ago. I presume I saw her PBS show at some point growing up but I don't remember it. I found this quote doing research for a post on the challenges of the next few months - "March is a month of considerable frustration - it is so near spring and yet across a great deal of the country the weather is still so violent and changeable that outdoor activity in our gardens seems light years away." - and I was struck by how it captured my mood, my feelings. So I started Googling her and what I found out about the "Julia Child of horticulture" was inspiring. Especially in a world that moves too quickly. TIME magazine wrote: "There is nothing highhanded about Thalassa, a 59-year-old British-born grandmother who finds "relief from the everyday pressures of life by working among living things which refuse to be hurried."
- Fes (Morocco). It is hard to believe that it has been over two years since I was in Fes. I spent four days there after a nine-day trip to Mali to visit a massive childhood immunization campaign. The Mali leg of the trip was grueling for so many reasons and when I arrived in Fes it was late, I was dirty, and I had no way of finding my hotel. Yet, as often happens, the universe took care me and I ended up drinking piping hot Moroccan mint tea in a fantastic riad. The next few days were spent wandering this wonderful city, thinking about my life and ways to start clearing out the toxic relationships and feelings that were holding me back. The last couple of weeks have been hard and I've been thinking about many of the same things. How to deal with a toxic friendship; how to embrace success; how to not beat myself up too badly when I don't make time for the gym. All of those things were staring to weigh on me when randomly, through the power of the iPod, I was taken back to Fes by U2 ("Lights flash past/Like memories/A speeding head, a speeding heart/I’m being born, a bleeding start/The engines roar, blood-curdling wail/Head first, then foot/Then heart sets sail") and things started to feel a little better.
- Prada, glorious Prada. I love fashion. Love it. And nothing gets me going more than Prada collections. Miuccia Prada a genius. She designs for the woman I want to be - strong, sexy, confident, and an unapologetic geek for recipes, antiques and books. (The clothes of a hot librarian someone once called them.) I have always, always wanted the lipstick print skirt that came out before I could afford anything more than Prada shoes on sale at DSW. I thought if I could afford that skirt I would be happy. The same is even more true with her Fall 2010-2011 collection. Rarely have I seen clothes that scream OWN ME in a way these do. So I've printed out the pictures, circled one particular dress, and I am posting copies around my house, in my calendar and on my computer. All motivation to return to the gym and keep to my one thing a month diet.
