I heard some good advice once: "Start where you are."
Throughout my life, I have often felt... like I was not up to 'speed', that I needed to 'catch up'.
Things have changed over the years. I have adjusted. I have learned to be flexible. I have calmed down with my state of urgency, a rush to do or be something else.
To start over, you have to repeat all the steps you already took. But to start again, you are in a forward state. You have new knowledge. You have experience.
You are not the same.
You are better, more prepared.
Again and again... and again.
Practice.
Improvement.
I am becoming someone new. All the time. Never am I the same.
I am very happy to announce that after several years of uncertainty and patiently waiting, I am starting off 2013 as a full time employee. It has been an active first four months at the Academy of Art University, but I am grateful for it. Grateful for the new perspective, grateful for the ease of mind, and grateful for the new ideas and potential for opportunities that are now within my reach.
After adjusting to a Christmas where I could actually afford to travel and buy my loved ones treats, I decided to give myself a Christmas gift. So, I had cards made of my prints on deviant art. Then, I put final touches on some paintings I started last year, but never finished, and posted them up online. Painting is my new playground and each creation a new challenge. Sometimes my creations are messy, sometimes a little odd, but always very colorful. Just like me.
I am finding that there is inspiration everywhere, if you just relax and have a good time.
I find it hard to justify spending hundreds of dollars on gifts for loved ones that I know have all that they need when I pass no less than ten people sleeping on the street on my way to work.
Four in the bart station, two a block from my work and more that I can’t bear to notice. In the last week, three women with small children have walked through the Bart train asking for help. Not even the trumpeter playing Christmas music near Union street can lift my spirit when I see shoeless men pass me as I shiver from the cold and wrap my scarf around my face one more time.
It may seem like a downer to contemplate these realities so close to a time when all anyone wants to think about is good cheer and merry everything. But I feel like the holidays are too condensed into one season. Why can’t Christmas spread throughout the year? Maybe then we would feel compelled to give where it counted- even gifting (or calling) those close to us when they need us in April rather than the end of the year when we really only have enough time to pay attention based on how many people we have to visit in one day. Twelve days of Christmas... how about twelve months? Do we really need more things? It seems that warm feet and a warmer bed to sleep in every night are more valuable than I imagined.
If only I could convince my loved ones to forget about gifts for Christmas. Handmade gifts, letters with grateful words, or shared experiences are OK. But I don’t really need any more things. I need to know that my loved ones are healthy and happy. I need to know that they are aware of my gratefulness towards them. I need them to know that they have more than most.
That’s what I want for Christmas. Because each year, tough or not, I learn something new and I grow UP a bit more. I have a lot to be grateful for this year and it feels like enough.
Love is overwhelming. It is full and flowing. It reaches all the tiny parts inside of you. It fills you up. It makes you full.
Love is unexpected. It warms your heart. It makes things complex. It brings on worry and pain and ecstasy.
Love is awkward. It is new. It grows with you. It awakens the parts dead. It opens up your heart to more feeling, more possibilities that you didn’t know.
Love is forgiving. It is always there, standing by your side. Sometimes it waits, but it is always there. Sometimes it is distant, but it is always there.
Love knows when. Love has filled me up and I am drifting up. I am grounded by it’s roots of time and patience. But lifted by it’s spontaneity. ...love. On the North tip of Maui, feeling like a happy island girl.
-Last Friday in Maui I am being given a surprise each day. But it is up to me to anticipate it. I know what the right thing to do is, in almost every situation. And in the situations that are unclear, I can experiment. I have to trust myself. I know more than I know. Instincts. Survival tricks that no one knows I have. Maybe I don’t even know myself as well as I believe I do.
I have changed. Not good and not bad. Just different. New environment. New challenges. New potential. Everything I thought was sure before is always changing.
I can handle this. I can embody something...
Rewarding. fulfilling. thoughtful. provoking.
I am inspired by him. He makes each day interesting and warm.
I can do better. Not because of what I think I will get, but because of how it will change me. How it will make me better. -Today, on the Pier in San Francisco
Meet Jay Limas, aka Active Jay, the owner and trainer of Active Sport & Fitness:
I met Jay a couple of years ago when I ran my first Ragnar Relay in Los Angeles. Together with 12 other runners, most whom I had never met before, we ran approximately 200 miles through LA County. Our team, Tacos and Hot Dogs Coming from Behind, trained in the months before the race with Jay as our guide. Besides his helpful tips throughout training, Jay was a source of energy and encouragement throughout our adventure. As I have gotten to know Jay more, I have learned that his active attitude carries through in everything else he attempts.
Active Sport & Fitness, located in Walnut, CA, is a full-functional facility where one can find Jay training clients before most people (like me!) have roused from their beds. Jay trains individuals young and more mature, some with injuries and others with a range of athletic and diet goals. For this video, Jay's clients were excited to speak on his behalf, voicing their commitment to him, born from Jay's unwavering dedication to help them reach their goals.
Jay is very dedicated to his business as well, passionate about creating a series of videos to show that living a healthy lifestyle is something we should all aim to achieve. He hopes to encourage people to not just visit the gym or follow a diet regime, but to be active. Jay seems to be participating in something active on a weekly basis! Sometimes it's a10k with the Active Sports & Fitness family, sometimes it's a triathalon!
I believe that Jay's active philosophy is one that can help people to achieve any type of goal--fitness related or not. It's not enough to consult with an expert, or create a strict training schedule to reach your goals. Those are important first steps, but a pro-active approach must also be adopted in order to get you to the finish line. Move forward each day, put one foot in front of the other, push yourself to a new limit, rep by rep, step by step.
And like a race, each journey will involve steep climbs, rocky terrain, and strong competition on all sides. That's why we all need cheerleaders- teammates who will pass us water for replenishment and give us feedback so we can improve.
With that, I'd like to say thank you to Jay for asking me to be a part of this project. I was inspired by his vision and glad to be on his team. I hope you enjoy the video and leave me feedback!
