Field Notes

Appreciation . . . so elemental

/ Kennedy Farr / 4 Comments

i think you are wonderfulAppreciation:  I think you are w-o-n-de-r-f-u-l.  When I tell you that I appreciate you, I am telling you that I value you.  Value you.  It is something that is so simple and elemental and primitive.  And easy.  And fun!  Oh, my — how much fun appreciation is.  It says: I love this about you!

Appreciation says thank you on the deepest of levels.  Thank you for being YOU.  It creates mega dimensions to life and to love and to laughter and bliss and to universal Truth.  How great is this?  It is absolutely amazing.

Google’s “define: appreciation” reveals: “the recognition and enjoyment of the good qualities of someone or something.”  So beautiful.  Recognizing and enjoying the good qualities of someone or something.

Appreciation: I see you.  I think you are amazing.

Appreciating you is a privilege.  When I appreciate you, you — without even knowing it — encourage me to be aware of how great life is.

Is there someone you appreciate?  Please, tell him or her today.  It will rock your world.  Isn’t that the way of following your heart?

Appreciation: I love sharing with you.  I love who you are.

I appreciate you.

A Mighty Wilderness

/ Kennedy Farr / Leave a comment

We wake up in the morning.  We breathe and love and laugh and cry and live and eat.  Do jumping jacks and shower.  We take out the trash.  We slip a love note into our loved one’s lunch bag.  We bustle about and head to work.  We give money to the person with the sign at the freeway entrance.  We whip out our credit card and air lift a wriggling worm across the vastness of a warming sidewalk into a flower bed after a heavy rain.  (Okay, that was a true confession — I rescue worms!)  We tell the barista that we like her earrings while waiting for our coffee.  We call our brother to tell him that yes, starting his new business in this economy is a good idea.  We hug a student who is struggling with finances.  We laugh with a colleague over coffee.  Life is good.

We move beyond the familiar and engage on some small level that tells us that we are connecting.  How we do this is coincidental and mysterious.  It is all so seemingly random — at least it is for me.   I rarely set out each morning with the knowledge that I am going to change the world.  But I do.  We all do.  With small baby steps, we reach across the unknown and discover someone else’s uniqueness in this mighty wilderness.

By joining hands in the darkness, we all make the path a bit easier to navigate.  We can warn each other about a deep dip in the trail, an exposed tree root that would send us flying off the path, an abrupt switchback.  We can hold low branches aside until the other passes and we can call out a nettles warning.  We, together, can sing a marching song from our childhood and shine our lights and guide each other into a more friendly part of the forest.

This sometimes requires me stepping outside my comfort zone.  I can’t count the times I have thought, I can’t believe that I just did that.  It’s surprising , actually.  Intuitive offers of help, advice, money, food.  Sometimes unwanted and misunderstood?  Yes.  But that is how the moments play out. I try to remind myself that we will all find our way in the darkness if we just take the risk of being misunderstood.  Of  joining hands in this mighty wilderness.

 

why gratitude?

/ Kennedy Farr / Leave a comment

gratitude. chopraGratitude.  Georg Simmel calls it “the moral memory of mankind.”  Gratitude feels good.  It frees us from moments that try to put us in a muddle.  It expresses joy from the inside out.  It pays attention.  It is a honeybee of movement and purpose and sweetness.  It feeds hope.  It places a necklace of sweet violets around our hearts.  It is fun.  It is the stuffing inside our childhood teddy bear.  It kicks butt on gloom and doom.  It elevates our awareness of happiness.  It deals our cosmic poker hand aces.  It laughs at the absurd and opens itself to the unlikely.  It is a lot of things that just plain feel good.  It is inspiring and edifying.  How great it is to feel gratitude.

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“Why gratitude?”  Indeed.  What a great question.  The words of wisdom in this image are so beautiful.  Universe.  Mindfulness.  Everyday.  Precious Jewel.  Joy.  Recognize.  Thankful.  Harvest.  Alive.  Moments.  Hearts.  Conscious.  Treasure.

Just reading these words makes me feel good.  And feeling these words is a true gift.  Makes me want to get up and dance. Pet the dog.  Appreciate the clean, running water from the tap.  Feel the love of my family. Enjoy a good belly laugh to the point of snorting.  So many things.  For all of them, I feel gratitude.

Please, take a few moments to enjoy this brief and very beautiful and inspiring and touching and elevating piece on gratitude below.  I try to watch it at least once a week.  Moreso if my mojo seems to have stopped working unexpectedly.  It is my hope that you have a very beautiful day filled with appreciation and gratitude.

Moving Art: Gratitude

Why gratitude?    “. . . it could be beautiful.”  

universe     mindfulness     everyday     precious jewel     joy     recognize     thankful     harvest     alive     moments     hearts     conscious     treasure     happy     healthy     blessed

Skipping in Place

/ Kennedy Farr / 2 Comments

I was thinking last night about how stuck we feel when we realize we are in a negative place.  Stuck like a needle in a skip on vinyl.  

We feel that there is no hope for forward movement, and we can hear the inevitability that it is we who are going to have to make the skip stop. Sometimes we hope that the scratch is sufficiently insignificant such that we can wait out the monotony . . . when all we need do is pick up the needle and move it to the next track.  I sometimes “kick myself” after realizing that I have invested time into something that is, in all actuality, cancelling out forward movement and quality of  life.  But maybe this is part of life’s learning, and I should be easier on myself.  

Regret is an emotion wasted.  It is the groove that is holding the skip in place.  By being present and freeing ourselves from being stuck, we are renewed with the energy that fuels our happiness in the present and our dreams for the future.  By taking action and removing that needle, we allow self-forgiveness for those What was I thinking? moments.  Time to move on.  Time to put on a new album and move to a new rhythm.unstuck-2

Life is brimming with gifts and treasures and happiness.  The discovery of this abundance is the best part of life for me, like opening a box that is filled with exactly my heart’s desire.  Perhaps bumping up against those not-so-positve places is not the villain after all . . . knowing that I have the strength and the courage to get up from my spot of stagnant acceptance, pick up the needle, place it on its holder, remove the album, pick a new album, reset the needle.  And enjoy.  Sigh.  It wasn’t that hard, truly.  Time to move on to a better-feeling place and dance to some new music.

Who knew that being brave could be so liberating?  Certainly not a unique concept for those who regularly beard the lion in the den before breakfast . . . but definitely something to consider when feeling stuck in a groove that shows no promise of movement.  Move the needle or change the vinyl.  Take a chance.  You never know what wonderful thing might happen.

Intentional Acts of Kindness

/ Kennedy Farr / 2 Comments

No-Act-of-KindnessI l-o-v-e this!

Kindness.  None of it is ever wasted.  It all contributes to something that is so much greater than the sum of its whole.  So much greater than who we are.  We have every little opportunity to bestow a kindness.  Certain circumstances sometimes rob us of an incentive to do so.  When this happens, if I power past what feels like an obstacle — an I’m-not-feeling-this-in-the-least, it always feels very powerful.  Like I nudged a benevolent particle in the Universe.

Being kind to people we love is easy.  Being kind to those who irritate us or who create chaos in our lives is more challenging.  When I make a conscious choice to act in favor of kindness, I am doing this for the Universe.  For my daughters to have access to a kinder world.  For my sisters, my brother, my friends.  A conscious choice sets the ripples into broader universes.  How cool is all this?

Random acts of kindness are lovely beyond amazing . . . but what about that intentional act of kindness when we aren’t reallykindness golden and fawn feeling it?  This has immense power and reward within the doing.  This is not to advocate for supporting negativity from a damaging relationship. Rather it is for those times when our soul whispers to us to let go of the battle in favor of some inner peace.

I don’t use the word edifying very often, but this is what kindness is.  Merriam Webster defines the verb edify as a way to teach in such a way that someone’s mind or character is improved.  What is one thing you can do today to help someone learn in such an amazing way that their mind or character is improved?  I don’t know about you, but this really humbles me.  What a responsibility it is to go forth into the world every day, knowing that we have the power to improve someone else’s “mind or character.”  


kindness.smile quoteKindness.  When I used to  think of this word, I would think of synonyms such as gentleness, humility, quietude, peacefulness . . . but I am rearranging my perception of it.  It is roars like a daisy and is powerful beyond measure with the amazing ability to transform and to improve another’s character.  Wow!  This inspires me to want to do my utmost to make a difference as I go into the day and act in terms of kindness.    

 

Keep Calm and Love Monday

/ Kennedy Farr / 4 Comments

keep-calm-and-love-mondayIt’s Monday.  I love Mondays.  The new week of hope and promise and abundance is about to begin.  We groove through a weekend filled with preferences and sleeping in and  music and family and chores and reading the newspaper and maybe even some dancing.  Then we land on Monday’s doorstep.  Today, as you enter into your Monday, smile often, look up and around, and realize how fantastic life is.  It is today and you are in it.  Pet the dog’s head before you head out the door.  Thank your barista for that mocha.  Tell her she is awesome for jump starting your morning everyday.  Let someone into traffic ahead of you.  Do something crazy fun. Dance for the security cameras.  Surprise your boss with a smile.   Take a walk on your break and look at the state of the clouds.  Call your sister and tell her you love her.  Send someone a surprise email.  Share some dessert with someone.  Write a letter, a real letter.  Play hopscotch at the bus stop.  And . . . always believe that something wonderful is about to happen.  Because it is.  Your next breath, your next laugh, your next hug, your next decision. grow-786x305 Grow your Monday, intend some abundance, and harvest the beauty.

It is all one beautiful moment that is alive with promise: fresh and new and growing.

 

 

 

Recognition: I See You

/ Kennedy Farr / Leave a comment

I see you.  When was the last time that you took a moment to recognize another person’s hard work?  Another person’s perseverance?  Kindness?  Generosity?  Talents?   Honesty?  Thoughtfulness?  Sweetness?  Creativity?  Spontaneity?  When was the last time that you paused to say, “You’re awesome!” or “I like what you said at the meeting this morning.”  Such a simple gesture.  Still it means so much.

Can you remember how good it felt the last time someone took the time to recognize you?  Your talents, your effort, your creativity . . . your you-ness.  Maybe it is good to be reminded of how good it felt so we feel more inclined to share those good feelings with others.  Pay it forward with simple gestures of recognition.

dulyposted_respect-gratitude_quoteTake a look around today and see if there is something that unsung hero is doing . . .  something that might seem so small or insignificant to that person but that has the potential to make such a difference all around.  Maybe you see someone picking up a piece of garbage in the lunchroom or you see someone offering up their seat on the bus.  A parent tying his child’s shoe or someone holding the door open for a stranger.  I don’t know.   There are so many ways to make the world a brighter place.

It doesn’t take much.  A smile.  A high five.  A Way to go!  A You’ve got this!  An I see you.  So simple, right?  I want to put an I see you into my daily life.  An appreciation for someone else’s thoughtfulness.  I see the ripples that these small acts spread across the water. Each act promises great significance.

And the fun part?  We all benefit.  Recognition.  Gratefulness.  Appreciation.  All of these words take on immense proportions in relation to their original state.    I see you.

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It only takes one person to change your life: you, beautiful you

/ Kennedy Farr / 5 Comments

it only takes one personChange.  What does it mean?  When we change we transform something, someone, ourselves into something or someone different.

Whew.  This is quite the mouthful of limitless profundity.  Change, glorious change.  And it all starts with you.

Change is transformation.  It indicates movement and growth.  Spirals and pinwheels and vortices.  A maelstrom of tilt-a-swirl.  Sometimes, change means contributing beyond yourself.  Other times, change means discovering something really surprising about yourself.  We experience change when we laugh and when we cry. When we offer our seat to someone else on the bus.  When we say hello to the lone kite flyer in the park.  When we sell our house and try the nomadic life on for a time.  When we say yes to Adventure.  When we say no to Adventure.

No matter our perceptions of the moment, change takes us to where we are right now.

A question: Do you take change for granted?  I realize that it would be metacognitively implosive to cultivate enough mindfulness in order to keep track of all of the changes in your life, but what is your awareness of the many changes that take place in a week, a day, an hour, a snippet of a moment?  Am I paying attention to the changes in my universe?  Should I be writing them down?  Mapping them forward on life’s path?  Am I over-thinking all of this?     

One last question: Where do you want to go?  What small, sustainable change might you make today to take you where you want to go?

Wait, one last question: What is holding you back?  What is keeping you from making that change?  “It only takes one person to change your life ~ YOU.”  Have fun today appreciating the changes that you are creating and experiencing and fulfilling.

You are a beautiful person.

What is your Theme Song?

/ Kennedy Farr / 6 Comments

What is your Theme Song today?

What song musically and rhythmically and lyrically describes how you are feeling today? How you want to feel today?

Please, share with us the  title, artist, and even a video link if you would like.  Have fun and shake that thang today!

My Theme Song for today? Joe Cocker’s “Come Together.”  3317-27542.png. Joe Cocker

http://www.veoh.com/watch/v6311017yqnecWkJ

Why?

  1. Joe Cocker’s delivery of this song is amazing.
  2. I like the idea of “doin’ what I please” today, all accompanied by a really awesome bass line.
  3. And I always welcome the opportunity to come together — with my peeps and with my own self.
  4. Plus . . . the colors of Joe Cocker’s suit ( in the diner) are . . . Wow! . . . and  how I want my day to be saturated with positivity.

Feeling good!