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An Open Cover Letter To Anyone With an Intact Soul

05/24/2013 by Orange Steamboat

To Whom It May Concern,

Do you enjoy what you do to make money? Does it make you happy? Would you do it even if you didn’t get paid? Does it make your heart sing? Do you need an assistant, employee or staff member? If so, I may be the person you’re looking for.

I am college educated, but more importantly, I am willing to learn. I’m also willing to work just about anywhere. Maybe it’ll be a maple tree farm, a school, a stationary store, a spa, or a paper supply company. I’m willing to make coffee, take notes, or run errands. I’m open to learning to brew tea or fix shoes or mix paint. I’m okay with moving almost anywhere.

The most important thing is that you, as my employer, are passionate about what you do. If you are a nice person willing to treat me well and pay a decent wage, I will work hard for you. I’ll support you in living your dreams. I won’t expect to be the superstar innovator – that’s your job. I am, however, creative and smart, and I think I could help you make your work even better, if you’d like me to.

Someday I’d like to be where you are, earning money doing something that speaks to my heart. At the moment, however, I’m in a soul-sucking corporate job. Maybe you had a soul-sucking job once, before you got the gig or started the business you have now. If so, you can appreciate my pain. I am eager to work with someone who is genuine and kind. Some people publicly proclaim they enjoy their work but they are lying through their teeth. I don’t want to work for those people any longer. I understand that even in your dream job, you may sometimes get frustrated or bogged down. You’ve probably worked hard to get where you are, and I’m sure things aren’t always easy. But if you still smile and think it’s worth it at the end of the day, you’re my kind of person.

I have dreams of my own, and I hope that you will encourage me to cultivate them. I want to be a writer. I want to travel. I want to laugh a lot and help people and eat good food and have fun. Maybe I’ll even start a business of my own someday. But in the mean time, I’d like to work for you.

Let’s set up an interview, shall we?

Posted in creativity, passion, work | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Burn With Me.

05/14/2013 by Orange Steamboat

“It’s a perfect day for letting go. For setting fire to bridges, boats and other dreary worlds you know.” – The Cure

Today I feel like starting a fire. I want to burn the cynical voice that tells me I don’t deserve more. That I should settle. That I should live with blinders on. Quit thinking about the hard stuff. Quit thinking about purpose and passion. Just go through the motions, make a little money, play the corporate game, and drift into a life of willing drudgery.

I want to evaporate the voice that tries to lure me into a deep sleep. The voice that tells me to ‘be sensible.’ To ignore the aches of my soul. To be nice and follow the rules and play the games. That I’ll never make a difference, anyway. That life is nothing but an endless plate of mashed potatoes.

Today I want to let the other voice reign. The voice that tells me I can live passionately. That tells me life is dripping with meaning, like a juicy peach. That I am not what a corporate ‘superior’ says about me. That I am meant for more. As Howard Thurman said, “what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

I want to believe that I can come alive, that I am allowed to follow this path. I can walk with my head held high. I want to trust that I am progressing and that I will continue to find support and guidance along the way. I want to be open to the infinite possibilities instead of getting obsessed with one narrow goal.

Today I want to start a fire that will light my own way. I may not be able to see the destination, but that’s okay. All I need is a flicker of light showing me the next right step.

Posted in creativity, faith, mindful living, passion, personal growth, quotes, spirituality | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments »

How To Deal With Yourself Whilst You Are Acting Scared or Crazy or Lazy

05/07/2013 by Orange Steamboat

Yesterday morning I told myself I would write and workout before the day was over. In the afternoon, I stared at my gym clothes (which were still laying in a dried-sweat pile on the bathroom floor from their last use) and decided I was too tired. In the evening, I forced myself to open up a word document and proceeded to stare at the blank screen for five minutes as I grappled with an intense attack of writer’s block.

“What is wrong with me?” I typed into the document. “Surprise, surprise. I didn’t work out and now I can’t even write. Why am I such an epic failure? Why do I suck at life? I never keep promises to myself. I’m so neurotic. I’ll never amount to anything.”

I sat back and re-read what I had just wrote, and then added “Okay, I’m just not feeling well today. I’m tired and maybe a little sick. It’s okay that I didn’t write or work out today. Really.”

After pondering both of these lines of reasoning I had a revelation: I’m not doing a very good job of being my own boss. Whenever I am scared, blocked, or just plain lazy, I fall to one of the preceding lines of reasoning: berating or babying myself.

In Bossypants, Tina Fey describes lessons she learned from Lorne Michaels, her boss at Saturday Night Live. Shortly after 9/11, Tina was in her office when she heard that anthrax had been found in the building. She immediately left without a word to anyone. A few hours later she received a phone call from Lorne. They were going to order dinner, if Tina would like to return.

“Lorne did not do what I would have done, which is to say, “You’re being crazy. Get back in here. Everyone else is here. Do you think you’re more important than everyone else?” He also didn’t coddle me, which is what I would have done if I were trying to overcompensate for my natural sternness. “Are you okay? If you need to take a couple days off, I’m sure we can manage, blah, blah, blah.”Instead, he found a way for me to slip back in the door like my mental breakdown never happened. “We’re ordering dinner. What do you want?”

I’m going to work on adapting this approach when dealing with myself. Forget about the energy-draining drama and self-bashing. Forget about the excuses and softies. We all act scared or crazy or lazy sometimes, and my old methods of dealing with this are outdated. It’s time to be straight-forward and sensible. So today I’m telling myself “That blank word document is still waiting for you, same goes for the workout clothes. End of discussion.” I’ve let myself slip back in the door without making a big fuss about it, and it feels good.

Posted in balance, creativity, fitness, mindful living, personal growth, quotes | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments »

Life Is Peachy

04/30/2013 by Orange Steamboat

Some people spend years pondering what the meaning of life is. I have spent years pondering if life has meaning to begin with.

Lately I have been letting myself sit with this idea: “life is dripping with meaning, like a juicy peach.” It feels a little uncomfortable for me to say, as I am used to a more cynical mindset. However, for now, I am simply observing how this new worldview makes a difference in my daily life.

When I think of life as meaningful, I feel more lighthearted. I feel inspired to write, to listen to music, to go for a run, to bask in all the simple glories of the world around me. I pay more attention. I feel happier. It feels right.

When I think of life as nothing more than a random happenstance of a cold universe, I feel alone. Frightened. I feel paralyzed, my zest is drained

Some say humans are merely “chemical scum.” Others say we are Divine Children of God. My new beliefs fall somewhere in between. I don’t want to be perceived as a fuzzy thinker. I am in awe of science, mesmerized by how much humans have figured out about our world and the universe. I believe it is possible to maintain a rational, intellectual understanding while still experiencing the wonder, and dare I say magic of it all.

When I allow myself to believe that life is magical and meaningful, I get more fulfillment. If I interpret life as juicy with meaning or dry with despair, it is only my interpretation. It may not affect reality, but it can certainly affect my perception of reality.

And so I say, life is full of meaning, like a juicy peach. Experience it fully. Pay attention. Live deeply. Drink it up.

Posted in balance, faith, personal growth, science, spirituality | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Being A Grown Up Doesn’t Have To Be Boring.

04/17/2013 by Orange Steamboat

One of my favorite bands recently released a new album. It was a Friday night and I had no plans, so I decided to devote the evening to just…listening to music. Not listening to music while running or driving, which is my typical routine. Just listening.

In my high school and college days, listening to music was almost a sacred experience. I would sit in my room with headphones and close my eyes, letting the melodies sweep over me. Then I became an adult, and until that fateful Friday night, this activity had been neglected. This turned into one of the most enjoyable evenings I’ve had in a while. I felt happy, peaceful, fulfilled. I felt alive and engaged.

“Why has it been so long since I’ve done this?” I asked my husband when the record ended.

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess you’re busy with other things now. You have work and all that.”

I thought about this for a moment. True, I do have a job and responsibilities now. But does being a grown up mean you stop feeling the rush of passion? Should I just get used to a more mundane way of being in the world?

Hell no! I quickly decided. I don’t want to be one of those people who becomes an adult and settles into a drab existence.
Yes, I have a job and responsibilities. But I still have free time, and I’m filling that time with something. The things I’m filling my time with often aren’t very fulfilling. I’ll watch a movie I’ve seen a hundred times already or browse facebook to ‘kill time.’ Sometimes I feel like I’m sleepwalking through life.

Yikes, what has happened to me? Where is my zest? I don’t want to feel like I’m ‘killing time.’ I want to be present in what I’m doing, and I want to be doing things I actually enjoy.

There is a task in ‘The Artist’s Way’ in which you list twenty of your favorite activities (my list includes listening to music, writing, taking road trips and bike riding). Next, you notate when you last did each of these items. “Don’t be surprised if it’s been years for some of your favorites,” Julia Cameron advises. “That will change.”

I certainly want that to change. Sure, some of my favorites are more time consuming (taking road trips) but many of them I could easily squeeze in a weeknight after work.

And so I am moving forward with a new resolve to have more fun, more often. I want to feel as happy as I can as often as I can. Won’t you join me?

Posted in balance, mindful living, passion, personal growth | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

My God Has a Sense of Humor.

04/07/2013 by Orange Steamboat

  • My God doesn’t care by which name it goes. You are welcome to call it God, Goddess, Universe, Energy, Love, Consciousness, Mana, Inner Guide, The Force, George. Whatever floats your boat. Oh, and you don’t have to capitalize the name, either.
  • My God is present as an indwelling energy, rather than an external force micromanaging our lives from a far away realm.
  • My God is felt as an infusion of kindness, peace and calm.
  • My God is brought closer to us when we ask questions, rather than when we accept answers blindly.
  • My God does not elect certain people to have more knowledge of him (or her or it) than others.
  • My God has many paths by which he (or she or it) can be accessed. Art, science, psychology, philosophy, mathematics, praying, meditation, playing tennis, getting a tattoo.
  • My God is the sweet spot between reason and faith.
  • My God adores laughter, especially laughter from someone who is able to view themselves and the world with a light heart.
  • My God is easygoing. If he (or she or it) were a person, they’d be someone you’d want to sit down and have a beer with.
  • My God assumes the best in us, rather than assuming we are sinners.
  • My God doesn’t care if we follow specific rules or traditions or commandments, as long as we live with an open heart.
  • My God trusts us to travel our own path and learn our own lessons.
  • My God is present whenever someone’s heart is opened in love, be it with a member of the same sex or the opposite sex.
  • My God doesn’t pretend that he (or she or it) is going to reveal all the answers to us.
  • My God is better than your God. Just kidding, just kidding! My God has a sense of humor.

Posted in faith, spirituality | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

How Do You Want To Feel?

04/04/2013 by Orange Steamboat

 

“Knowing how you actually want to feel is the most potent form of clarity that you can have. Generating those feelings is the most creative thing you can do with your life.” – Danielle LaPorte

Discovering Danielle LaPorte has given me a breath of fresh air. I devoured her book, The Fire Starter Sessions: A Soulful + Practical Guide To Creating Success On Your Own Terms, and hardly a day has gone by since that I haven’t found myself leafing back through some of the juicier tidbits. It would be a mistake to lump her work in with the myriad of “self help” books which are interlaced with cliches and a kind of airy-fairy worldview. This isn’t one of those books. Danielle is okay with saying “fuck” and admitting when something sucks; my kind of lady.

I am particularly digging the concept of identifying what LaPorte calls your “core desired feelings.” In the video above, you’ll see an explanation straight from the author’s mouth (this is only one chapter in The Fire Starter Sessions, but LaPorte has now released an entire program exploring this concept, which she calls The Desire Map). In a nutshell, everything we do is rooted in a desire to feel a certain way. We set goals and take actions because even if subconsciously, we are hoping they will make us feel good. Ever wondered why sometimes you can achieve a goal and still feel empty? Maybe it didn’t line up with how you really want to feel. This is a simple concept, but I believe it can be life-changing when implemented.

“First, get clear on how you want to feel.    Then, do stuff that makes you feel that way.”

The Fire Starter Sessions comes with a worksheet that gets your creative juices flowing so you can start to identify your core desired feelings. The worksheet is available online for free.

I knew instinctively that “creative” and “inspired” would make the cut, but It took me a few weeks to prod my brain and get the rest of these suckers nailed down. Here’s how the dust settled on my core desired feelings:

CREATIVE
INSPIRED
CALM
STRONG
WISE

I have these listed on a post-it and I’m making a conscious effort to refer to them throughout the day. I don’t think I’m alone in that I can easily get sucked into the “I’ll feel good someday” trap. “I’d be happy if I had a better job, or if my novel was published, or if I lived somewhere warmer, or when I beat my personal best running a half-marathon.”

“What can you do today, as in right now, to feel the way you want to feel?”

Sure, I will probably feel STRONG if I beat my personal record for running a half marathon. Living somewhere warmer could lead to feeling CALM. I’d certainly feel CREATIVE and WISE if my novel were to be published. These are all solid goals and I’m not going to throw them away.

But what can I do today to feel the way I want to feel?

As I’ve had this concept marinating in my head, I’ve noticed that some days one desired feeling may seep to the forefront of my needs. Yesterday I had a rough day at work, resulting in a strong desire to feel CALM. I brewed myself some mint tea and sat in silence, and then…I felt calm. Today, I am hankering to feel INSPIRED (so I wrote this blog post) and STRONG (so I’ll be heading out for a run when I wrap this up).

“Life is full of opportunities to feel exactly the way you want to feel.”

It is scarily easy for me to just go through the motions. Having goals (like the half marathon and finishing my novel) gives me a sense of purpose. Striving for core desired feelings is a compass to make sure that I’m not only on the track to reaching big goals someday, but that I’m doing as much as I can to feel good now.

I want to feel creative, inspired, calm, strong and wise. I want these feelings when I reach my wild goals and in every step of the process. How do you want to feel?

Posted in creativity, fitness, goals, mindful living, personal growth, quotes | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

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