"Won't you be my neighbor?" is the new documentary that chronicles the work of Mr. Rogers and is truly one of the best movies/documentaries that I have seen this year. If you grew up during the 60’s or the 70’s and had access to public television and the sensational programming that was available during that time (Sesame Street, Electric Company, etc…) then, you would have surely seen Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood and been privy to the song that uplifted a generation of kids with his prolific opening of, “Won’t you be my Neighbor?”
This song was a simple didley that Rogers performed at the opening of every episode. Hearing that song again, after all of these years, made me feel happy, made me feel joy. After all, it was just an expression of kindness. If there was one thing I learned from Mr. Rogers was that kindness is just a way of being. It’s not special. It’s not something that requires anything. There is just value in being kind, in being a good neighbor.
Thinking back on Rogers, I can now attest that he (as well as other factors) contributed to my state of disillusionment when I first moved out of state and on my own. I grew up on a city block, where all the neighbors knew each other, were invested in one another and helped one another. My block was my mini-community. It was not perfect and rainbows and unicorns but it was good. I came to think of the world that way; that when you lived around people, you knew your neighbors and you were close to them. Mooing to a new town and place taught me that was not always the case, I learned that people lived very separate and isolated lives and many times, they did not know their neighbors or feel a connection to them. This revelation was sad and disheartening, to say the least.
The real world looked a bit different from Mr. Roger’s neighborhood and my childhood city block. I would have to learn a new way of being and connecting…..
Some things that I know for sure:
1) I like living in a world of neighbors, of knowing them and being a part of them.
2) I like living in a world where you know that there are people who have your back, where they are genuinely kind.
3) “Won’t you be my neighbor” is an invitation to be friendly and to be friends. I like the idea of living in a friendly and loving world.
"Charlize Theron's Worth Ethic Inspired by Immigration."
By Fuzheado [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], from Wikimedia Commons
Theron's worth ethic was inspired by immigration?
Clearly this wording had to be a typo so I read further into the article and sure enough, the author was discussing her WORK ethic and how she became driven (and ambitious) because of her immigrant status in Hollywood. Without any friends or family, Theron, who hails from South Africa, discussed that her motivation came from wanting to "pay her bills and not having to work a second job, especially with no support system" in the US. Okay, that seemed reasonable and easy enough......but I just couldn't stop thinking of that notion of a "worth" ethic.
I took that typo-ed title as a cue for me to imagine what it would mean to have a "worth ethic." What would one of those look like?
A work ethic usually entails working hard and persevering. It usually speaks to one's sense of character, of being responsible, of having integrity and having a strong sense of responsibility.
Now, let's dissect what it would mean to have or to develop a worth (or worthy) ethic.
Worth is often thought of as having value.
When we think about feeling worthy, we (can) attribute this value to ourselves, we can affirm that we, as human beings, have value (just because). It has nothing to do with who we are or what we have. I think of being worthy like this, because you and I were born, we are worthy; because we are here, we are worthy (period).
By Madhumathi S V [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], from Wikimedia Commons
Ethic or ethics has to do with the way something is governed. It has to do with a set of principles, rules or conditions that one may follow or live by. Merriam Webster defines it as a set of moral principles or a guiding philosophy. I like the last part about a guiding philosophy. Think about a guiding philosophy that we could carry around about ourselves, about being and feeling worthy, or feeling valuable and having a knowing that we have something worthwhile to give or contribute to the world. I wonder if people would be able to see that in us as we go about our everyday lives. Would they remark about how we had an awesome worth ethic? Would they talk about how they could tell how good we felt about ourselves (just by looking at us) and how good they (even) felt just from being around us? I wonder what they would be able to sense or feel about how we navigated the world. I wonder, what kinds of people and experiences we would attract? How much fun would we (all) be having in our everyday lives?
Hey, there's nothing wrong with being recognized as a person with a strong work ethic; I just wonder what it would feel like or be like to be known as someone with a strong or desirable worth ethic!
Do you love, love? Do you love the idea of being in love? Not with a person, not with a thing or a desire. Just working toward feeling good, feeling love……
I love love.
I love being.
I love being in love.
I love life.
I love syncing up with my one true Source, with God.
I love people.
I love great conversations.
I love laughter.
I love fun.
I love sunny days.
I love singing birds.
I love green grass.
I love having barefoot in green grass.
I love lakes.
I love sitting by the lake.
I love to love.
I love traveling.
I love going places.
I love trips.
I love new adventures.
I love new awakenings.
I love new ideas.
I love inspiration
I’m in love.
I love to be in love.
I love synching up with source.
I love clarity.
I love freedom.
I love the freedom of being.
I love living and being in the moment.
I love the stimulation of thoughts and ideas.
I love adventure.
I love understanding.
I love knowing.
I love being a conscious creator.
I love creating.
I love molding.
I love the idea of creating and molding my life.
I love the feeling of love.
I love being lit up.
I love passion.
I love excitement.
I love enthusiasm.
I love new.
I love becoming.
I love collaborating.
I am in love.
I am in love!
I feel good.
I feel good.
Life is good.
Can you place yourself in a state of love, in a state of feeling good, of being good?
The following commentary is based
on the comedy, “I Feel Pretty,” starring Amy Schumer. It contains details and
ideas made during the film. In the following text, I address why many of the
concepts are relevant and what we all can learn about the emotion of “feeling”
and in this case, “feeling pretty” which could have easily been translated into
“feeling confident” or “feeling good.”
Basic Plot/Storyline:
Amy Schumer portrays a
regular girl, living and working in NYC. She works for a large and successful
cosmetics company that has mostly catered to high-end clients. Instead of
working at the swanky Fifth Avenue corporate headquarters, Schumer’s character,
Renee Bennett works in a dingy, basement of a China-Town dump along with
another worker, who is content on being unseen. They basically work as the
online arm of the business and have been completely ignored and removed from
the glamorous, “day to day” world of the company.
Bennett is slightly
overweight, wears trendy clothes and loves all things modern, fashion and
cosmetics. She keeps up with the current trends and has an active social life
with her 2 BFF’s, two smart, average-type girls who are also living in the Big
Apple. Bennett is comfortable with these two down-to-earth girls, who really
don’t have a strong interest in fashion or cosmetics. Her low self-esteem and insecurities can be put on hold when she
spends her time with her two gal-pals.
I must admit that this movie
made me laugh out loud. One reason is because I do think that Schumer is
hilarious and because of the simplicity and relevancy of the script. Many people spend many of their young adult years trying to be......trying to be accepted, to be pretty, to be skinny, to be rich, to be loved, to be something that they perceive is missing from their lives. Some thing outside of themselves that will make them whole. This is one of the big lies of life, of living, of being and especially existing in a modern (and dare I say, capitalistic) culture.
Renee Bennett is
trying to achieve the perfect American woman dream existence, which includes being
thin, being pretty with high cheekbones, wearing the latest and greatest fashions
and hairstyles, all while being smart, as well as hopefully rich and clever. She is trying to do
all of the right things but something
is not quite right. Her friends are also trying to figure out life but they
seem to be much more grounded in their “what may be seen as” mundane existence.
Bennett is very self-conscious and constantly judging herself (her looks, her body and possibly unconsciously, her worth).
Bennett’s major issue occurs
when she is at a SoulCycle class, with a highly energetic and motivating
instructor, who is asking all of the participants to look within themselves and
to follow their inner dreams. The instructor hypes the class up to believe that
their dreams are somehow tied to their feverish peddling on a bike. Instead of
getting into a high-powered zone, Bennett accidentally falls and bumps her
head, and passes out. When she wakes up, she looks at herself in the mirror and
can’t believe what she sees. She is suddenly breathtakingly beautiful and this
change gives her all of the confidence in the world. She is now happy and confident.
She believes in herself and has the courage to do all the things that she
wants to do.
Video by Trailor To Go
(I Feel Pretty Trailer Song-Me Too by Meghan Trainor)
Now in reality, Bennett has only changed to
herself. Everyone else is dumbfounded by this new surge of confidence and
cannot understand Bennett’s new love and take on her life. As she gazes at herself
in the mirror, she thinks that she actually looks different than she did before and she is convinced that everyone sees this newversion, when in reality, she has not
changed one little bit. What she sees in the mirror is her own idea of perfection and
beauty. She is now in love with the new Renee and lives completely out loud and
fearless.
Renee Bennett reminds me of
someone who has a body dysmorphic disorder, only her condition is actually
empowering (instead of devastating and depressing) because it propels her to
live the life of her dreams. Before the head bump, Renee is generally unhappy and
insecure but tries to do all of the right things, like
wearing trendy clothes, makeup and following you-tube video “beauty” tutorials. Afterward, she
becomes completely in love with her new, totally beautiful self. She can’t
believe her eyes or how beautiful she has become. She can’t get enough of
herself and of course, all of this wonderfulness goes to her head and she
becomes a bit of a monster/mean-girl to her old friends. (But, that aspect could take up a whole "other" post so I won't digress.....)
Bennett has so much
confidence that she is able to win new colleagues and friends. These are individuals who would have never given the old Renee a chance. The old Renee would have faded into the
background and wouldn't have ever been confident enough to approach, let alone, befriend this new and what she perceives as "perfect" group of people. The new Renee is not afraid to be seen and heard, which is a
part of her new charm and charisma. She is finally a member of the In-Crowd, with a new job,
new prospects and a new relationship on the horizon.
Mind you, Renee has not physically changed and still looks
the same to everyone else. The only change that
has occurred is in how she VIEWS and SEES herself. Her inner belief about
herself has transformed and caused her outer life to fall in line and change.
Take Away Points:
1)What you
decide to believe about yourself will be. Can you unconditionally fall in love with yourself? Can you be happy
with what you see in the mirror? Can you look at yourself without judgement?
When Renee Bennett does this, she becomes a better
version of herself, and then a best version of herself when (at the end) she
realizes that she has not physically changed at all. She is the same Renee that
she has always been.
2)If you can
find and tap into being in love with you, it becomes contagious and other
people will love you, too.
Bennett thought that other people saw the version of
her that she was seeing and hence, couldn’t help but love her. This statement
is both true and false. People saw the image of Renee that she projected and believed about herself. Renee saw a different
image of herself in her mind. The mirror displayed the same (old) Renee----everyone
saw the same Renee except Renee.
3)Renee’s
confidence and positivity shines when she realizes her own self-worth.
Bennett didn’t realize until the end that she has not
changed and that her success was based on who she was ---already, unchanged.
Her major change was in attitude and her approach to life; it had nothing to do
with her appearance.
4)Feelings
Matter.
How we feel at any given moment matters and we can learn to
manage how we feel and what we emote.
When Renee felt differently about herself, her life
changed. She felt and exuded confidence. She felt and exuded a happy and
positive persona. She felt and exuded an air and attitude of possibility. She
felt and exuded feeling good about life.
What else can we learn or take away from
this happy and feel-good movie?
· We can choose to love ourselves right now, in our
current
state. We are enough already.
· When we FEEL good, life is and goes better (period).
LIFE IS GOOD.
· We can choose to be the best version of ourselves at
any
moment. We can love ourselves; we are lovable; we are
deserving.
· We do not have to follow and be like everyone else. We
can be ourselves and when we tap into that--that which makes us-us, that which makes us special, then we can tap into and share our divine gifts and talents with the world.
Everything that we seek, we already have. We have been created out of love by the ultimate Source of Love. When we learn to love ourselves, then, we can truly love others.
Video by Victor Antonio (Stephanie Mills, 1976)
"And I've learned that we must look inside our hearts to find a world full of love, like yours, like mine, like home."
Stephanie Mills, 'Home' from the Wiz
All images are CC0 licensed and free for personal and commercial use.
“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're doing something.”
The Invisible Money Experiment has started again in 2020. Please see below how you can join the new and improved version.
====================================== 7 Day Money Experiment
I love Law Of Attraction (LOA) and money experiments that help us to go beyond our logical minds and tap into our ultimate source, that helps us to vibrate at a higher level. I know that some people may disregard LOA as to “woo-woo” or "too out there" but I believe in keeping an open mind. Pam Grout is an inspirational and travel author who has written a couple of books on these kinds of experiments which help you to open your mind to the splendor and variety of possibilities. This particular experiment crossed my path via Catherine Behan and she explores the idea of invisible money. Invisible money is money/currency that comes to you when you are aligned. Alignment is about being in tune, being connected to your Inner Being, your Source (God, Creator, the Universe). According to Behan, when we are aligned, we become more relaxed, calmer, more pleasant and hence, we begin to attract more pleasant and desirable experiences, people, ideas (and money). The 7-Day Money Experiment is designed to help us realize the many ways money can come to us ( it could be in the form of a coupon, gifts--receiving something for free, any money that comes to us unexpectedly or out of the blue---somethingMing Chee calls "Blue Money"). The beauty of this trial is its simplicity (making it easy to include in our real, everyday lives). It basically has 3 steps: 1) Set an intention to become aware of and leverage invisible money. Say it aloud or write it down and feel it and then leave it. "I intend to become aware and leverage invisible money." 2) Record Everything: Write down all instances of invisible money (freebies, coupons, unexpected cash, found money, unexpected gifts etc...) that comes your way for a 7 day period, starting today (Wednesday, March 7, 2018) and write down the value, its monetary amount (its worth) ----so for example, if I received a free coffee, it usually costs $3.62, I'd write, Wednesday, 3/7: "free coffee, $3.62" and would continue everything else that came my way for the day and continue this list and process for the next 7 days. If you miss a day or forget a day, don't sweat it, just start over, it's only 7 days. Have fun and record! 3) The Why Questions using Afformations: Based on Noah St. John's book, "Afformations." He asks us to turn challenges or issues into solution-based why questions. According to Behan, The simplest way to put this idea into action is to just spend the next 7 days, using the following generic/generalWhy questions as a mantra:
Why is everything getting easier?
Why is this so easy for me?
Why is everything getting easier and easier for me?
Why am I having such an easy time of it?
Why is everything so easy for me today?
The "Why is it so Easy" mantra helps to focus the mind on ease and that's it- that's the full enchilada! There are no guarantees of what you will or won't find or how much you will or won't get. Just try it and let's start having fun recording our results. After this posting, I will set the above intention and I'll be recording my daily results, stating the above afformations. My hope is that several others will join me in the fun! Want even more information? Check out Catherine Behan's money experiment call: https://fccdl.in/J2J110JJK6 Stay tuned and check the comments for daily updates! Definitions: alignment: being in a physical, felt state of ease, peace and relief, a state that makes you a more powerful and desirable being; being in tune with your higher self, inner being, God, Creator, Source.... invisible money: the currency/money or gifts that you may receive once you become more aligned on a daily basis; when you are aligned, you become more relaxed, pleasant and desirable—— and you will begin to attract these types of people, situations, ideas and even more money and/or gifts to you.
Will you join me?
Let's have some fun!
Because I believe that all aspects of life should be fun! ======================================================
Join the 2020 updated Invisible Money Game and learn more about Catherine Behan by clickinghere.
Want more info on Pam Grout, click here
Want more info on Ming Chee and blue money, click here
