I am so thrilled to share with you a project I have been working on for about 6 months. It's called Radiant One: The Movie.
Inspired by a short essay written by Suzanna Kennedy, I set out to make a short film. I found the dazzling artwork of Montserrat to illustrate this message, asked my friend John Hardesty to compose a score with his usual brilliance, and asked another friend Claire Papin to lend her magnificent voice. I believe the result is absolutely inspiring...I hope after you see it you will agree!
Please visit the website: www.RadiantOneTheMovie.com to learn more about the artists. You can also get yourself a DVD copy of the film and a companion meditation.
One final request - If you like the film, please help spread this message of light and love. You can email a link to the film's website to your friends and family and/or maybe post it on your blog! (It's on YouTube and Tiny Pics so it can be embedded directly - Just do a search for Radiant One to get the code or email me).
Thank you for your loving support and enjoy the film!
Infinite Joy, Love and Blessings,
Rima
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Halloween Joy
Yes I know I am a little late on this one, but I am going to invoking Mother's Privilege with today's post. And I apologize in advance to my dear husband. Toby, I love you, and these little videos were too funny to pass up! Mystery Solved!
Sophia is 3, actually almost 4 now, so this was our first real Halloween. She had three events to prepare for. I can tell you at the end of the week, I was exhausted!
Sophia decided she wanted to be the Wicked Witch of the West (from her favorite movie The Wizard of Oz). Only she would be wearing the ruby slippers having gotten them from Dorothy after all.
Now to assemble the costume: Sophia already had the slippers (from the days when Dorothy was still her heroine) and a witch hat and gown that her friend Kate had outgrown. Next we had to find the perfect broom to go with it. Oh, and who could forget the face paint for the green face!
Once those were secured, we decided we'd better have a dress rehearsal - to make sure the makeup worked. This short film is our rehearsal captured on tape! Sophia had to work at keeping her witch hat on as it was a blustery fall day.
As you can see the makeup left something to be desired so we got better makeup for the real thing. Read on...
EVENT ONE: Halloween Party At School
Blue Valley Montessori hosted an evening party on Tuesday, October 30 for the kids. Sophia was a hit as the "WW of the W" and she insisted I go as Glinda the Good Witch of the North. Here are some photos from the festivities. Notice the much brighter green make up!
EVENT TWO: Classroom Party
Sophia's teacher opted to give the kids another party on Halloween day. This time Sophia went as one of her favorite princesses, Snow White. This is a photo from last February of Sophia in her Snow White outfit.
EVENT THREE: Halloween Night
Sophia joined her friends Julia, Claire and Rachel for trick-or-treating. The girls, who are 10 and 11 (twins), had invited some other friends as well. It was a big group so Sophia had a lot to keep up with.
For this event she decided to go as Tinkerbell and wear the dress her Aunt Melanie gave her for her birthday last year (see photo).
Because it was in the upper 50's I insisted she wear a turtleneck sweater under her dress. When she balked, I gave her a choice between the sweater plus a coat or just the sweater. She happily chose the sweater, but after putting it all on declared, "This looks ridiculous!" When I asked if she was interested in adding the coat, she again was happy about the sweater (I don't know how much longer I can use this strategy before she catches on!)
Off we went to the Wakefield's house to begin the trick-or-treating. Now, I know this may be hard to believe, but as we walked to the Wakefield's, Sophia turned to me as said, "Thank you Mommy for making me wear my sweater." WOW! She actually had to connect the dots! She felt it was cold, was grateful she had her sweater, remembered I insisted she wear it, felt grateful that I had insisted, and decided to voice her gratitude! These are moments parents live for!
Finally it was time to trick-or-treat. Dad was in charge of documenting the momentous occasion. The two short videos below are the result:
Okay, we did manage to get one photo anyway:
But most importantly, Sophia had a ball. She got tons of candy (UGH!) and she lasted almost as long as the big kids!
Sophia is 3, actually almost 4 now, so this was our first real Halloween. She had three events to prepare for. I can tell you at the end of the week, I was exhausted!
Sophia decided she wanted to be the Wicked Witch of the West (from her favorite movie The Wizard of Oz). Only she would be wearing the ruby slippers having gotten them from Dorothy after all.
Now to assemble the costume: Sophia already had the slippers (from the days when Dorothy was still her heroine) and a witch hat and gown that her friend Kate had outgrown. Next we had to find the perfect broom to go with it. Oh, and who could forget the face paint for the green face!
Once those were secured, we decided we'd better have a dress rehearsal - to make sure the makeup worked. This short film is our rehearsal captured on tape! Sophia had to work at keeping her witch hat on as it was a blustery fall day.
As you can see the makeup left something to be desired so we got better makeup for the real thing. Read on...
EVENT ONE: Halloween Party At School
Blue Valley Montessori hosted an evening party on Tuesday, October 30 for the kids. Sophia was a hit as the "WW of the W" and she insisted I go as Glinda the Good Witch of the North. Here are some photos from the festivities. Notice the much brighter green make up!
EVENT TWO: Classroom Party
Sophia's teacher opted to give the kids another party on Halloween day. This time Sophia went as one of her favorite princesses, Snow White. This is a photo from last February of Sophia in her Snow White outfit.
EVENT THREE: Halloween Night
Sophia joined her friends Julia, Claire and Rachel for trick-or-treating. The girls, who are 10 and 11 (twins), had invited some other friends as well. It was a big group so Sophia had a lot to keep up with.
Because it was in the upper 50's I insisted she wear a turtleneck sweater under her dress. When she balked, I gave her a choice between the sweater plus a coat or just the sweater. She happily chose the sweater, but after putting it all on declared, "This looks ridiculous!" When I asked if she was interested in adding the coat, she again was happy about the sweater (I don't know how much longer I can use this strategy before she catches on!)
Off we went to the Wakefield's house to begin the trick-or-treating. Now, I know this may be hard to believe, but as we walked to the Wakefield's, Sophia turned to me as said, "Thank you Mommy for making me wear my sweater." WOW! She actually had to connect the dots! She felt it was cold, was grateful she had her sweater, remembered I insisted she wear it, felt grateful that I had insisted, and decided to voice her gratitude! These are moments parents live for!
Finally it was time to trick-or-treat. Dad was in charge of documenting the momentous occasion. The two short videos below are the result:
Okay, we did manage to get one photo anyway:
But most importantly, Sophia had a ball. She got tons of candy (UGH!) and she lasted almost as long as the big kids!
Hope you all had a joy-filled Halloween! We certainly did!
Thursday, November 1, 2007
The Joy of Good Enough
"Would that there were an award for people who come to understand the concept of enough. Good enough. Successful enough. Thin enough. Rich enough. Socially responsible enough. When you have self-respect, you have enough." Gail Sheehy, 1937
In my early thirties I was blessed beyond measure by the opportunity to work with Angela
Blanchard. Angela was my boss for most of my five years at Neighborhood Centers Inc. (NCI), a dynamic and effective social service organization serving Houston's poorest communities. She was a generous boss who artfully and lovingly mentored me. And she has become one of my most trusted and beloved friends.
While at NCI Angela not only helped me see and understand the value of the work I was doing, she taught me to "Take the 98%." She used to chide me that she wasn't going to hire anymore A students because they (meaning me) often are so obsessed with getting it perfect that they miss the deadline. Rather than trying to get a 100% every time she taught me that if it's late, or misses it's window, it's a zero - so be satisfied with the 98% and get it in on time.
I don't know whether Angela knows how deeply I have been touched by all she taught me while I was at NCI. This lesson in particular opened a space for joy in my life that had been missing. Constantly striving to do it better, make it more and more perfect, robbed me of a sense of accomplishment. There was always something to fix, some new nuance to add.
I believe that kicking the perfectionist habit is one of the key steps on the path to a more joyful life.
One book I read years ago to assist me with this suggested I leave the bed unmade for a week to practice not being perfect. Perhaps this may seem silly to you, but for me it was a tough assignment. (See my post on joy and housework). I was able to do it and it gave me a new sense of freedom. It's not that I stopped making my bed from then on, but it changed how I felt about it. Rather than being something I did on auto-pilot because of some unconscious need for order and/or approval, now I made my bed as a gift to myself. And if there was a day I was running late I could choose to leave it unmade without feeling stressed by it, to creating more stress by forcing myself to do it hurriedly before leaving the house.
Often motherhood changes our ability to keep up with it all, but it may not change our perceptions of whether we should be keeping up with it all. This is one of the greatest joy-stealers of all time in my book. When I was overly concerned about getting it all exactly right, else suffer a loss of my esteem in my own eyes, my focus was in the wrong place. I was squarely in my ego rather than living from my Essence, my soul.
When the Divine is at the center of one's life, it's much easier to sense when we are tromping down the path of perfectionism and missing the beauty and joy of life. Excellence at the expenses of a life of joy is mis-guided. Excellence that brings joy is on target.
I have found this to be a good measuring stick. For example, I am nearly done refinishing an antique Duncan Phyfe table and four chairs. It has been a lot of work and also a lot of joy. The attention to detail, picking every last bit of the latex paint that has covered this gorgeous set out of every nook and cranny has taken months. I have really given it my all to get it an clean as possible, even in places that won't be visible unless you remove the seat cushion. It has been for me a mindfulness activity, so doing it as perfectly as possible has brought me joy. I always knew when to stop or take a break if I felt the joy waning. And I also took the 98% on my re-upholstery job. Which, even with some slight wrinkling, I know is truly good enough.
So what do you think? Are you up for taking the 98%? What will you do today that you will allow to be good enough, even if it isn't perfect?
Have fun and be joyful!
PS - HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my beloved brother Steve. You are a true light in my life. I love you and I celebrate with countless others this day that you were born to us. What a gift you are!
In my early thirties I was blessed beyond measure by the opportunity to work with Angela
Blanchard. Angela was my boss for most of my five years at Neighborhood Centers Inc. (NCI), a dynamic and effective social service organization serving Houston's poorest communities. She was a generous boss who artfully and lovingly mentored me. And she has become one of my most trusted and beloved friends.While at NCI Angela not only helped me see and understand the value of the work I was doing, she taught me to "Take the 98%." She used to chide me that she wasn't going to hire anymore A students because they (meaning me) often are so obsessed with getting it perfect that they miss the deadline. Rather than trying to get a 100% every time she taught me that if it's late, or misses it's window, it's a zero - so be satisfied with the 98% and get it in on time.
I don't know whether Angela knows how deeply I have been touched by all she taught me while I was at NCI. This lesson in particular opened a space for joy in my life that had been missing. Constantly striving to do it better, make it more and more perfect, robbed me of a sense of accomplishment. There was always something to fix, some new nuance to add.
I believe that kicking the perfectionist habit is one of the key steps on the path to a more joyful life.
One book I read years ago to assist me with this suggested I leave the bed unmade for a week to practice not being perfect. Perhaps this may seem silly to you, but for me it was a tough assignment. (See my post on joy and housework). I was able to do it and it gave me a new sense of freedom. It's not that I stopped making my bed from then on, but it changed how I felt about it. Rather than being something I did on auto-pilot because of some unconscious need for order and/or approval, now I made my bed as a gift to myself. And if there was a day I was running late I could choose to leave it unmade without feeling stressed by it, to creating more stress by forcing myself to do it hurriedly before leaving the house.
Often motherhood changes our ability to keep up with it all, but it may not change our perceptions of whether we should be keeping up with it all. This is one of the greatest joy-stealers of all time in my book. When I was overly concerned about getting it all exactly right, else suffer a loss of my esteem in my own eyes, my focus was in the wrong place. I was squarely in my ego rather than living from my Essence, my soul.
When the Divine is at the center of one's life, it's much easier to sense when we are tromping down the path of perfectionism and missing the beauty and joy of life. Excellence at the expenses of a life of joy is mis-guided. Excellence that brings joy is on target.
I have found this to be a good measuring stick. For example, I am nearly done refinishing an antique Duncan Phyfe table and four chairs. It has been a lot of work and also a lot of joy. The attention to detail, picking every last bit of the latex paint that has covered this gorgeous set out of every nook and cranny has taken months. I have really given it my all to get it an clean as possible, even in places that won't be visible unless you remove the seat cushion. It has been for me a mindfulness activity, so doing it as perfectly as possible has brought me joy. I always knew when to stop or take a break if I felt the joy waning. And I also took the 98% on my re-upholstery job. Which, even with some slight wrinkling, I know is truly good enough.
So what do you think? Are you up for taking the 98%? What will you do today that you will allow to be good enough, even if it isn't perfect?
Have fun and be joyful!
PS - HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my beloved brother Steve. You are a true light in my life. I love you and I celebrate with countless others this day that you were born to us. What a gift you are!
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