Driving up T.’s drive I felt fear. It felt irrational – silly even. T. is a good and trusted friend, and I had flown over 2,000 miles to spend just 48 hours with her and sing together for the first time in 15 years. But, yes, there it was: fear.

So, I took a few moments to unpack it. And what came rolling forward were the unknowns: What would it feel like to inhabit my artist self fully once more? Would we still sound good together? Where would our reconnection take us? Would we get gigs? And how would bringing music centrally back into my life shift my sense of self?

Really, I had two choices: get back on the plane and go home, or breathe into the questions and fear – and keep going. Which is what I did.

There are those experiences, big and small, that give us the choice between going home or going forward. It’s our bravery in those moments that makes the difference, as Chöngyam Trungpa reminds us: “The bravery of a warrior is like a lacquer cup. If the cup drops, it will bounce rather than break.”

I’ve recently come across a beautifully crafted online magazine, fear.less, dedicated to the exploration of what it means to come face to face with our fear. I hope you’ll read it and use it as I do to embrace the challenge and journey.

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My friend was recently speaking with her spiritual Teacher about the amount of illness and death those close to her are experiencing. Her Teacher showed empathy, then said:

“Well, you know how it’s going to end. The question is how you will use the time between now and then.”

It struck me when she shared the story – yes, I do in fact know how it’s going to end (this iteration of life, anyway). Sitting with the question, “what will I do between now and then?” seems that it should be easy – but in fact I find it quite challenging.

Easy because it’s not hard to answer the question, “what matters most to me?” Difficult because there are so many ways to pursue those things, and I find myself moving in many directions, often distracted. The question then, I guess becomes: what gives me the most joy? And what will allow me, at the end of it all to know that I’ve lived and loved well, and perhaps made a small difference in the lives of others?

I took a “think day” earlier this week (I’ll be doing lots more of those) to consider those questions as they relate to Imago. It was more than useful; it was clarifying and offered me the chance to not only notice what matters most, but to be accountable to those things as well – and create a plan.

I was inspired by an e-book that’s been sitting on my desktop for the past few months, a co-op resource created by Seth Godin. In it, over 70 thinkers (“big names” and “small”) meditate on the question, “what matters now?” and have some intriguing answers. You can access and download it here or by clicking the image below.

What most matters to you right now?

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“We are all at the mercy of our wild monkey minds. Incessantly swinging from branch to branch.”

Those of you with a Mac are fortunate: you have access to a beautiful writing environment called Ommwriter. Ommwriter is a simple text processor and a humble attempt to recapture what technology has snatched away from us today: our capacity to concentrate. And it’s free.

Since I have a PC, I’ve created my own virtual “paper environment” by downloading Dark Room and tweaking the colors. I’ve found the blank screen to be soothing and the perfect environment to allow words to flow easily. It isn’t the same as Ommwriter, but it will do until they come out with a non-Mac option. Check it out!

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I enjoy wordplay (as you may have noticed in my previous post about the fabulous tool, Wordle), so I don’t mind telling you that some days I let a word or phrase play over and over in my mind searching for new meaning in it.

Think about the paradigm shift when “disease” becomes “dis-ease” or “enjoy” becomes “in-joy”.

So it is with “letting go.” You can think of the phrase as we often do, as in letting something (or someone) leave our lives or consciousness. Or, you can flip it to mean letting GO – as in “letting GO happen.” Framed in this way, letting go becomes extremely proactive, allowing new things or experiences to grow and manifest.

I can’t imagine a better way to visualize this flip than Madonna’s Jump video, which features gravity defying Parkour. En-joy!

Ever find yourself needing to step back and take a break from a project but feel like you can’t do it because there’s just too much to accomplish?

I’m learning the best thing I can do for myself in those moments is to step back, even if just for 5 minutes. The perspective and energy I gain is invaluable, and the work comes easier once I’ve let go of trying to control it. It’s true: sometimes you have to go slow to go fast. And it’s as simple as closing your eyes and focusing on the breath.

Want a little more? Gaiam Life has created beautiful online “meditation rooms,” so even if you can’t leave your desk you can still immerse yourself in the beauty of nature.

I’ve heard it’s possible to know exactly what your leadership voice is and what matters most to you by what words you choose and how often you use them.

Wordle is a really interesting (and enlightening) way to test that theory.  Plug in any text – or link to a webpage – to have the program create a visual representation of the language used. It’s free, in the Creative Commons, and a lot of fun to work with.

The wordle above was created by using the text from Imago’s new quarterly newsletter, Imagine. If you haven’t read it yet, please do. And while you’re at it, you can always subscribe!

Awesome! From the award-winning documentary, “Playing for Change: Peace Through Music.”  To learn more about out the project, check out playingforchange.com.

How are you playing for change?

and full haired! Simply and absolutely gorgeous.

Lorna Simpson and her daughter, Zora

Lorna Simpson’s work makes me engage with the intersections of identity, voice and the effects that others’ voices (in the form of racism and sexism) have on us.

What do you read in this piece? In relation to the photo above? And what does all of this have to say about the politics of hair in the workplace?

Wigs, Lorna Simpson

For more of Simpson’s work, see this self titled art book, or try google images.

In a few weeks we will elect our next President. Like many I know, I’ve been on edge, boomeranging between hope and fear of disillusionment. Regardless of how the election turns out, I do believe in US – all of us, no matter where we fall on the political spectrum. This beautiful video by Dave Stewart holds the promise of what we can do together.