Fill Your Pockets With Stars.

During this past weekend’s Morning Altars teacher training program, there were many moments of grief, deep sadness, and contemplation. Around our stories, our ancestors’ stories, the current political environment, the wars ensuing as we sit comfortably in our living rooms on Zoom. There is so much to be said and acknowledged and recognized, yet no words can capture the sheer amount of pain that many of us are navigating in our own lives and simultaneously expected to ease for others.

One of my mentors, Claire Takahashi, invited us to take a deep breath together to reset our nervous systems.

As we exhaled together, she spoke this beautiful line.

In darkness- loss, injury, failure, war, divorce, illness, death- it’s incredibly difficult to see the blessing, the light in it all. But I’d like to imagine us grasping at a few stars and stashing them in our pockets. Only to later find them by surprise in the future. Perhaps while walking near the ocean and enjoying the sunset, we’ll reach into our pockets and pull them out. They’ll blink back at us. Remind us of our resilience. Proof we made it through the darkness.

Find the Right Audience.

Recently, I’ve been studying stand-up comedians. It’s fascinating to watch them perform the same joke in different venues. For one audience, the punchline causes an eruption of laughter and applause. For another, it completely flops.

Here’s the thing. The joke and delivery are the same. But the environments are different.

Maybe it’s not about you or your work. Maybe you’re simply in the wrong environment. Presenting to the wrong audience.

Part of the equation is creating great work. The other half is finding the right audience who understands your art, your humor, and your perspective. Make sure you’re standing on the right stage.

A List of Kindred Spirits.

Fort Funston in SF.

Someone you make eye contact with during a meeting who feels the exact same way you do. The person you uncontrollably silently laugh with at the most inappropriate times. The adventure buddy who is always up to explore the longer route, even if it’s cutting it close to sunset. The person who brings good snacks. Gym-goers who clean their weights off and wipe down the bench for you. The one with the good book recs. The neighbor who smiles at you every morning and pauses to let you pet his dog as part of your morning ritual. Someone who is honest enough to let you know you have something stuck in your teeth. The person who always has sunscreen and an extra jacket in their car. The one who says, “Let’s just order a bunch of everything and share.” The teammate who also stays in the pool to finish the entire set when everyone else has already headed to the locker room. The friend who sends video and audio messages because they know it’s a little extra but you deserve extra. Someone whose hugs make the whole day better. Punctual pals. Secret keepers. The uplifters and encouragers. The friend who will drive an hour on a weeknight to watch the sunset with you near the ocean. The person who respects your ‘no’ and doesn’t take things personally. The friend who has witnessed all the chapters of your evolution, even the rebellious and chaotic ones, and stayed to see you through to the other side. These are your people. Your kindreds.

Using Limitations as a Source of Creativity.

Often in my practice, I work with clients who have immense limitations. Time. Food intolerances. Physical injuries. Reimagining these constraints as new frameworks to play within opens up opportunities. Suddenly what was perceived as a huge barrier simply becomes something to harness as creative fuel. How many 2-minute ‘exercise snacks’ can we fit in during the day? What new recipes can we create that are gluten-free, nut-free, and dairy-free that the kids will eat? What new ways can we strengthen the upper body if the knee is healing from surgery?

What if your ultimate limitation became your biggest liberation?

Sharing Joy.

Some snippets of joy from First Fridays Art Walk San Jose. (Photo: Anthony Lé)

(Photo: Anthony Lé)

So much of creating art is done in solitude and isolation. Hours spent imagining ideas, writing, editing, re-formatting, second-guessing, marinading in self-doubt. Then the moment finally comes. You put it out into the world and hold your breath. I hear it all the time- “Make the thing that makes you happy.” And while I wholeheartedly believe that, I think we all want our art to mean something. To create a ripple of joy in the world. To delight strangers.

The moment I’d envisioned for my book launch in December finally happened last night. Signing books. Asking how to spell someone’s name because I just met them. Having a mom whisper, “This is perfect for my daughter because we’re beginning to talk about health and food.”

Every opportunity is connected to a person. I’m grateful for Trami Cron, who sat in the audience of my first Chopsticks Alley open mic, and later opened so many doors and welcomed me into this incredible Chopsticks Alley Art community nest. It’s wild how this whole adventure began on a Wed evening in June, wearing sweatpants on my couch, looking through Eventbrite for a place to meet other artists. I never would’ve imagined it would help me find my flock.

Sometimes the thing you’re searching for is much deeper. And when you’ve found it, it shows.

Creating With Community.

How do you describe the sweetness of a mango to someone who’s never tasted it? Or explain how the ocean feels to someone living in the desert? Experience is our greatest teacher.

I’m halfway through my Morning Altars teacher training, and this past weekend, it was a gift to share this practice with three special individuals. To bear witness to the transformative power of meaning-making using nature. Arranging our outer world to make sense of our internal landscape. To see the changes that took place through gathering, arranging, rearranging, creating, and surrendering to what wanted to come through each altar. To lay something down and let it go.

I’m still a student- deepening, growing, and fine-tuning. But being able to share this practice with more people as I continue to learn has been the best part of all. Like sharing a slice of ripe mango with a friend or stepping into the ocean with them for the first time. You look at nature differently. Appreciate it in a new way.

(Photos courtesy of Anthony Lé)

Fairy Rings.

I enjoyed guiding an IRL hike/hang with local health coaches this past Sunday at Huddart Park in Woodside.

Within this circle are coaches who specialize in intuitive eating, sports nutrition, lifestyle medicine, trauma-informed coaching, and somatic practices in tandem with the foundations of clinical nutrition.

The next time you’re in a redwood forest, look for fairy rings. These are circles of redwoods surrounding the base of the parent tree. It was believed that these trees were genetic copies of the parent tree. But now there’s evidence that genetically distinct trees exist within a ring. This diversity supports the long-term health and resilience of the forest.

Whatever industry you’re in, look around. Appreciate the multiplicity of talent. The specialist degrees and certifications. The areas of study some people naturally gravitate toward and fully immerse themselves in. While others simply want to dip their toes in.

What a relief. We don’t need to know everything to help someone. We simply need to know who to ask.

I’m grateful to be a part of this diverse ‘fairy ring’ of exceptional health coaches. We share our specialties, skillsets, and knowledge to best support our clients.

Who are the individuals in your diverse fairy ring of life? What can you learn from them and how can you share and contribute your knowledge to nourish the forest of your life?

I Am Thinking About Love (Spoken Word)

Co-Creating Magic.

I’m excited to be part of the line-up for tomorrow!

There’s a journal called “One Line A Day” that acts as a 5-year diary that allows you to record what you did on any particular day and see what you did on that same day in the past. The simplicity of this tool captured my attention. It’s fun to compare how much you’ve changed (or stayed the same) year to year.

I started my own version of this on Valentine’s Day in 2013. I gave myself the prompt, “I am thinking about love…” and wrote a short paragraph on what bubbled up around love that I’d learned or experienced that year. I continued this tradition each year, and in 2020, compiled all of these entries into a single spoken word poem.

My favorite thing about poetry is that it changes as we change. Similarly, my view and perspective around love have also matured, developed, and deepened throughout the years. Tomorrow I have the privilege of sharing this poem. In front of a live audience. On Valentine’s Day. All of those aspects make me excited. I’ve revamped verses, added new ones, and removed old ones.

I’ll be sharing the stage with Esther Young, who will accompany me with her guitar. I’m a firm believer that music adds layers of emotional depth and nuance to poetry, so it’ll be exciting to co-create art together. And, to add to this sense of magic, we’ve agreed that our on-stage collaboration and performance will be the first time we will dance in this space together. I can’t wait!

A visual taste of our vibe together…Esther and me at my First Friday book launch event.

Here’s to stepping into the arena with courage, curiosity, and creativity!

Let's First Go On A Ride.

Epic views along the coast from last week’s ride.

I hope you write your thoughts and weird ideas down, mostly so “future you” has something to reread and smile at. The past storm left our neighborhood without power for two days. Imagine. No electricity and WiFi. It was dark but too early to sleep, so I took a flashlight and decluttered old journals. I found this poem I wrote in 2019:

If you ever want to date me
Let’s first go on a ride
How you act on two wheels
Gives me a solid glimpse inside
Of your tenacity, confidence,
Humility or pride.

Do you like to have the route mapped out
No room for happenstance?
Or are you led by curiosity and like to take a chance?
Do you like to speed up far ahead like you’re competing in a race?
Or compromise and make adjustments to find a steady pace?

Do you let me tuck behind you
when the headwind gets too strong?
And encourage me to take my pull
when I’ve been sitting back too long?

If you ever want to date me
Let’s first go on a ride
We may never know-
Could be the best ride of our lives.

Write everything down. I still think a bike ride is a solid filter for finding a good partner. 🤷🏻‍♀️🚴🏻‍♀️🚴🏼

Just Start.

Sunset at the San Leandro Marina.

Start small, start today. This is much easier than “Start big, start tomorrow.” The good news is, you don’t have to be perfect when you start. You can merely begin.

Your future self will thank you for starting today.