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stop you in your tracks.
On 22, Nov 2014 | No Comments | In noticing | By Natalie
I have a little friend in Seattle.
She is just the perfect amount of tallness to wrap her entire self around one of my legs for a hug. And when she does, she squeezes nice and tight. Sometimes she even offers a reassuring little pat, pat, pat to my leg.
Just yesterday, this littlest friend and I were walking together in the neighborhood as we often do. As we passed other walkers, many an adult would see her and smile to themselves as they carried on.
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5 things one should do when moving solo to a new city
On 05, May 2014 | No Comments | In sharing | By Natalie
1. Be somewhere that has a view
Our eyes and souls crave beauty, they need it to survive. So when you’re suddenly stripped of all your usual coping tactics and comforting friends, your insides will crave this beauty more than ever. When you have such a craving, drop everything and listen.
2. If it’s possible, find old friends who will take you in for a month or two while you sort things out.
(Warning: for this independent types, it can be challenging to receive such generous help like this. But if it’s offered, say yes, it’ll be beautiful.) Its best if these friends are cute and into questionable activities.
3. Buy the book.
So when you move to this new place, you must have come with some visions for what your life would look like once you arrived. You know, the things you wanted to conquer, take on, how you’d spend your time. The interwebs are good and helpful, but when in doubt, go to the used bookstore and purchase yourself the book that will accompany you as you live out your new reality. This book will become your friend.
4. Listen to yourself.
When people heard I was moving to a new place, many wanted to offer the best advice they had. And so I was repeatedly offered this: “just say yes to every opportunity that comes your way—even if you’re tired.” Being just a few months in now, I can now offer back a hesitant: “yes, I agree—mostly.”
When in a new place and context, it’s good to push yourself into new experiences and situations. Because most of the time, I’m sure you’ll smile and say, “yes, I’m so thankful those moments happened.” But whether you are in a new city or the city of your birth, saying “yes” out of fear is no good reason to say yes at all. Saying “yes” when you can, I’m coming to believe, is a much better life skill to cultivate.
5. Drink alone and don’t be afraid to talk to strangers.
falling from the sky.
On 14, Jan 2014 | No Comments | In noticing | By Natalie
plant your hand,
then your foot.
go.
trust your strength.
i can’t
i’m not that strong — but no one
is telling you that but yourself.
there you are.
dangling high above the ground,
alone.
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the drums.
On 02, Dec 2013 | No Comments | In creating, noticing | By Natalie
This past weekend, something new happened to me. Something, that has never happened before. You want to know? I stood up in front of a room full of lovely people and read something… that I myself wrote. I’ve never done that before, never. The process of preparing and the experience that day was a mind-blowing experience, reminding me that we must struggle, we must create and we must share in community with one another. We must not do it alone. (But more on that another time.)
the very best kind of seattling.
On 05, Nov 2013 | No Comments | In exploring | By Natalie
“There’s some about the spirit that’s out here. Something in the air. It’s different here. This land is still getting to define itself, live into who it is. That’s part of it’s crazy and wild beauty, you know? Because it’s still searching, still exploring. And so are it’s people.”
And with these words, I met Seattle. Read more…
Happy Birthday Gandhi: Celebrating a legacy of non-violence
On 30, Oct 2013 | No Comments | In working | By Natalie
This article was originally written for Actionary and published on their blog to celebrate International Day of Non-Violence. Learn more about my work on their blog project here.
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Celebrating Gandhi
On one blazingly warm June afternoon, in the not-so-distant past of 2007, the United Nations General Assembly met together in New Delhi where they voted unanimously to mark October 2nd, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, as the International Day of Non-Violence.
Who better to help us remember the importance of striving for greater tolerance, respect, and understanding in our world
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it’s quite kind of the world.
On 17, Sep 2013 | No Comments | In noticing | By Natalie
did you see the wind today?
it ruffled and blew with authority
not afraid to announce it’s presence.
that wind,
that wind is telling us something.
can you tell what it is?
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coffee: a learned love.
On 25, Jun 2013 | No Comments | In remembering | By Natalie
i remember
when i learned to like
coffee.
sitting at my papa’s front kitchen
table.
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very much alive.
On 04, Jun 2013 | One Comment | In creating, noticing | By Natalie
the other day
what time is it?
On 27, May 2013 | 2 Comments | In wondering | By Natalie
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sometimes it’s dreadfully
hard to know.
to be even slightly certain,
because uncertainty clings and circles
just like nats in summer.
how do you know?
how do you know what time it is?
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