Moving toward happy

My girlfriend, Terry is writing about "Moving Toward Happy".  Catchy phrase ... and it got stuck in my head as I watched the people of Aspen walk around town.


I love the idea of happiness!  What makes me happy?  

• Seeing other people smile.
• Good food.
• Simplicity.
• Honesty.
• A new insight.
• Adventures.
• Expressions of love.
• Contemplating life.
• Sharing my light.
• Dreams that come true.
• A sassy new dress.
• Holding hands.
• Listening to someone's story.

I used to think that finding solutions to the world's problems was my life's purpose.  Not only finding them, but to fight against things like homelessness, war, hunger, and lying, cheating ways of government. 


Yesterday I had an intriguing conversation with man from Kenya.  He is an Registered Nurse at a rehabilitation center where I also work and we had the chance to talk for a bit.  He spoke of life before democracy, the transition, and life after (now) in his homeland.  The sanctions from the "industrialized nations" forced them to make this change and it has caused separation among his family and his neighbors due to the competitive nature of capitalization.  Just so you hear this correctly ... he is not opposed to democratic government.  He explained to me that the Kenyan culture was not ready for such a rapid philosophical, environmental, emotional shift.  But his family and many others has been ripped apart.


What are we doing?  And why?  In the name of fear, power and greed?  It makes me want to vomit sometimes.  Pretty soon we, the people of this planet, will all be the same without the beauty of cultural diversity.  


Today my purpose is to see the good in you and in me; to be the whole person that I am in spite of all the external shit while sending as much love into the world.  If we all choose this direction, then we will all move toward happy, and embrace peace, love, and understanding.  

Love in Gaza

Gaza City, Gaza

This photo was taken this week in the Gaza Strip by a friend of mine, Guy Benintendi, who has been delivering humanitarian aid in a convoy from London to Gaza over the past several weeks.

Guys writes about the people's overwhelming sense of powerlessness; that over time they have come to give up on their own happiness by being beaten down from "war" in their homeland.  

Yet look at this ... a graffiti heart!  When a couple is married, it is tradition to paint a heart on a wall with their names.  I don't know what the messages are next to it in Arabic. It could be full of hate, but the universal sign of love, a heart, holds a hope for more.  They are just like me and you ~ they want to love and be loved.  

And love marches on!
(the greatest power ever) 

If you'd like to read Guy's blog you can find it here: http://guybenintendi.blogspot.com/2010/10/power-to-people.html

Labor of Love

I labored most of the weekend at my lovely part time job ... oh so nice to be outta there tonight!  But on Saturday I was blessed with the perfect day.  I took Millie (my scooter) on her second adventure to the foothills of Golden, Colorado.  I found some back roads to get me there safely from Denver and it only took me 45 minutes to get there this time (compared to the 90 minunte ride a few weeks ago).  Proof that practice makes perfect!

We got to see a classic car show.  What fun!  It felt like I was in a small mid-western, country town watching all the people gather in excitement for their annual parade.  Just good ol' folks getting ready for a good ol' time! 

Old Golden Road was lined with the most gorgeous old cars and trucks I've ever seen in one place.  Cars are my sister's thing (you GO girl), but not mine.  One of the coolest things about the day is that I found a 1956 T-Bird dressed in bright, cherry red.  Whoa!  That has been my dream car since high school, but Millie will have to do for now.

Off to write a bit for my book .... that's the love part.  I am working several jobs so that when its time to travel to faraway lands I'll be financially ready this time.  :)  What a concept! 

Sweet Words

Words have power and I am learning how to put my thoughts into words that flow from my heart to yours.  My hope is to inspire people to move into get "unstuck" and do all of those things you have dreamed of doing.  Say poo-poo to fear and take that leap to the unknown and release yourself of limits.  

My book is underway!  I'm writing about the winter journey we took across the northwest for five months.  My daughter and I had amazing experiences as we set out by ourselves with our two cats in a vintage RV.  We met beautiful people who gave their time to us when we were in trouble.  I believe that humanity is basically good, but we get so deeply caought up in the undercurrents of fear that we forget to give.  We forget to love.  What resides at the core of human nature is true compassion and the desire to take care of each other.

The book will be my expression about peace, about love and the great catalyst: coffee.

InJoy, Lisa

For the love of coffee!

I am in love with coffee! 

As a high school student in 1980 my friends and I used to ditch school (I was a "bad girl"), to walk nearly a mile to the local coffee shop on Littleton Boulevard.  We would sit for hours over a bottomless cup of diner-style coffee for $1.25.   What FUN!!  We talked about what we did last Friday night, do some homework, then talk about what to do next Friday night.  It was a place that we felt welcome and accepted.

For years that was my coffee experience (which I totally loved) ... those diners and breakfast spots serving coffee where I could sit for hours on end.   I could watch people, meet people, read a book, write in my journal, and smoke some cigarettes (yes - IN the diner).  It brought me peace of mind.  Ahhh.  It was more about the experience than the coffee, but I needed both for this outing to be fulfilling.

Jumping to today, the spring of 2010, our country has experienced a decline in family diners and cafes; the heart and soul of our communities ~ the "mom and pops".  They are being replaced by national chains with million dollar marketing budgets, store prototype models, and plastic servers speaking canned words of welcome through painted smiles while wearing logo-donning aprons.  Gag.  As Mark Overly of Denver's Kaladi Brothers Coffee said in a speech he gave at the Peace Love and Coffee Extravaganza last August, "they look like and dress like the real thing, but there is no soul behind the facade."

A sign in the yard of "The Beachcomber Coffeehouse" in Trinidad, CA

Thank goodness for the sprouting of locally owned coffeehouses all over America!  I love them!  As of last year, I hear the US is some 12,000 strong.  The owners are people like you and me.  Many of them are expressing their dream of providing a center for their community to gather and learn about each other.  I tip my hat to those owners who offer their hearts and souls to fulfilling a dream and becoming integral threads in the fabric of their neighborhoods.

Not only are they serving their communities, but by the nature of the coffee bean's origin,  many are embracing the global economy and are deeply involved in the lives of the growers where they purchase their beans.  And if they are not, they have aligned themselves with a local roaster who is.  Not only THAT, but we the coffee-lovers are able to enjoy amazing coffees made with love from real and passionate people.  Well worth my $4.00 any day.

See you at the corner coffeehouse!  I'll be the one sitting in the old, green crushed-velvet sofa drinking a dark, rich latte from a chipped one-of-a-kind mug peering over my laptop  and smiling from ear to ear!

Love is Free

I have spent the day listening to Sheryl Crow, John Lennon, Bob Marley, the Indigo Girls, and Hootie and the Blowfish.  Since I'm a bit of a rookie with the MediaPlayer stuff, I only have a few albums downloaded to put into a playlist.  And once I "do" a playlist I first celebrate that actually was able to make one, then I just let it play and play, and go and go - for hours even!

I heard "love wisdom" from those artists no less than 4 times each this afternoon while I cleaned.  There were some pretty amazing tunes and you'd think I'd remember each one of them in detail, but there is only one phrase that keeps popping up in my mind ... "Love is free.  Free is love."

So, why do I put limitations on it?  Why do I have to quantify and qualify it?  Why do I question and challenge it, especially as I sit here alone on Valentine's Eve? 

Makes me giggle!  :)  I think I have successfully gone a bit cuckoo!

So for today: I chose to embrace all of the love I can ever imagine - "to infinity and beyond"!


_____________________________________
Love, by John Lennon

Love is real, real is love,
Love is feeling, feeling love, Love is wanting to be loved.

Love is touch, touch is love,
Love is reaching, reaching love,
Love is asking to be loved.


Love is you, You and me,
Love is knowing, We can be.

Love is free, free is love,
Love is living, living love,
Love is needing to be loved.

Sisters In Ministry

These gals were so much fun!  We all worked an event at US Airways Arena in Phoenix called "Get Motivated".  It featured Colin Powell, Laura Bush, Sarah Palin, Zig Ziglar, etc. I was able to work for a day and meet these gals while we waited around for our assignments.

Deborah (left) and Diane (right) are from Austin TX.  They are involved in a Christian ministry that keeps them safe and off the streets ~ they shared their personal stories with me and in he few hours we were together friendships were formed.  In turn for the care and support provided by their church, they travel to each of these seminars across the country to work and commune together.

When I get to Austin I plan to visit them!  They promised me a prayerful church service full of gospel singing, dancing (they know 4 versions of the Electric Slide), love, and lessons on the life of Jesus.

I can't wait!

Peace Love and Coffee ~ what more do you need?

The universe and I are working together and are manifesting some great things.

• The Vision: We are setting out across the country for a year in their vintage trailer, living a dream of being a pebble of peace ... starting ripples everywhere they travel. We also seek to discover the expressions of peace in the warmth of local coffeehouses that embody the heart of their communities.
• Imagine Peace Foundation: We are in alignment with this Colorado 501c3 and are being sponsored as a special project to spread Peace one person at at time during our travels. We are donating a percentage of our donations to them.
• "Peace, Love and Coffee": will be the just of my book, and probably the title of my experiences in the name of local coffeehouses, their people and their contributions to peace.
  
• I have interviewed a Book Manager/Publisher that I have the utmost respect for. We are getting closer to launching our relationship ~ probably early August.
  
• Launch Celebration and Fundraiser: Our spectacular "Peace, Love and Coffee Extravaganza" to raise awareness and capital for the journey. It will be held at the Gallery 1261 local art gallery the evening of August 22, 2009. Over 100 people will be in attendance including leaders from Denver's local business community and inspiring, passionate peace organizations. It will be full of music, laughter, success stories, and networking. There will be a stimulating screening of international interviews from the Global Oneness Project that “tells the story of what it means to live our greater human potential in an increasingly interconnected world”.
  

Great stuff, eh? I just love how my drive (that is sometimes wavering, but always there) for the success of this journey keeps unfolding and becoming more beautiful every day!

Yay!
BTW - the photo at the top is part of a Vision Board I created in 2006 ... this is the ride of my life!

My man. He loves it when I say that :)

This is Doug in San Francisco on his summer vacation. What a great photo.