I enjoyed one of my responses, and thought I’d share.

Right now someone is appreciating the complex diversity that comprises the human experience such that one person could be starving while another is eating a rich decadent meal; that one person has 5 full bathrooms with running water and another lacks a house; that one person uses birth control because of their consciousness around overpopulation issues while another feels the primal need to procreate without these concerns; that at birth we all start out without any of this knowledge we are all lucky enough to explore and wow – - how lucky are we that we have the resources to sit here and discuss, investigate, educate and grow together even as others are simply struggling for survival.

As I was driving, I watched it first appear, just the left half of the first one. I was driving so taking quality photos was a bit difficult but I snapped a few shots anyway just because it was too amazing.

In fact, it was so amazing that I then decided I would pull over into the vista point spot. It was a mad dash — I was not alone in my quest for the perfect spot from which to take a photo. In the time it took me to pull off 101 and get into the lot, the rainbow had gone from a partial rainbow to a complete rainbow.

By the time I managed to pull into a spot a few minutes later, the beginning of the second rainbow started appearing from the right (south). At this point I was just amazed — it was as if magic had happened and I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time!

It was utterly awestruck and giddy as I climbed the steps of the vista. Looking out to the east I saw the bottom of the right side of the rainbow — so very close to me. Before i knew it, the left side of the second rainbow was overhead as I was snapping pictures, joined by others who shared in the thrilling experience nature provided today. As I took it all in, noticing I was going to be even later than intended to my appointment, I thought about the adage about stopping to smell the roses and figured this was the visual equivalent. In less then 15 minutes I had watched the whole thing appear and then vanish slowly before my eyes. It was quite a miraculous experience and it literally stopped me in my tracks!

Here’s my attempt at sewing the pictures together to form a single image of the rainbow. Enjoy!

Elisabeth sent this to me and while I’ve seen it before, it’s worth publishing to the world IMO.

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck..
One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.
At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full..

For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.
Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments.
But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the  woman one day by the stream.
‘I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak  out all the way back to your house.’
The old woman smiled, ‘Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot’s side?’

‘That’s because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate  the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.’

Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it’s the cracks and flaws we each  have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.
You’ve just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.

To all of my cracked pot friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path!

throw a party…
dance under the stars…
fall asleep outside…
dream the day away…
…watch the clouds go by…
bask in the shade…
slip down a slide…
open some windows…
skip out of work…
soak up the sun…
smile at a dog…
kid around…
ruin your appetite…
break a sweat…
go with the flow…
sit absolutely still…
blossom…
follow your heart…
capture someone else’s…
take a moment…
carry your shoes…
enjoy the view…
hold hands…
watch your shadow grow…
lose all track of time…
drift…

A series of things went through my mind about how this sort of thing probably happens with all generations as they meet the one that follows them; that I didn’t want to be how I perceived the generation before me; that I had a choice in that moment to either could enjoy it and appreciate the way they were teaching me and helping me grow or I could do what I perceive my elders did and fight it.

I was grateful when I opened into loving the process of allowing the next generation to teach me and help me expand my horizons. I think, perhaps, when I stop doing that will be the day that I really grow old.

So, thank you to all of you who I can truly (and lovingly) label, “those kids today.” You inspire me.

The first day of  school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to  know someone we didn’t already know. I stood up to look around when a  gentle hand touched my shoulder.

I turned around to find  a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up  her entire being.

She said, ‘Hi handsome. My name is  Rose. I’m eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a  hug?’

I laughed and enthusiastically responded, ‘Of  course you may!’ and she gave me a giant squeeze.

‘Why  are you in college at such a young, innocent age?’ I  asked.

She jokingly replied, ‘I’m here to meet a rich  husband, get married, and have a couple of kids…’

‘No  seriously,’ I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be  taking on this challenge at her age.

‘I always dreamed of  having a college education and now I’m getting one!’ she told  me.

After class we walked to the student union building  and shared a chocolate milkshake.

We became instant  friends.. Every day for the next three months we would leave class  together and talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized listening to this  ’time machine’ as she shared her wisdom and experience with  me…

Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus  icon and she easily made friends wherever she went.. She loved to  dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the  other students. She was living it up.

At the end of the  semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I’ll never  forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium.. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her  three by five cards on the floor.

Frustrated and a little  embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said, ‘I’m sorry  I’m so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing  me! I’ll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you  what I know.’

As we laughed she cleared her throat and  began, ‘ We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old  because we stop playing.

There are only four secrets to  staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh  and find humor every day… You’ve got to have a dream.. When you lose  your dreams, you die.

We have so many people walking  around who are dead and don’t even know it!

There is a  huge difference between growing older and growing up.

If  you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don’t  do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am  eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight.

Anybody can grow  older. That doesn’t take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up  by always finding opportunity in change. Have no regrets.

The elderly usually don’t have regrets for what  we did, but rather for things we did not do.. The only people who fear  death are those with regrets.’

She concluded her speech  by courageously singing ‘The Rose..’

She challenged each  of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives At the  year’s end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all  those years ago.

One week after graduation Rose died  peacefully in her sleep.

Over two thousand college  students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who  taught by example that it’s never too late to be all you can possibly  be.

When you finish reading this, please send this  peaceful word of advice to your friends and family, they’ll really  enjoy it!

These words have been passed along in loving  memory of ROSE.

Anyway, I got a message today from a FB friend — a beautiful woman whom I’ve met once who was reaching out and just wanted to see how I was doing. I was quite moved.

My response follows:

You know, I have this policy in my life to live as authentically as possible. I could give you lots of shallow answers — I mean, hell, we barely have met, right?

thanks for asking. you have no idea how much that means. truly.

My last few months have been something like this:

• March: Rebirth
• April: Uprooting
• May:   Opening
• June:  Reconnection
• July:  Crazy

So I call forth for my August: Grounding

The other day, Michael forwarded me this clip of the US Naval Academy performance from the Kings Firecrackers, an all girl jump rope crew. The caption on the bottom of the video is really great: “Girls Do Incredibly Intricate Jump Rope Routine. At one point, the only way to explain their fancy moves is CGI.” This screen capture, for example, shows three girls jumping on their lower legs — yes, while they are kneeling!

Hope you enjoy this clip as much as I did.

In February 2001, I left my corporate job — the reasons for which I’ll leave to another post. Over the course of the next year, I went through many changes and lots of development. I began exploring my Self as an artist, communitarian, dancer, DJ, event producer and more. I gave up my “normal” life of stability and I opted to explore living from a place of authentic expression of my deepest truths even if (perhaps especially if) that did not include a normal job. I was determined to find a new job that allowed me to wear glitter to work since it was not okay at my corporate job. For me, that expression was one of the base criterion for my next full time job.

In Spring of 2002 I did an open studio’s show in Hunter’s Point. As I was preparing for the show on 4.20, I met a woman whose name was Hetana. She and her partner were using our warehouse space for a 4.20 party, which is how we met. I had enjoyed interacting with her and I went to say goodbye to her before leaving the warehouse and she said to me, “Nice meeting you Isa” or something like that. I mentioned my name was Lisa, but now that she’d said “Isa” I was thinking I was going to change it. Something about it just rang true to me.

Being a bit more conservative than I am today, I wasn’t as willing to trust my instincts, so I decided to sleep on it. For whatever reason, that night I slept in the loft over the kitchen. When I woke in the morning I looked down into the kitchen and, as if it was a sign from God, I saw my roommates girlfriend’s back have a tattoo of the letter “I-S-A” on her. Now, you have to understand I’d been living here for 4 months and Green (my roommate’s partner), whose name is also unusual (though that is her birth name also), had never worn a tank top while I was around the entire time. The letter in her tattoo are easily a few inches high.

Thinking I must be in a daze or dreaming or hallucinating or something, I call down to her and we have a conversation that goes something like this:
Me: “Green, what’s that on your tattoo back?”
Green: “It’s Isa.” (Pronounced e-SA with the emphasis on the SA not the E)
Me: “What does it mean?”
Green: “It means the one in Tagalog.” (Filipino language)

In that moment, I thought, “Wow. This is a sign from God. What are odds this would happen?” And so clearly seeing my name in writing on Green’s back was the clincher.

I had been having challenges actually feeling comfortable with my choice, but it seemed God was certain this was my choice. Less than two weeks later, one of my best friends at the time calls me up to tell me, “Do you know what Isa means? It means “Jesus” in Farsi.”

So I changed my name, dropping the “L” along with my corporate jobs, my preconceptions of who I should be and the limiting beliefs that had held me back in the past. I’m so glad I did.