Hey Lovecats!
It’s so funny… or maybe not really at all, but as soon as I make some blanket statement about something, I tend to do the exact opposite and I have no idea why. I know this about myself and often will refrain from making such statements because of said fact. However, “they” say when you make statements about goals and things of that nature (to quote Gary Vaynerchuck), you have more accountability because you have a sense that people are watching and you tend to follow through more. I find this to be the opposite with me. I wonder if I am the only one?
For instance, in my last outfit post I claimed that I was bored of Instagram and rarely on it anymore… and of course I feel like I have spent the last few days scrolling though my feed more than ever. Now, maybe bringing it to my attention made me reach for it more, that I’m not sure, but I have noticed that I’ve been on it and quite inspired by it as well. For instance, I found a new account @maggieblair_ that I just love and was definitely inspired by. That’s not boring at all, now is it?
I also stated that I’d be posting more, and it’s been 4-5 days since my last post (insert eye roll emoji here). My consistency here has not kicked in quite yet, but I’m working on it. I was a little SHOOK by my Facebook loveMaegan page being hacked and stolen last week and I have almost recovered emotionally. It has been restored, but I have not… and I have yet to fully embrace facebook again because I feel so violated. I know that sounds weird and dramatic, but wow, it was a nightmare experience that has left me with a little facebook PTSD. Yes, dramatic. I admit…
On the other hand, I also mentioned that I have been looking for a deeper connection with the internet again instead of just the quick dopamine hits that social media offers and that statement I have lived up to… and because of that, I have found a number of interesting reads (and watches) that I thought I’d share with you. And so, here is my list…
- Shakira, J. Lo & More Women Over 40 Need To Do All The Things, Please
- The American Life Is Killing You
- The Century of the Self -a docuseries on youtube
- How to Let Go of Your Regrets
- A “Positive Vibes Only” Attitude is Dangerous… huh?
- BIKRAM: YOGI, GURU, PREDATOR
- I’m Currently Reading: What Would the Rockefellers Do? and still reading/finishing Talking to Strangers and just got a box of awesome books from Sourcebooks I can’t wait to get into.
- Erin Sousa’s media kit template
- The Gaia network has become my new favorite thing to watch
Whether you enjoyed the Super Bowl halftime show or not, I think it’s safe to say that Shakira at age 43 and Jennifer Lopez, at age 50, rocked. I am 43 and have the same kind of energy, so it doesn’t seem so outlandish to me, it seems rather normal in a way that I’m not shocked that women “of a certain age” can still ROCK, because we can and we are, but I like this article because it begs media to put even more of a spotlight on women, 30 and over, who are doing amazing things instead of constantly focusing on the youth who is killing it. I think we need inspiration just as much, if not more than the youth culture to dream big and ROCK on with our bad selves into our 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s – you know, forever.
This was a fantastic read on American consumerism culture, which led me to the documentary below (of which some of the information I have read in a recent book by Malcolm Gladwell that yes, I’m STILL reading, called Talking to Strangers)… and just recently I added my recommended book reading list, if you’re interested in the books I have read and books I am currently reading… and all the words that have changed my life and shaped me as a human, check it out. Of course I have not listed ALL of them, but there are some great ones on there and I’ll be adding to the list as well.
Here’s a blurb from the article above which describes it brilliantly…
At the beginning of the 20th century, Edward Bernays used his uncle’s (Freud) theories on the human psyche to develop “public relations” (aka propaganda) to help control and manipulate the mindset of the masses for the corporate elite.
In the words of the narration of a phenomenal must-watch documentary, Bernays “showed American corporations for the first time how they could make people want things they didn’t need by linking mass-produced goods to their unconscious desires.”
Makes you think about why you want “things” you don’t need.
Mark Manson is a new favorite author of mine. He wrote The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck and Everything Is F*cked and they’re both fantastic books. I love his writing style, which is completely blunt without being offensive, even though you think it might be based on his choice of language, it’s totally not… lol. On the other hand, I have a tendency to have a similar vocabulary and so a few f*cks never shock me either. I subscribe to his email newsletter so I don’t miss a blog post because he ALWAYS inspires new thought and I love that.
I clicked on this from facebook because I was intrigued by the title and it was indeed thought-provoking. Here’s a blurb…
When we are feeling hurt, confused, and frustrated, it helps to look to people who are choosing integrity over comfort, who are standing for what is right. It is in the grounded practice of human compassion that we find our way.
While there is nothing wrong with cultivating a consciously optimistic attitude, we need to be careful that our optimism does not become a blind positivity bypass. The way that we do this is we consistently encourage ourselves to remain open to the hard, the human, and the holy—this means willingly welcoming pain, anger, and grief, as well as joy.
To grow, heal, and change, we need to face our discomfort.
I watched this documentary on Bikram a few weeks ago actually and was sickened. My mom was in the pseudo-health industry way WAY back in the 70s before it was a “thing” and I think it was around that time that she met Bikram and when his hot yoga practices became super trendy in LA she always had such negative things to say about it. After watching the documentary I asked her why she felt the way she did and she said that he wasn’t a good man, he was abusive, hit her and that he was full of shit (lol). After watching the documentary, it’s all so obvious. I’ve never taken a Bikram class because the idea of sweating in a room full of other people’s sweat never sounded appealing to me, though I do a yoga/stretching session by myself before bed almost every night… and maybe break a sweat, or not 😉
I follow Erin socially but actually saw this via Brooklyn Blonde‘s account… I’m tempted to buy her media kit because I feel like I just need a refresher. After all of these years blogging, I’ve never made a media kit. I’ve had agents for many years doing all that for me, but when blogging took a hit, my agents quit on me too and then I kind of quit for a while and never found a new agent. I have to say, I don’t like negotiating campaigns and sponsored work, I’d rather have an agent do it, that is just not my cup of tea, but I think I may have to start fresh and Erin’s media kit might be the place.
It’s a paid network, like Netflix, but has programming you can’t find anywhere about all kinds of topics I love with all sorts of inspiring people I adore like Joe Dispenza (the series ReWired is GREAT) and Caroline Myss (a new find and WOW, amazing thoughts on spiritual healing, chakras, our outdated ideas of theology and more in a series called Sacred Power). There are also other kinds of shows about decoding aliens and ancient civilizations (stuff boys like) and yoga series’ and alternative healing and breathing and meditation. It’s pretty great if you’re into that kind of stuff like I am 🙂
That’s all…
Hope you’re having a great week!
* Image (top) is from this post when I visited Emily Henderson’s mountain house.
