Peer group...

"Stop waiting and find your Tribe. Someone recently asked how to find a mentor. When I started out, I created a peer group and I think a peer group can help you more than a mentor. If you get people together who are powerless, unsuccessful and striving, and you show up for each other then you become your own mentor group. That same group who all had crappy jobs and all wanted to be writers - like me - are still the first people who read my manuscripts 20 years later. If your tribe doesn't exist yet, you may need to be the person to found the group. You might be the tribal leader. If the thing you need doesn't exist, create it. That's the ultimate creativity."

- Elizabeth Gilbert, Author of Eat, Pray, Love

That's what the "Smart Cookies" did to get out of debt and now they're successful enough to advise others with their online program. Impressive! Just sayin' ;)

Blessings,

Chatgirl

Creator or bystander?...

"In my latest book Big Magic, I encourage everyone to find some creative outlet. A journalist interviewed me and asked: 'Aren't you afraid that your book is going to cause lots of people who have no talent to create lots of shitty art?' The arrogance of that question is staggering. There's a presumption that only the elite are allowed to be creative. My concern is not that the world is filled with bad art, it's more that the world might be filled with people who are not making or creating things in their life - and are just consumers or bystanders who are passively allowing things to happen to them."

- Elizabeth Gilbert, Author of Eat, Pray, Love

I think we judge ourselves like crazy and think most of what we do isn't good enough :( Ouch. But we don't have to show it to anyone if we don't want to, Lol. Just sayin' ;)

Blessings,

Chatgirl

Enslaved...

I read a great article recently. It talked about the times we live in and how "the employee is the new slave."

- En Route, Air Canada Magazine (sorry, can't remember the author)

Right? I'm not one to get on much of a soap box, but some things just don't seem right. We're expected to put work first and sacrifice our personal lives far too often. Then without warning, the bottom line can send us straight to the unemployment office! .... Just sayin'!

Blessings,

Chatgirl

Trial and error....

"Scribble, scribble, erase. Scribble, erase, scribble. Scribble, scribble, scribble, scribble. Erase, erase, erase. Scribble, erase. Keep what's left."

- Alex Stein, Aphorist (someone who makes astute observations that can be considered general truths)

Yup, a lot of trial and error in life. Just sayin' ;)

Blessings,

Chatgirl

Ray of light...

In truth, this whole blog thing is a search for meaning and understanding. I'm a pretty "up" person and I can generally keep going and find the positive in just about anything... But I still find I need to seek out words of wisdom, inspiration and hope. Just sayin...

Blessings,

Chatgirl

Quit or surrender?...

"Know the difference between quitting and surrendering. Quitting and surrender are two very different things. Quitting sources like 'I don't feel like it, I'd rather watch Dowton Abbey. It's hard, I'm bored." Surrendering sounds like 'I've come to the end of my power and have nothing else I can do and nothing else to give.' Some of the most shameful experiences of my life came from quitting. The most beautiful experiences of my life came from surrendering. When you surrender, you recognize that you're not the most powerful force in the universe; you let go and accept whatever happens next."

- Elizabeth Gilbert, Author of Eat, Pray, Love

Eckhart Tolle, Author of The Power of Now and A New Earth would say something similar. He would say whatever happens "Do not resist." He would also say "Do not label things as good or bad. Just accept and trust what life brings." Tolle says additional pain comes from resisting what is or what has happened. He says if we can accept what is and get busy moving forward, the pain will subside more quickly. Sometimes what has gone "wrong" turns into the best thing that's ever happened to us.

Blessings,

Chatgirl

No guarantee...

"Stop waiting for a guarantee. I met a woman recently who wanted to start writing a book but was having trouble believing that the universe would actually give her the result that she wanted - a publishing deal. It might not, I said to her. There is no certainty. You do not know where the adventure is going to take you. If you want to know how the adventure ends, you're never going to start it. 'But what if I go on an adventure and find nothing?' people ask. Show me when that ever happens. Please bring me the person who went on a sincere and open-hearted search and found nothing out about themselves. You may not find what you wanted to find - however, you will definitely know a great deal more about yourself at the end of the journey than at the beginning. Don't avoid going on that journey because you might be disappointed. Who among us has been spared disappointment or frustration? It's part of the journey."

- Elizabeth, Author of Eat, Pray, Love

Well said.

Blessings,

Chatgirl