"Art is either plagiarism or revolution."

~ Paul Gauguin

interesting and true

When the world seems to be shouting, “Why bother?”  Square your shoulders, ground your feet firmly and say, “Because I believe in myself.”

I believe that we all have something special to give the world.

I believe that each vision of life is unique.

There is no substitute for you.

When someone needs you ~ your book, your art, your beauty, your particular brand of truth  ~  no one else will do.

In Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel, Jane Smiley said,
"What is difficult is not to write something new but to write something interesting and true."

If you’re having a hard time seeing what sets you apart as a creator, take Smiley’s advice and look for what is true and interesting.

your own

I’ve realized that most of the rules that hold me back actually don’t come from the outside. They’re self-imposed. It's time to end that.


Hopefully, you’re living life according to the coolest set of rules ever: your own. Lovingly designed by none other than you.

just be together

Let's trade in all our judging for appreciating.
Let's lay down our righteousness and just be together.

RAM DASS

I cut this cartoon out a few days ago so I could remember that, 

"every jerk has a sad human being trapped inside."

Every greedy executive, every thoughtless banker, every 'jerk' needs compassionate energy.

"I send you peace."

Then yesterday I listened to President Obama's Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial dedication speech. I was once again inspired to believe that we are 'tied in a single garment of destiny', God resides in each of us. That light in me is also in you.

Here is my favorite excerpt from yesterday's dedication:

And just as we draw strength from Dr. King's struggles, so must we draw inspiration from his constant insistence on the oneness of man; the belief in his words that "we are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny." It was that insistence, rooted in his Christian faith, that led him to tell a group of angry young protesters, "I love you as I love my own children," even as one threw a rock that glanced off his neck.


It was that insistence, that belief that God resides in each of us, from the high to the low, in the oppressor and the oppressed, that convinced him that people and systems could change. It fortified his belief in non-violence. It permitted him to place his faith in a government that had fallen short of its ideals.


And so at this moment, when our politics appear so sharply polarized, and faith in our institutions so greatly diminished, we need more than ever to take heed of Dr. King's teachings. He calls on us to stand in the other person's shoes; to see through their eyes; to understand their pain. He tells us that we have a duty to fight against poverty, even if we are well off; to care about the child in the decrepit school even if our own children are doing fine; to show compassion toward the immigrant family, with the knowledge that most of us are only a few generations removed from similar hardships. (Applause.)

To say that we are bound together as one people, and must constantly strive to see ourselves in one another, is not to argue for a false unity that papers over our differences and ratifies an unjust status quo. As was true 50 years ago, as has been true throughout human history, those with power and privilege will often decry any call for change as "divisive." They'll say any challenge to the existing arrangements are unwise and destabilizing. Dr. King understood that peace without justice was no peace at all; that aligning our reality with our ideals often requires the speaking of uncomfortable truths and the creative tension of non-violent protest.

But he also understood that to bring about true and lasting change, there must be the possibility of reconciliation; that any social movement has to channel this tension through the spirit of love and mutuality. 

If he were alive today, I believe he would remind us that the unemployed worker can rightly challenge the excesses of Wall Street without demonizing all who work there.

Be inspired to believe in the "oughtness" of tomorrow rather than focusing on the "isness" of today.

Through our hopes and fears, 

our pleasures and pains, 

we are deeply interconnected. 

-Pema Chödrön

really great people

"Really great people make you feel that you, too, 

can become great" 

~Mark Twain

where my work lies

I would like my life to be a statement 
of love and compassion 
– and where it isn't, 
that's where my work lies.

RAM DASS

true strength

“In separateness lies the world’s great misery,

 in compassion lies the world’s true strength.” 

~Buddha

human together

 My humanity is bound up in yours,

for we can only be human together.

~ Desmond Tutu 

(happy 80th birthday)

at the Innovation Museum in Barcelona, Spain

RIP Steve Jobs

“Steve Jobs changed my life totally and utterly (and obviously, I’m not the only one). From the moment he introduced Macintosh with mesmerizing flair, I was hooked by his charisma. I knew that his invention would change everything. Even though I’ve met him only a few times, I felt a deep personal connection to him and his work that transcends the rational. When I heard the news today, I felt physically ill and terribly sad for his wife and children. I will always be grateful to him and the teams he led that brought us the Mac, the iPod, the iPad, Pixar, iTunes...

 … Quite simply he is my hero.” 

~ Tom Rielly

My thoughts exactly... For some reason, I felt a deep personal connection to him and his work that transcends the rational.

play on

 If music be the food of love, play on.

~ Shakespeare

Cory Booker at Zeitgeist

I love Cory Booker. He is my favorite mayor! Even though I don't live in Newark, NJ., I always give to his campaign... and whenever we fly into Newark, I always tell the kids, "We're in Newark: home of my favorite mayor, Cory Booker!" I have said this so many times that by the time I get to ... home of my favorite mayor... everyone chimes in "Cory Booker!"


In a nutshell, Cory Booker is fabulous. After you watch his recent speech at Google Zeitgeist, I'm sure you'll think so too. And the next time you fly into Newark, you'll say to your seat-mate... "Oh, Newark, home of my favorite mayor, Cory Booker!" 

Occupy Wall Street

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, 

then they fight you, then you win.

Mohandas Gandhi

Follow what's going on with Occupy Wall Street

Follow on Facebook and twitter

little bit of good

 Do your little bit of good where you are;

it's those bits of good that change the world.

~ Desmond Tutu

InsideOut

French Street Artist, JR, is working on a new web series and documentary due out next year.
His first installment was post-revolutionary Tunisia.




Meet JR below as he wins the 2011 TED Prize.

JR's Wish:

"I wish for you to stand up for what you care about by participating in a global art project, and together we'll turn the world...INSIDE OUT."

Check out the InsideOut website to make your own portrait.

Samaritan Experiment

 "This money was left here intentionally and specifically for your use. I know it's not much - perhaps just enough to treat yourself to a cookie, coffee, a lottery ticket, or donation to the homeless...

In any case, I hope it changes your day for the better.

Enjoy!"