
Some of the
best trips I have ever taken have been following impulses/saying yes to life.
My trip to Thailand this past fall to meet up with one of my best friends was
one of those. Bought a ticket on Monday and flew there on Wednesday. My friend
Mimi quickly introduced me to the street food in Bangkok and the ones of you
that have been there knows you just have to go for it. No second guessing if
the food is prepared to the utmost cleanliness. Over my time in Thailand I
tried many dishes, one more wonderful than the other. Meat on a stick or fried
tofu served with crushed peanuts and chili sauce served in a plastic bag
anyone?
Some ideas
can be bouncing around for days/weeks/months/years until I do something about
them or they disappear. Maybe they are not so much “impulses” then. This blog
is the fruit of an idea. Growing up I loved to write. One of
my Swedish teachers was extremely encouraging and told me my writing was great
and that I should pursue a career in a field that would allow me to utilize my
talents. I was pretty set on becoming a journalist. However, as I advanced in
school I got another Swedish teacher, one that was not so encouraging. My
writing was too simple and straightforward according to the new teacher. I stopped
writing and years went by. But then I decided to create this blog as a creative
outlet for myself. Joss Whedon who is an American screenwriter, director,
producer etc (he created “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”) once said this about creativity:
“Write it. Shoot it. Publish it. Crochet it, sauté it, whatever. MAKE,” Whedon’s
point (and mine, but coming from him should have more weight to it, I mean he
created “Buffy” for crying out loud) is that it’s good to DO SOMETHING. And now
I am even treading on Nike’s turf: “Just Do It.” I was scared to publish this
blog, but I decided to do it anyway. To be quite honest, I didn’t really fancy
writing a blog. I did not quite see the purpose of blogs and I felt that
everyone was writing one. However, several friends encouraged me to do it and I really appreciate this creative outlet and
platform. I have a few bloggers and vloggers (video bloggers) in the area of
health and traveling I like and follow. I have friends who write blogs and I do
very much enjoy reading those. I also like that my blog gives me a chance to
play around with photography. Not that I in any way, shape or form is the next Ellen
von Unwerth, Peter Lindbergh or Mario Testino (hm, apparently all photographers
that came to mind are in fashion, go figure) but I enjoy taking pictures to use
on the blog or looking through my own library of older pictures and use one of
those.
If you keep
thinking “I really should write that friend and ask how he or she is doing” but
can’t seem to find the time to sit down and draft a long letter, just send a
short “hello, I was just thinking of you” kind of a message. I can’t say I
always do this, but it sure does happen quite regularly. I have also written
short messages to celebrities. And no, you who knows me well know those
celebrities are not the ones we see on reality TV or hear on the Top Charts. I
have written to for example people I look up to in the fitness community and
asked for advice. And the few times I have written, I have got answers back.
Once I had been focusing a lot on reading about Iran and its history (yes I am
and will forever be an international relations nerd) and I came across the email
address to Farah, the former Shah of Iran’s wife. Now, I know she and her late
husband are controversial figures in international politics, but I wanted to
thank her for agreeing to participate in a documentary called “The Queen and
I.” The documentary was made by a Swedish filmmaker named Nahid Persson Sarvestani and by watching that
documentary I learned more about Iran. And she answered my email. The former
Queen and Empress of Iran answered an email from me! And yes, I know the email
address was valid.
I have over
the years heard about the amazing commencement speech Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple
Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, gave on June 12, 2005 at Stanford University.
Despite having heard of it for years and read quotes ripped from the speech
here and there I had never sat down and listened to it in its entirety. It’s
kind of like another “Les Misérables” for me. I had heard about the story for
years and kind of knew what it was all about, but before the movie came out in
2012 I didn’t (embarrassingly enough) fully know. Thank you Hugh Jackman! Okay, I
am rambling. Point is, one day a few weeks back I got the impulse of watching
Jobs’ commencement speech. And I am glad I did. It taught me a lot: "You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only
connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow
connect in your future.You have to trust in something--your gut, destiny, life, karma,
whatever--because believing that the dots will connect down the road
will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads
you off the well-worn path, and that will make all the difference.” Jobs concluded the speech with: “Stay Hungry. Stay
Foolish.” Seriously, if you have not seen it, go on YouTube and do it. Just Do
It. If you say yes to life, you may find what you are passionate about.
Do I do all the things I am writing about at all times? Heck no! Sometimes I take a very long time to get my butt in gear. So maybe I am writing this post as a reminder to myself of what I need to do in order to keep things interesting. I have heard variations of the following saying many times, but not sure who to credit it: "Happiness is a byproduct of action." So following your impulse, gut or whatever we can call it, may lead to something great. If not, maybe you get a good story out of it at least. I would say follow your impulses if it does not hurt someone else. And don't follow impulses that would hurt yourself either. I mean, you still have to use your head and good judgment. Kind of like it's a great idea to jump out of a plane and skydive. Just make sure you have a great instructor on your back or better yet, knowledge in your backpack to do it yourself. Just Do It!
Do I do all the things I am writing about at all times? Heck no! Sometimes I take a very long time to get my butt in gear. So maybe I am writing this post as a reminder to myself of what I need to do in order to keep things interesting. I have heard variations of the following saying many times, but not sure who to credit it: "Happiness is a byproduct of action." So following your impulse, gut or whatever we can call it, may lead to something great. If not, maybe you get a good story out of it at least. I would say follow your impulses if it does not hurt someone else. And don't follow impulses that would hurt yourself either. I mean, you still have to use your head and good judgment. Kind of like it's a great idea to jump out of a plane and skydive. Just make sure you have a great instructor on your back or better yet, knowledge in your backpack to do it yourself. Just Do It!
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