YUNA – like the switch of a season, she brings cherry blossoms to her oceanic vibe, birds chirping to her repetition, snow falling to her comforting voice. I discovered her at a Pier Concert in Santa Monica right before I moved to the East Coast and whether I am writing for myself or for others, she gets it all out of me.
YUNA – and we’re the same age! Miraculous Find.
Being that I write alongside music, I have discovered this safe place, much like the running zone of a long distance runner. Since I happen to do both, running marathons and writing, I have been able to compare these zones of consciousness I tap into, as I constantly drift off to never-never land when writing, when thinking, when running, when teaching, when drinking coffee.
Always in the zone! Flip-Flop Wedding in Cali 🙂
Moving to the East Coast has triggered a permanent running zone now. It was cultivated in California and the life I lived there gave me all the tools I needed to get the most out of this life. Here, on the opposite side of the country, I get to use the tools, manipulate them, and analyze them – like being in a constant running zone with no interruptions.
No interruptions in a world like this 🙂 East Coast Life, March 2015
And now, as I prepare to head home to visit the people who lovingly gave me each tool or instilled in me the faith to use them, I find that the running zone is continuing in a deeper way – taking me to a deeper part of the heart, where I can contemplate on another level, listening to every part of myself simultaneously, like a song on repeat. Now, I am able to go back to all of these people and places mentally, while in the zone of my present life.
Flying home! To laugh harder, love more, and hug with awareness!
St. Teresa de Avila compares the soul to the many rooms of a mansion, which she refers to as the Interior Castle. She shares,
“These people are sometimes in the castle before they have begun to think about God at all. I cannot say where they entered it or how they heard their Shepherd’s call: it was certainly not with their ears, for outwardly such a call is not audible.”
Not only does St. Teresa define all the rooms of the mansion, but she shares her insight taken from prayer about the many versions of ourselves and where we are in relation to the rooms of the mansion, or if we are even aware of it at all.
#GetIt 🙂 Warm and true for you to use!
Like anything else, any book or concept, her analogy of this interior castle to the soul adheres to you in a particular way. It struck me hard, as I am a person who clings to my interior with all my might and have relied on it greatly throughout life without even noticing. I can’t help but feel that my mansion is finally visible to me and now to others as well. I can see all the rooms available. I can see which ones I’ve entered, which ones I am avoiding, and which ones I crave to be in.
I crave to give and share love.
Looking at life on the West Coast to the present on the East Coast, I have that aerial view of my soul and of life through the mansion and its many rooms. Although, it feels more like God showing me my life from the sky above, like a movie trailer premiering different previews of the past. I am a fly on the wall to my own life. And because of this, I get to soak it all up in a deeper way – like the most beautiful gift you could ever receive. I get to laugh at the funniest and best moments all over again, from the inside. I get to cry and feel the pain that I was once numb to and then embrace the beauty of healing and crossing a Finish Line, all over again. I get to let all the past feelings pour in and out of me in the most beautifully healing, rhythmic way – like waves constantly forming, crashing, receding, and calming down, only to repeat the cycle. I get to rake in the applause and receive those flowers of recognition one more time, but this time, I am aware of the acknowledgements and of the genuine praise I could not see behind it all.
Feel the Love, Feel the Support! Synergy Charter Academy Faculty, August 2013
And finally, there is an endless amount of love that I cannot keep all to myself.
Though, I have always been that way, I now feel the overwhelming power of this love I have and receive. I can see how it is literally always at the max and that I crave to share it with the world. This love is more radiant than ever. Not for just a person one day, but in my heart: for everything and everyone.
Not my dog. Got a lotta love for this world…and it’s coming from a very, real and true place.
There is no turning back from this heavenly place. Once entered into such a part of life, your soul and your heart are sold. It shows you that even the darkest parts of this world, cannot touch you. They cannot taint you permanently. Fear, denial, selfishness, and vanity – all the horrible things of this world don’t compare to the strings that tug at your heart and soul from the goodness ofthis world. The pull of the GOODNESS is so much stronger than the bad.
Once your heart tastes where it is supposed to be, it stays there and there is no stopping it.
And that is the most comforting piece of advice I’ve concluded, from my own experiences and reflections.
In this permanently sweet, running, zone – For Life.
Humbling yourself to the people around you, to the books in the window, to the songs on the radio, to the palm trees standing so tall and still, is a good start. It is simply all there for you. More helpful and comforting than any therapist you could ever pay for. Truer than any advice anyone can give you. And you will feel this certainty, this utter wisdom that comes from the goodness of the world, immediately. Tapping into this interior world will implode all the bad lurking within, and like a magnet, your heart will attract only the goodness, from this moment on.
Attracting only the goodness with “The Life, Love, and Volleyball Series” at the Sorrento Courts in Santa Monica!
The toolbox is all around and ready to be accessed. Your heart is already there at the Finish Line, waiting for you to get on board. Just allow your mind to see it, use it, listen to it, and believe in it.
As put forth by one of my wise friend’s rock climbing talks, “So I encourage you, when you are standing at the edge of the mountain . . . jump off it!”
Jumping off MY MOUNTAIN – into the Pacific. (Santa Monica, 2013)
He is a skilled and avid rock climber with a philosophy continuing to grow deep within. To us close friends of his, it appeared as though everything just happened to work out for him. Fellowship here, great job there, and then he took off to South America to climb mountains and came back to start his own business?! What?!
He had been asked to give a talk at R.E.I. about the year he “jumped off the mountain” – the year he left a stable, salary-paying job to embrace a Gap Year of some sort. We were all about to bail on him, thinking, “He’s just going to share some clips about his trip – we can hear that over a night at Cabo Cantina!” But there was a deep sense of a new phase beginning – as if we were all transitioning at the same time. We paid attention to this lurking feeling and decided to go. From our partying days of 2-4-1 happy hours to now being able to enjoy a craft beer and spit ideas back and forth, we knew this was only the beginning.
The Santa Monica Fam Bam – Friends for Life since 2012
His talk included insight into how to “jump off the mountain” with everything you do. And what is it that most of us single, goal-oriented people do? We work. And we don’t just work like our parents did to provide and create stability for a family. We work, like we are dying tomorrow – like we need to leave a legacy behind just for ourselves! Because remember, we are the single ones out of the bunch.
In that moment, of watching one of our partners in crime give this short, sweet, yet powerful talk, I saw the true colors of our generation. His words were embedded into my subconscious. I couldn’t escape it. It would only be time before I started “jumping off the mountain” as well. As I was already on this path of launching from one phase to the next, I would see his words coming into fruition in my own life, making me, yet, another product of this generation.
Bloomified is a product of this generation 🙂
This friend, the rock climber, ended up following his inner philosophy and left the comfort of his salary-paying job to start a business with another one of our friends. From his story, to countless others’ who are leaving behind the salary to have the best of both worlds, this generation is becoming fully alive – fully defining itself.
I feel like I just connected the dots, where I can see how our generation began to transition. It seems that we are the result of a driven childhood. One of endless, extracurricular schedules like year-round sports, student council or ASB, Junior Statesmen of America (JSA), Mock Trial – all the while, attending Princeton Review sessions and passing AP courses to minimize that future college tuition.
Big Name, Big Shname – Young Profeshes of 2013
The parents of our generation knew where to live, in order to provide a sheltered bubble where we could play hard and study hard – without being put into jail or making any major life-threatening decisions. Most of us are a result of the burbs, or living just outside the city. Some, coming from the lax vibe of the Midwest, but still, all raised to attend the best colleges or at least a well-rounded private school that could make up for anything our parents missed.
We got it covered, to say the least. So, when we graduated with honors or at least flying colors, we entered into the work field confidently. Succeeding in the work field and witnessing just how “smart” we had become, whether our bosses gave us promotions right away or they sent us to China to give a quick presentation, we were doing everything we were expected to, since the day our parents signed us up for Club Soccer.
But, then, a day came when we began to think for ourselves. After achieving all that we wanted to achieve and peaking a little early, we asked, Then what? Should I just keep getting promotions and doing well? Because, I know, I will.
Taking on the world now . . . The Grove 2013
That confidence began to spark deeper reflection on what we are capable of in this life, in this world, and in this nation. And the more everyone started eating Kale around us and the music became nothing short of a tangible inspiration to our goals and dreams, spontaneously, gifted creativity began to escape our veins. We began to think of an alternative version to what our parents wanted for us:
Well, if I can do well at anything, then why not start my own company, start my own establishment, start my own non-profit?
If I can handle loads of pressure from a boss, then why not be my own boss?
If the mission of my company says “this”, then why not create my own mission to serve the needs of this world?
Thus, the plunge of start-ups, inspirational writing, and support for one another began. And the more I immerse myself into this community of hard working, creatively passionate, driven individuals, the more I meet more members of the crew. Once we acknowledge that we are one in the same, we begin to vibe on the same playing field. More importantly, we feel that much more inclined to support one another in all of our endeavors. From talks at R.E.I. to documentary screenings in a warehouse somewhere in Costa Mesa, we are supporting the true colors of our generation.
Supporting is as simple as being a regular at a local spot you believe in. Vigilante Coffee of Hyattsville, Maryland.
We admire how much of ourselves is being given to the new company, the new blog, the new coffee shop. We admire how we no longer feel like we are “working.” It’s like we all affirmed that Club Soccer and high G.P.A.’s could only lead to this – to a world where no one is the boss anymore!
We have freed ourselves from the old mantra of “living this life to just work and provide,” where retirement was the Finish Line. Instead, we are using ALL of our gifts and talents to put the individual first – like living the best of both worlds. As a result, the family structure is evolving as well. As individuals seek to “do what they love,” they are able to bond in a more attentive, aware way with their children and companion.
My nephew – a product of this generation’s family structure. Hyattsville, Maryland 2015
This generation is simply ideal, efficient, and attractive. We find we gravitate towards those on this same playing field and realize that following our hearts, embracing intuition, and maintaining our committed work ethic since childhood, is what it will take to sustain this lifestyle, in order to make it all naturally come together.
Naturally!!! 🙂 The blessings flow throughout and extend to all you love. Cali Familia 2014
What will become of this new family structure, this new community of creatively, brave individuals? All I know is, the vibe has never felt better – has never been so grounded. And since I took the plunge for myself, I only grow more into this generation in a natural way, becoming a wiser, more authentically kind, and intuitive soul. What more could we want for the next generation?
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“Blessed”
by: Brett Dennen
I welcome the sun
The clouds and rain
The wind that sweeps the sky clean and lets the sun shine again
This is the most magnificent life has ever been
Here is heaven and earth and the brilliant sky inbetween
Blessed is this life and i’m going to celebrate being alive (x4).
I dwell in the darkness
I let in the light
I sleep in the afternoon and become the noise in the night
I trespass in temptation suffer in sacrifice
But I awake each day with the new sunrise.
Blessed is this life oh, and I’m gonna celebrate being alive (x4)
Since when are Baristas the healthy equivalent to Bartenders? Today, Baristas and their Coffee Houses sure are embracing their role, more authentically than ever. I’m incredibly grateful to be a regular customer and thus, a mere byproduct of our generation’s Coffee House Authenticity.
It’s a great time to be single and free Coast to Coast as I dive deeper into my soul and read into the vibes and energies of such places. Once an avid pub-crawler – dressed in silly costumes from Saint Paddy’s Day to, WELP, might as well have been Flag Day, I have become loyal to the coffee bar atmosphere for many reasons.
The coffee bar atmosphere seems to be another learning ground to patent who you are and ultimately discover how the YOU will bring grace and love to others.
Big Bear Cafe in Northwest D.C. Killer coffee happy hour menu. Get cozy.
Within this learning ground, there’s a creative energy present that almost gives you more of a rush than the smell of coffee beans. It appears that entering a coffee shop has an instant effect on you, much like the adrenaline rush you get when you’re about to put a dollar down to shoot pool in a bar. And yes, both places cultivate a similar energy brought on by music, people, and drinks. Even though both places can be taken to the extreme, as some cannot simply sip on a smooth pour over made with care much the same way some cannot sit in a bar and enjoy one, nice, cold Porter – overall, if used correctly, both places can allow for genuine interaction amongst strangers, guided by the energy of all who work there and the music flowing throughout.
Now, to get into the depths of a coffee house; for starters, there is a bar to sit at in most hip, coffee joints. There is the feeling of being a local. Or if you’re a visitor, the Baristas will memorize your favorite drink for the time being, like at an all-inclusive resort. Finally, the music volume tends to range from a little above Barnes N’ Noble, to not blasting – as opposed to an actual bar with an iTunes Jukebox where, let’s face it, someone requested T-Swift or Journey way too many times.
Speaking of music, this might be the best part aside from the hip camaraderie and social-networking that goes on in these hipster, eco-friendly, sober bars. The music is always a reflection of the hub of current location. Some of Los Angeles’ best coffee shop vibes leaned toward the latest electro-indie pop to the most underground remixes of Marley’s hidden tracks or rare 90’s Hip-Hop, unreleased hits. LA would plant a little Red Hot Chili Peppers every now and then to remind you of its roots and then ease into some reggae-alternative flavor like Slightly Stoopid from San Diego or a trendy melodic-pop duo such as Foster the People and Passion Pit back-to-back, getting you ready to skate home.
Getting in that Coffee Bar Melodic-Mood. Bound for Vigilante Coffee in Hyattsville.
Here in D.C., they have proven to encompass a broader selection of music that keeps the customers happy, but still quite selective – to infuse a sort of intellectual city crossed with artsy and vintage originality. You go to specific coffee shops here like you would only go to Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s. One headphone out and one headphone in, you tend to mix your own playlist with their mix of references back to Zeppelin and Neil Young. Then, they infuse the place with some major melodies. That’s right, no words. Instrumentals of all kinds from what I assume to be a well-crafted Pandora station. Sometimes it’s just a repetitive mix of pedals and digital-pop with occasional guitar strumming (possibly inspired by Daft Punk), when they round it back to something familiar like Miike Snow’s “Animal” or Edward Sharpe’s “Home”, where you appreciate lyrics once again and feel like you’re right back on Abbott Kinney.
All the while, you are acclimating to the spot that you chose to sit in, once you received your Rwanda Karenge pour over from the bar.
Ethiopian Pour Over at La Colombe in Northwest D.C.
Unbeknownst to others, this moment, in which you choose your seat for focusing and doing work, happens to be the beginning of the weeding out process of all Wi-Fi, trending coffee spots – some will choose to stay until closing and some are just parking it for the taste. Just like going to a local bar by yourself to play pool or to catch part of Monday Night Football, only certain types truly enjoy being on their own in such a place. This solo, public-thriving identity is really defined as wanting to be surrounded by people like ourselves, but nonetheless, strangers to one another.
All the while, we are subconsciously open to discovering how places like these tick. We begin to wonder what is secretly being given back to us, other than their flavorful coffee and carefully designed work space. It turns out, places like these contain a truth that we’ve been seeking far and wide. The truth held within such a place says:
Locales that define us attract an intimate group of people whom we are capable of having a deeper connection with, simply upon initial conversation.
Where will YOUR seat be? (Vigilante in Hyattsville, MD)
The coffee bar then becomes a safe place to truly connect with the world and witness yourself in it, like you’ve just hit play on a secret security recording of the shop. There is a process for how to get acclimated in such a setting and how to be ready to enter a world of pure authenticity. First, we must deal with our anxieties. You might walk through the door stressed out about something, still tainted from the world outside. This must dissipate before you can fully embrace the coffee shop in its entirety.
Then, there is the issue of whether or not you are sitting right smack in the middle of the place, off to the side, back to the crowd, at the bar, or looking out the window. Your position in the room could limit your ability to take the authentic plunge into interacting with whomever you wish. It’s up to you where you choose to make your mark – the secret is, you can always get up and move, especially when it comes to needing outlet access. And you can always ease your way into sitting in spots that you used to avoid. Much like the process of choosing your spot on the sand or deciding where to stand in the lineup to play pool against all the big sharks in the neighborhood, you are ready to fully embrace the coffee shop.
Elvis’ Pool Table in Graceland. Where would YOU stand?
Part of what is interesting about a coffee shop is that, yes, people are paying attention to you whether you want the attention or not. You have the choice to create your own space and energy, like painting how you want to come off to the world or like surrendering to a place so that it can define you! As you let the music take you over while you read, write, or study, you begin to see yourself the way the world sees you. When I used to walk into a bar by myself and approach the pool table, it was a similar experience. I immediately would get nervous as I knew the lineup in front of me was much more experienced than I. Just looking down at how each dollar was folded or quarter was positioned, I knew I was going to have to create my own identity as a future Shark. In the beginning, I forced myself to play one-on-one, lose games and be humiliated as I had to lose by 6 or 4 balls in front of the pool scene. After a while, as I showed up more and more to play, a respect was built around the table. They knew my face and they knew I wanted to improve. The Sharks of Venice took me under their wing and began to show me a few tricks, but more importantly they began to share their lives with me.
Recruiting Sharks in D.C.
I soon realized, my skills in shooting pool were less novice than my skills in approaching the pool table in the first place.
I was not going in there with the intention to get to know the people in the room; I was going in there to get better at a sport I enjoyed and to be by myself in the world amongst strangers. It wasn’t until I made a genuine effort to get to know each person around the table, did I begin to develop true Shark attributes. I think of how I became friends with people from all walks of life, in the Shark world. Since pool is only a dollar, I met many who were living on the margins. They confided in me about their pasts and how they looked at life differently now. I met young founders of start-ups struggling with addictions and struggling to let go of the superficial lifestyle that Los Angeles often tempts us with. I met screen writers, sailors, and old couples who just lived a simple life and wanted to share their wisdom around the table. We all bonded through the sharing of our stories and surrendering to the present. I think of these memories every time I choose my place in a coffee shop. Now, when I walk into my favorite local spots, I scan the room for a space that screams, “Diane!”, with the same intentions of how I learned to approach the pool table. Then, I order my drink and graciously head over to where I will plant myself for the next few hours, much like how I used to order my drink at the bar and lay down my dollar folded into fourths, defining my spot with all that I am.
Through this process of learning how to feel absolutely comfortable with the world around me and with myself, the energy created in my work space became an “Embraces Life” vibe. Everyone gives off a different vibe according to their own experiences and this happens to be mine. I am able to see this as I look down on myself interacting in coffee shops and through the affirmations of people who have become a part of my life from the coffee shop itself.
When people see me or sit near me, they can tell that I am working on a project of which I am very excited about or focused on. They can also tell that I am not too focused to where I would ignore them or not feel their presence. They get the sense that I am a safe place for me and for others. They admire my slight-smile work ethic, occasional bobbing to music as I work diligently, to the point where they start to think, “Is it possible to feel that at ease while working?” And the answer is YES. Part of our purpose here, I believe, is to share this consistency of authenticity with the world no matter where we are – in a bar, in the grocery store, in the library, at work, running in the neighborhood, having dinner, and the list goes on. People need to know that it actually exists, and that they can join the party. Simply being in a coffee shop or playing pool by ourselves at the bar shares this notion with the world. People feel it, see it, understand it, learn from it, and then go home, reflect, and come back the next day trying to implement it. Someone once was my example of consciously, authentic living and now after years of embracing this lifestyle, I realize it is important to pass the secrets along.
Reflecting on the secrets at Big Bear Cafe in Northwest D.C.
In terms of acclimating and owning who you are while on display, we coffee shop kiddos and solo bar-hoppers are open to genuine conversation much like the Sharks of Venice were, even when I couldn’t see it. It’s in the occasional eye contact that is given to the person walking in, or the lad who just took a seat at the adjacent table; it’s in the quick head nod to the Barista thanking him silently for everything he’s provided for the past 90 minutes. It’s in the subtle smile towards the girl who is sitting alone and keeps trying to bring up everything and anything to make a new friend. With that, I have tried to befriend every type of person I could possibly think would walk into a coffee house.
My favorite “new friends” are the brainstormers – the two guys or gals that spitball ideas back and forth in a hype-hype manner with endless creativity for their current start-up or business idea. Next, I welcome anyone new, because someone once pulled me out of the crowd on my first day and showed me the way as well. Finally, anyone who is leaning back and taking a break from working, is observing and just taking it all in – they are the cream of the crop! I find that we are much in the same; we love to work and are passionate about whatever we are doing, but we never forget where. we. are. The same way you could be swimming in the ocean, diving under each wave, and then at some point you come up for air and just float – soaking up every ounce of sun, almost becoming one of the seals, watching the animals crawling beneath you on the ocean floor, and savoring the calm waters before the next wave begins to build.
Coming up for air and just taking it all in…remember where you are, at Vigilante.
Some of my best conversations and realizations have occurred in a coffee bar.
To top off this whole experience, we can take home every ounce of the creativity that we develop in the midst of a coffee house. Some of my best ideas have sprung up somewhere in between taking it all in and a bite of a ham and cheese croissant. In the end, we leave this experience having been utterly affected by the authenticity of such a place. We leave with an even brighter perspective on this world. One of appreciating every type of person, who metaphorically walks in the door. One of seeing the world as one, giant classroom. One of being present in every moment, where eye contact is a must and knowing a stranger’s name means more than any surface level conversation we could have with someone we already know.
I leave the coffee shop understanding that the “local for life” I have become doesn’t necessarily mean I have to go to the same place every time; but rather, it is the fact that I can create that local energyfor and with others.
It’s a lifestyle that continues to bloom and sees beauty in everything and everyone. Cali Green Fin Wine Bottle & Hydrangea.
Making someone else feel that comfortable, minus ALL theanxiety, as if we have just handed them the cup of coffee we knew they already preferred and put on their favorite song to show them that they can be “at home” when they talk to us, is the key to truly connecting with others. It’s based on more than kindness, it’s more than being genuine – it’s an effortless knowing, coming from a very real place that we all have inside of us. There are many of us out there who have found this sweet spot of interacting; it’s up to US ALL though, to spark it whether we are in the coffee bar or not – a local wherever we go.
No one is in a rush here :). Sit down and get comfortable at Vigilante in Hyattsville.
Maybe someone once did this for me? Maybe this is what coffee shops and playing pool allowed me to discover? Maybe this is what I find when I hang out with the homeless gents and women as we make eye contact, shake each other’s hand, and get each other’s name, so that we can be in each other’s life somehow?
There is an authenticity in actively taking part in the deeper vibe of this world as if we are actually a part of one classroom.
… All in a 2-hour snow delay that turned into a day off from school – I found myself heading to my neighborhood coffee house, Vigilante, my home away from home.
It’s more than a cup . . . Barista Artist Cred: Austin of Vigilante.
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“Don’t Save Me”
by: HAIM
Never thought that I would grow so old of seeing the gold
Still I never want it to go
I would hold it up to my cold heart
Feel the way it used to start up
Take me back, ta-ta-take me back to the way that I was before
Hungry for what was to come
Now I’m longing for the way I was
You say you will, say you will save me
You say you will, say you will save me
You say you will, say you will save me
You say you will, say you will! Ah oh!
Take me back
Give it up, give it up to me
Cause I cant go on if your love isn’t strong
See I want it all
Give me, give me all your love
But if you can’t hold on
Then baby, baby don’t save me now, no
If your love isn’t strong
Baby! Don’t save me now, no, no
All my life I wasn’t trying to get on a high way
I was wondering which way to go
Spending all of my time
Leaving all the weight behind yeah
Take me back, ta-ta-take me back to the song, how’d it used to go? Oh?
Screaming for what was to come,
Now I’m dreaming ’bout the way I was
You say you will, say you will save me
You say you will, say you will save me
You say you will, say you will save me
You say you will, say you will! Ah, oh!
Take me back
Give it, up give it up to me
Cause I cant go on if your love isn’t strong
See I want it all
Give me, give me all your love
But if you can’t hold on,
Then baby, baby don’t save me now, no
Baby don’t save me now, no, no
And if I had to beg for your love
Tell me, tell me
Would it ever be enough?
Te-te-tell me
And if I had to beg for your love
Tell me, tell me
Would it ever be enough?
So baby, don’t save me
No Baby, don’t save me
Baby, don’t save me now, no, no
Baby, don’t save me now, no, no
Baby, don’t save me now no, no
Baby, don’t save me now no, no, no
Don’t save me
Don’t save me
