WORDup, it’s your code word for 2023
“Word up, it's the code word No matter where you say it You'll know that you'll be heard.” Cameo, 1986 It's unbelievable how this is my tenth year of choosing words v resolutions. In 2014, I was in Singapore with a new business and new partner-my word was #possibilities. This year, my WORDup is #outdream . At first, my word got pushback from others (which I value). It was seen as competitive (I am), it was seen as impossible (it's not), and there was fear that I wouldn't be able to do it (I can). I saw this quote from [...]
Release What No Longer Serves You
I’m on #onehappyisland where it is sunny, 85, and everything feels Insta worthy. But I felt funky. Down. Out of sorts. I even canceled my therapy session. My therapist’s response, “Ok. Rest up and feel better! Day after Solstice is a day of releasing what no longer serves.” Inspired by her words, I took out my journal and wrote “Releasing what no longer serves me” at the top. My MOXIEmoment is embracing my funk, listening to it, and then learning to release it. This ritual reminds me of Johnny’s last words of advice to me, “Sis, relax. Breathe. Be cool. [...]
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Changemaker
You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen. Comet and Cupid and Donner and Bitzen. But do you recall that Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was a changemaker after all? To get in the holiday spirit and spend time with my niece who pretty soon may not want to hangout with us at children’s musicals anymore, we went to the Stages production of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical. Watching Rudolph with my niece and partner Michael brought tears of joy, nostalgia, and frustration. My MOXIEmoment is realizing that like me, Rudolph is a changemaker. He stands up for himself [...]
Hope Is A Form Of Planning
In the past, I was a Presidential voter. I made sure I voted for President no matter where I was in the world-including Tokyo and while living out of a backpack. I was proud of myself for doing my civic American duty. Now, I have a deeper appreciation of the value of my vote, and I vote during Midterms too-especially during Midterms. This year, I blocked two hours in my calendar, put the address of my voting center into my phone, and put my voting card in my wallet to make sure I was ready to vote on November 8th. [...]
Tornadoes, Sharks, and Bears. Oh my!
It’s 3am. Do I get up or try to fall back to sleep. I’m unsettled-this feeling is not going anywhere. I turn the bedside lamp on at my Airbnb in Townsend, TN. What’s bothering me? The 800 plus emails in my inbox? Nope. The session I’m leading in three days about the intersection of race and gender? Nope. Hiking the bear infested Smokies? Yep! Three of my biggest fears in life are tornadoes, sharks, and bears. Fear. Noun : an unpleasant emotion caused by being aware of danger : a feeling of being afraid : a feeling of respect and [...]
Liza’s Light
I tap my FitBit, scroll until I find walk, and hit go. I need a walk. I just drove three hours and had crap sleep again. Maybe tonight I need to take two melatonin gummies? I need the sun, the walking meditation, and to figure out how to instill hope to female faculty/staff in a country that is attacking women daily: Roe v Wade, maternal deaths, suppressed voting rights, and murdering women for being female. As I take my first steps onto the trail, I walk by a group of young men gathered in a circle. I think, “If they [...]
