“The essence of optimism is that it takes no account of the present, but it is a source of inspiration, of vitality and hope where others have resigned; it enables a man to hold his head high, to claim the future for himself and not to abandon it to his enemy.” -Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Optimism is life’s way of giving us light. It is a beacon that shows us our path and opens up a down feather lightness for our lives to cuddle in. It allows us to sort, shift, and discover the parts we need and love best from moments that seem heavy, dark and unending.
As our personal fountain of hope, optimism not only inspires and allows us to relax into ourselves, but it’s power lies in it’s regenerative process. Good thing optimism begets optimism, we all need it in unlimited supply.
It’s easy to forget that thinking and feeling optimistic about yourself, a situation, or your life in general is only a thought away. But it is the hardest to do when we are completely wrapped up in believing our negative mental thoughts. And that is precisely when we most need our own positive reinforcement.
To cultivate more optimism in my life, I try to do very small things that can reap huge rewards. A few times throughout the day I’ll stop what I’m doing and sit silently. It’s like a small check-in with how I’m feeling, where I am, and what my thoughts are thinking. I notice and then proceed. If I was thinking something really negative, I may laugh out loud at myself to break the hold negative thinking can have. Or I might say the word “hope” or “intention” in my mind to break the downward spiral. Then, I let it go. This is hard, so it helps me to visualize the negative thought literally being enveloped by a balloon or a bubble and floating away. Sometimes I even imagine myself waving at it. Buh-bye!
Optimism helps us see—see our selves as part of the greater whole and the humor in all that we do. It enables us to more freely create for the world (like giant thumb’s up sculptures in gold) and bring joy to everyone who experiences our work. Optimism allows us to be and give our best, which in turn is the best gift we can give our selves.
Pietopia is officially here! Starting tomorrow (May 21st), you can officially enter your 300 word explanation of what your life tastes like, in a pie. I am so excited to see all the flavors of your lives come together in this fun contest! But wait, it gets better–if you are one of the first 50 people to enter, you will receive a Pietopia Pie Crust kit! This includes Stone-Buhr flour, the recipe for Grand Central Bakery’s perfect pie crust, a coupon for butter from Organic Valley, all wrapped up in a great little bag! You can pick them up at Grand Central Bakery, I’ll be sure to let you know which one’s will have them when you enter.
To enter, click here to pay the $10 entrant fee then email pietopiacontest@gmail.com your story and recipe. To read more details about the contest and about the judges, you can see it all on the Pietopia page. We have such a fantastic line up of prizes and judges, this is going to be the best Pietopia yet! I’m really looking forward to your stories–they’ve been amazing every year and this year I know will be no exception. May the pie be with you–and good luck!
Pietopia Recap What does it taste like to be unemployed, starting a new job, just married, divorced, a new homeowner or desperately searching for housing? What kind of pie would describe the way you are feeling right now? Could you imagine your thoughts, concerns or joys transformed into the All-American Pie? This is a call to entry that has been put out for the past two years to the city of Portland, my current hometown, to find out what the flavor of peoples lives are through a pie.
To participate, please submit your pie recipe and written explanation, including why you chose the recipe and how the taste of it relates to the current state of your life in under 300 words starting May 21st through the deadline of June 25th 2010. Submissions will not be accepted after the June 25th deadline. The project will culminate with an exhibition of the winners at the Portland Farmer’s Market Buckman between 20th and Salmon on Thursday August 5th, 2010. Each winning pie will receive a limited edition screen print reflecting the ideas in the written statement. Pies will be judged upon the creativity and innovativeness in ideas reflecting the ingredients used in the recipe for the first round of judging by the food-writers panel, and for how well the actual flavor aligns with your story in the second round of juding by the bakers panel. The contest is not limited to Portland residents, anyone, anywhere can enter!
Get as creative or as traditional as you want with your pies! Savory, sweet, fruit, cream, custard, meat, or vegan, do it up! The winners will bring their pie’s to the Buckman Farmer’s Market (20th and Salmon SE) August 5th, 2010 for some good old fashioned tasting (yes, that’s right, free pie tasting! yum!). Come and and find out what the taste of your community is like! Plus check out the amazing silk-screens that will be specially designed for each winning pie, the 2010 edition pie plates done by an amazing local ceramicist, a raffle, and more!
We witnessed a full spectrum of spectacular things today from the historic relic to the campy cut-out. Not to mention the fresh air! And Grace, I totally agree–google is a great resource–what the heck would we do with out it? Great guesses everyone! Only a few more days to go, cheers!
(This baby hump back whale came right up to Andrew and I in our little skiffer! The driver said she had never seen anything like it before… whale whisperers…it was incredible)
Great guesses! Keep ‘em coming–if you think you know, the more specific you are, the better! I didn’t catch this on camera, but as the sun was setting, we saw a whale breech the water (jump out of it, full body) three times in a row. It was a good day!
Hello there! These are the first clues of the Where in the World…? series happening here this week. Just leave a comment and try to guess where I am! The first four correct will win a print that I’ll mail to you upon my return home. Don’t worry if you think the comments already there are correct–give it a shot, you might be surprised where I actually am. Good luck!
Over the course of the next seven days, I will be embarking on an exciting adventure and traveling far from home. Each post I do next week will be of a new picture from one of the places I will be visiting. Here’s the exciting part, if you guess correctly where the picture is by leaving a comment, I will send you a print of it when I get back! Did you ever play the game “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?” I think there may have even been a TV show at one point. However, the board game was one of my absolute favorites as a kid–and the memory of it plus this trip has inspired my very first blog game + giveaway! If you are one of the few who know where I am, please don’t tell the others or leave a comment! Thank you!
Bon Voyage and good luck!
