To Live a Full Life Requires Courage

The river stairs to my childhood home

To live a full life requires courage.

And being courageous requires doing and saying things that make us feel vulnerable. Things that are scary, emotionally risky and uncomfortable.

True intimacy with others, at it's core, is our single hardest task on earth.

Telling our truth and allowing & accepting who we truly are in our hearts, to reveal itself.

without worrying about the judgements of others.

And noticing where our truths resonate for us, and land, and wander,

and come back to us sometimes again 

and again, 

and again

for clarification,

It's good to ask ourselves in times of struggle why something is hard for us.

What keeps happening, that gets in our way?

What part of ourselves are we abandoning that needs to be revealed?

And what have we been tolerating in our life that it is time to let go of?

It's helpful to also remember that there isn't any losing in life, only learning.

So often we are afraid to fuck-up in life but it is there in the wake of what we

perceive to be a fuck-up, to be our greatest learning.

And the gift of a new internal compass for moving forward.

Chose faith, over fear, that things are going to work out,

and be curious and get excited to embrace the unknown.

Living a full life requires courage.

Being courageous means doing and saying things that make us feel vulnerable.

And honestly, being scared is one of the most alive and exciting places to be.

What new thing do you want to usher into your life that you need courage for?

What just whispered to you?

Sending love and courage,

🧡 Louise

Words to Live By

 

The Blow-Up Bra

In celebration of our new administration this week, I bring you a little humor and a true story.

Yes, a blow-up bra, inflated with something as simple as a straw. 

No bike pump needed.

Below, 94-year-old Betty Jenkins, tells her story about how an inflatable bra, that her mom gave her to wear, actually blew-up, in a most inconvenient place.

Imagine if they had something similar for a guy. 

I also love this animated version of her story:

The Blow-Up Bra (a handmade animation by Manual Cinema with audio story provided by StoryCorps) from Manual Cinema on Vimeo.

Comic Elixir

Thank you Agent Orange impersonator, SARAH COOPER, for helping us through this nightmare.

Keep it coming, you're fabulous!

Ten Years Ago Today

Ten years ago today.... I started Lines of Beauty.

529 POSTS later, I still get excited about having this online notebook to solidify my thoughts, on not just the process of aging, but more importantly, on life itself.

There have been some stretches however, when going through challenging times, that I have considered ending Lines of Beauty. I am so very grateful though that I didn't.

The blog has oddly become a dear friend to me.

Early on, I was hyper-focused on how many weekly hits the blog was getting but then decided that I needed to simply write, just for myself, and that anyone who happened to land here and found resonance with what I was sharing, was icing on the cake.

Thus for many years now, I rarely ever look at the blog's hits and stats.

However, today I looked back to MY VERY FIRST POST and was shocked to find that it has been viewed 28,094 times.

Holy motha'!

Something about this makes me feel good.

What is it that the shrinks say?
That more than needing to be loved, we just desire to be seen and acknowledged...

So if you are reading this, thank you.


I hope you all are doing okay out there.

For myself, I continue to begin each day, during this time of covid-19, as I have the last three difficult years, with two questions:

How can I take care of myself today?

and

What needs to be done?

Maybe ya'all are doing something similar?

In celebration of Lines of Beauty, I leave you with 10 THINGS FOR KEEPING A SOLID CENTER, as well as a video, which I especially love the humor of, because the only thing my mom ever complained about her aging body was her "crepey neck."

Thank you so much mama for not being a neurotic aging mother...


Happy Covid Easter and Passover 😯

Sending love out to all of you,

Louise

Humor & the Gifts of Aging

We forget some of the things that we are grateful and willing to give-up, along the aging journey.

Jane Caro reminds me a little of actress Emma Thompson.

She shares, most importantly amidst her humor, "Stop whining about getting old. It's a privilege."

So so true!

Whilst folding the laundry etc, enjoy.

xo,

Louise

What's The Secret

At almost 96-years-old my mom is having a good day, which hasn't been the case lately. Frequently I ask her questions and write down her answers to tuck away and have when she is gone.

Me: Mom what's the secret to a good life?

Mom: You tell me.

Me: No you tell me.

Mom: A happy smile.

Me: I like that.

Mom: I don't think I'm going to be climbing any mountains any more though :-)

Les Oiseaux et Les Abeilles

I don't often like to travel away from the topic of spiritual aging but this video is perfect for some Monday humor.

Sending love and lightness,

Louise

Love & Light

My mama turned 95 in January and I've been wanting to post this video of us singing happy birthday to her ever since. It was a fun celebration, with all 5 of her kids and spouses and many of her grandchildren. The perfect size for someone with growing memory problems. One of the things that we did to honor her was to all wear her favorite color (purple). She also requested that we all wear name tags to make things a little easier for her. We put one on her too, as you will see in the video :-)

I've wanted to post this because not only is it funny but it shows her continuing love of life and sense of humor, even in the adversity of losing her memory.  You'll see what I mean at the end of it.

Love and light cracks open the darker spaces, always.

Sending both to you,
Louise

 
Untitled from Lines of Beauty on Vimeo.

Swim Suit Season

We've been in the middle of a crazy & chaotic omgoddie kitchen renovation lately but I wanted to hop on here real quick amidst the dust and post this video. This Imomsohard duet are pretty funny.

Here is their latest.
I love how they start out with what "dudes get to wear to the beach."

xo

Turning Anxiety

I don't have an April Fool's joke to share with you this weekend but I do have a really good video for you. (thank you Bob).

I recently heard someone say that before they speak publicly that they jump up and down and slap their thighs. I didn't get it then but after seeing this, now I do.

I can't wait to try it the next time I have a swim race or have to speak in front of a group.

Happy snowy weekend if you're here in the northeast.
Maybe the storm is this year's April Fool's joke?

xo

What Is

In the wake of all the crazy things that are happening, such as the shootings in Fort Lauderdale recently, I'm finding it helpful to come back to what is right and what is working, and more than ever, to be very grateful for it all.

We can sometimes get so caught up in WHAT ISN'T can we not?

On the verge of the new presidency, I thought a bit of humor is in order for this week (see below).

With love to you all,
Louise

Twenty-Seventeen

I couldn't help posting this because it's so accurate and funny. The delicious coconut macaroons dipped in dark chocolate that I had a love affair with, not to mention the plentiful glasses of cheer, are now living not so peacefully on my thighs omgoddie. On this last day of the year I'm looking forward to a sugar detox to ring in the new year.

Well not a total sugar detox but just scaling back to my little bits of daily dark chocolate delights :-)

Happy New Year to you all!

May we do what we love to do and do it often.

Xo,
Louise

If Men Breastfed

Oh how I have missed writing but life has seemed too topsy-turvy lately while preparing to host Christmas.

Just between you and me, I hate the holiday hustle...frankly, besides the tree, sparkly white lights, yummy food and being together, I could just skip it. And even this I could skip. I know, I'm such a scrooge.

The best thing to me about December 25th is not having to do it again for 12 more months.

This year I vowed to keep it simple and not go near a mall. In fact, I vow to not go near a mall ever again if I can help it. I know this is stretching it however...although, we should get use to the concept as shopping malls are becoming a thing of the past, as they are slowly going extinct.

I'm enjoying buying from small independent shops and making things if I can and the rest is so easily done online with google images/google shopping. For instance, I wanted to get my 95-year-old mom some purple pajamas (her favorite color). They will go nicely with her purple glasses and her purple walker and her purple watch band :-)  Had I gone out into the world on foot to search far and wide for a pair that I like, it may have taken forever. However by googling them they were instantly in front me. Like magic.

For a bit of humor this week, I bring you this funny, over-the-top clip made by Naya, a breast pump company:

On the Eve of the Biggest Election in History

...To love people.


Thank you Papa for your never ending wisdom.


Tonight I miss you especially.

Sitting in a Chair in the Sky

A little humor this week.
I so love Louis CK. He's such a realist.

Wire Tap

How the process of growing-up never ends.

Thank you to Vera Flash for sending this in.

Libido As a Life Force

I came across this great video of Kim Anami, who is a holistic sex and relationship coach. She basically shares that whether it is self-love that we are enjoying, or love with someone else, it's all good and can carry us far into old age.

Amen for this.

Seriously, is there really anything more fun to do?

She also believes that creative energy and sexual energy are very similar, which I've heard before. She doesn't say so here but from my tantra studies both energies are housed in our our 2nd chakra (a few inches below the belly button).

If you press firmly here you will find it and notice a nice sensation. Sometimes I let it lull me to sleep.

She also speaks about creating vaginal muscles strong enough to pop-out a ping pong ball! She calls this vaginal kung-fu :-)

This, dear readers of mine, I am curious to read-up on.

Anyway, yesterday during a day off, I went for a run and listened to her "Spice Up: Libido As a Life Force" video and was thoroughly entertained, as I imagine you will be as well perhaps. So if you're heading out for a walk, or a run, or folding laundry, take it along with you- it's a quick 26 minutes.

Empathy

It's been a few weeks where I've kind of felt like the rug has been pulled out from underneath me a little bit. With a couple of things that have been going on.

I've felt sadness, anger, anxiety and not like the usual me.

I've even had the odd thought that I need to read Lines of Beauty and better ground myself!

I've needed to take my own advice or someone else's.

The good news is that I feel things shifting as of late and I'm in a much better place.

One thought that came to me, from my friend Cindy, is that we have to go through the darkness to see the light.

Which I think is totally true.

So while I've been moving through it, I've been making a point to do a few other things:

* Stop worrying about the things that I can't control.

* Trust the process.

* Continue to listen to my heart and allow myself to feel and express what I'm feeling.

* Stay well with exercise, whole food and sleep.

*Look for the silver lining.

* Be present and patient and keep working things through.


Feel free to add any of your own words of wisdom, dear readers of mine.

xo,
Louise


*Many thanks to Carolyn for sending in another great video from Brene Brown.

Homeland Security

Al fresco in the country. Photo by Caroline J. Fernandes

The last few weeks I've been posting to you from Madeira Island, Portugal where we spent the holidays in the homeland with Mr. Fix-It's entire family.

My father-in-law is from Madeira and 18 of us flew together to visit him and his Madeiran wife, who live out in the country. It was a long anticipated, epic event, to say the least.

20 people + 4 cars = staying in 3 locations on a very twisty-turny volcanic island....

...you can imagine how each day was an logistical exercise in patience. It all worked out however and was a great celebration together.

After the first week, because of the complexities of traveling with 20 relatives, I realized that I had had very few conversations of substance with anyone but myself! This changed however as we conquered the jet lag, the barking dogs, clucking chickens and settled into a groove with each other.

The bulk of us stayed at this spacious, awesome villa in the city for only $17 a night per person. This coupled with delicious $1.75 bottles of  Portuguese wine, and many rounds of card games, wove us tightly together in a way that we had never experienced before. I so love this family that I married into.

Described as "The Pearl of the Atlantic," Madeira was recently nominated by the National Geographic Channel as the best island destination in the world and it is understandable why.

I've posted about Madeira before here and here if you would like to see more photos and learn more about her majesty.