OK, everybody, look UP! Do you see her? My new butterfly designed by Hyedie from happy D designs! Isn’t she gorgeous?! And so much more bold and glamorous than the pixelated version I had up before. I just learned that word, pixelated. There are SO MANY more words for me to learn related to computers, blogging, and all that other stuff. I’m starting to integrate some of it into my regular vocabulary which is a good sign that maybe my brain still is a little plastic and can stretch to accommodate this new information. The other day I said to my husband, “There are so many awesome tools out there in the blogosphere that can help with platform building!” (Like this one from Rachel Harrie.) He looked at me, proudly, and said, “Blogosphere! I like that!” When I told him I didn’t make that up, the blogosphere is where blogs…live…he had this incredulous look on his face. So, maybe I’m a little more integrated into the world of blogs than I give myself credit for. Still, there is much to learn, my friends.
Anyway, you can get a full look at my butterfly over on my facebook page. There will be more changes to come here at Let ME Out…stay tuned!
Every morning I turn my phone on and click on everything with a red star beside it. News from the outside. And from way the heck over in Dushanbe, Tajikistan I received an email from my cousin, Tasneem, who also partly resides in the blogosphere. Her blog would be of interest to those of you who enjoy travel, learning about other cultures and parenting in other countries. In her email this morning, she sent a link to an article called The Greatest Gift You Can Give Your Child by freelance writer and life coach Diana Reyers. I encourage you to take a few minutes to read this article and remember that awesome question: Who Do You Be?
Diana makes the excellent point that many of us are conditioned and groomed into adulthood by being praised for WHAT we are good at, not necessarily WHO we are as…say it with me…human BEings. She suggests that we end up in work situations that are geared toward our skills set and not necessarily our passions. And the things we are good at might not necessarily be motivating or leave us feeling fulfilled. Take a second to think about that. Does it make sense to you?
I am always at a loss when I have to come up with a bio or even a Twitter profile. What engages me about other people’s bios is the quirky little things they so confidently acknowledge about themselves. In this article, Diana talks about the idiosyncrasies that make her her, and what ran through my mind was it took me forever to realize how much I love wool socks. When it finally struck me that this would be a cool thing to write on my Twitter profile, I did so with gusto! And oddly, I have received some private messages from tweeps (another word I learned this past summer) about how much they love wool socks, too. Nobody comments on the “titles” I give myself, but they are drawn to what makes me ME.
Read the article again and think about your children, or the kiddos you may know through friends and family. It made me think about the things for which I praise Inaya.
Inaya on her 4th birthday, being her goofy, girly self!
If you haven’t had the chance to read the article in its entirety, here’s the last paragraph that had light bulbs flashing all over the place for me:
“As parents, if we are brave enough to move our egos aside and ask our child the right questions, we will inspire her to be herself rather than what we think she should become. By encouraging her to understand what feeds her soul, she will easily find her way. This is the ultimate accomplishment for a parent; choosing to inspire your child to find authentic happiness simply by guiding her to self understanding. This then leads her to knowing “who” she is and, ultimately, what she is meant to “do.” This is the greatest gift you can give your child — that little plant of self-understanding.”
