Welcome to Less Is More the personal blog of a digital advertising connoisseur, media man, skier, somewhat avid cyclist, foodie, wine lover, car & history buff. Questions?
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
Just to reiterate its letters, not emails.
Ink > clicking
Tumblr friends from my world, as a gift to my self I will not be using Tumblr for 30 days beginning in the wee hours of tonight. I will be writing letters daily to one new person. If you would like to be a part of the mailings message me here privately your address and I will write you. My account will remain here to gather addresses, but I will out and very about. Oppppaaaa!
Also to clarify real letters, not emails (got a bunch of these so lmk)
Digital Darkness for Clear Clairvoyance.
Every morning for the past one year Aurora does her morning pages. Before she speaks she writes three pages, an outlet she learned from Julia Cameron.
It can be about dreams, illusions, what she wants from today, what she received from yesterday, or just allow her pen to do the talking. The best part though has to be her silence and anxiety while in search of a pen.
Give it a shot, I will be doing my morning pages as voice pages, because talking will always be my therapy.
“Just affirm your disbeliefs”
~Aurora
“Then immortalize them”
~Davaish
“That moment of brilliance will not escape you if you do it now.”
Find a field of flowers today and lay in it. Don’t think twice & pass it, stop the car. That moment will not come back just for you.
Then once laying down, you laugh so hard about where you are it doesn’t even matter when the bugs start crawling all over you. Instead you take a picture of a moment that is burned into your mind as a smile.
When you look at the picture and see the miles on your eyes you realize it doesn’t matter how bad you look. Your eyes are squeezed with joy because your smile is just that big.
It all doesn’t matter.
Just find your smile today.
It’s never too much, you just can’t handle my convictions.
Anon.
Can’t plan a moment.
Me
I remember the days sitting in the quad, under the sun and the cherry blossoms. My alma mater, Bucknell was 168 long miles from the love of life at the time in New York City. Days like this made it seem as though time had no respect for love or emotions. Petals fell off her tiny nose, and tears made it stick to her cheeks. I can still remember the smell of fresh cut grass and her perfume mixed in the air.
Spring skipped most of us this year, but my memories of spring from years ago
still haunt me with each floral scent.
The sun sets on another amazing trip. When is the next one? Who cares, it is too soon.
Tonight for a few more hours I relish the sun block smell, the taste of coconuts, sand in my shoes, the newly golden hairs, and the oddly placed tan lines. Was it all too much, too soon, too good?
Maybe, but I earned it.
Hiking is so different than running or walking or cycling. Your fingers cramp, you fear for life more than you enjoy what you are doing at times, and you fight mental and physically urges to not look down.
Then you reach the top, take a huge breath and say only one thing, “wow.” Almost everyone can’t say anything more than “wow.” I have hiked with plenty of people and this is the most used word, besides the occasional “whoa.” Maybe it is the lack of oxygen, or the hiking high, but in unison all that is said is “wow.”
Find your wow moment today, and I guarantee you it is not indoors.
When you pack for the beach never bring sun block. There is always someone at the beach you can say hi to with sun block and plus it’s a great way to meet new people.
Jane, a corporate lawyer from NYC was visiting Bermuda with her friend, and we ended up exploring a lot of the island together, all because of a little bottle of sun block.
In return I was able to teach her to play pool, perhaps a little too well (she almost beat me). I love to
give people the gift of a sport or a new skill, they will always remember you after that moment they try it.
She also turned out to be a great dancer and at 4am when her heels quit, I made sure the hot tub was ready to ache her tired soles.
Treat strangers, friends, dates, enemies, family with tenderness & care, and you will get the same in return from the world.
That said Jane was not pleased with the gentle nudge into the hot tub, but she smiled after soaking in the moment.
Today I soak in sun, spontaneous moments and simplicity.
Enshrouded by judgement, clouded by chance, I felt the dark cloud above
It was as if there was a storm that never intended to leave
Then one day I looked the other direction
I have been to hell and back, why would I ever return?
Keep going the other way.
It is happening now, all over again for the first time, happiness.
I think, that to keep [love] alive though, you can’t spend every day together. It wears out the magic, Love means nothing to me if it’s not fortified with fierce, painful longing, brief explosive instances of furious passion and intimacy and then a sad parting for a time. In that way, you can give your life to it and still have a life of your own. Passion builds over time like steam.
Let it rage until it’s exhausted and then leave it alone to let it build up again.
Why not let the days before you see her be excruciating and ferment in your mind so on the day you go to the airport to pick her up, you’re nearly sick with anticipation? And then when desire shows the first sign of contentment, throw it back it its cage and let it slowly build itself back into a state of starved fury.
Then when you are together, it all matters. So that when you look into her eyes, you lose your balance, so that when she touches you, it feels like you have never been touched before. When she says your name, you think it was she who named you. When she has gone, you bury your face in the pillow to smell her hair and you lie awake at night remembering your face in her neck, her breathing and the amazing smell of her skin. Your eyes go wet because you want her so bad and miss her so much.
Now that is worth the miles and the time. That matches the inferno of life. Otherwise you poison each other with your presence day after day as you drag each other through the inevitable mundane aspects of your lives.
Henry Rollins
Up high it seems as though nothing can touch you, but for me this is when anxiety begins. Something has to go wrong, something big, right? When it does, it it is a harsh reminder that reality is always kept in check by karma. You can’t escape the up’s and down’s of life, no one can, but you can prepare and attack them like a hill in cycling. So, when up high and alone, make sure you look down and remember your path and how you got there.
Live an honest and clean life and from what I have learned you can stay up high and soak in the sun.
Finding peace alone was very difficult for me to learn. In 2009 I left a 9 year relationship, and and I found my self incredibly co dependent and lonely. James Nord, now a dear friend and old roommate helped rebuild me. I found peace again running, cycling and eventually learning to take pictures. This journey did not happen over night, it took many awkward nights alone in restaurants until I realized all that fear is in your head.
Nights alone I spent staring at two place settings, cooking for two, wondering what will people think I am doing? I am not checking in anywhere interesting or posting about it. I have come to cherish those silent moments and adore my alone time. I continue to check in, but mainly for nostalgia ( i use time hop aka 4sq&7yrsago), so that the following year I can smile and see how far I came.
My older brother once told me in college go sit down and eat alone in the cafeteria. I gave it a shot, and even though it was painful at first I realized pleasing my self was far easier than anyone else.
I hope everyone today get’s a chance to wander and please your self.
After all this journey alone is yours to live.
