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Business Baby Shower - Special Guest: Cara Lopez Lee

9/16/2010

 
Our business baby shower gifts continue (see post on 8/16/2010 for explanation).
Author and world traveler extraordinaire Cara Lopez Lee answers the question:
How does your fun little girl self show up in your life now?


MAKING UP FOR LOST CHILDHOOD


By Cara Lopez Lee

When I was a little girl, though I followed my natural inclination to laugh at almost everything, my life itself became too serious too quickly. Between multiple divorces and busy careers, my family passed me from hand to hand, and sometimes it seemed as if no one was in charge of me. I became self-sufficient, self-motivated, and self-involved. I decided that I could rely on no one to look out for me, except me, and that no one else really needed me to look out for them. 

Though I often tried to play with other kids, few of them wanted to play with me. I was too precocious, too desperate to maintain control, and too determined to hold onto attention once I had it. When I was in third grade, another girl confided, “I do like you, Cara. The only reason I don’t play with you is because I don’t want the other kids to think I’m weird.”

Wow. 

As a girl, I repressed my more playful instincts. I was the kid who constantly waved her hand in the teacher’s face like Hermione from Harry Potter, who corrected all the other kids, who regurgitated political theories overheard from adult conversations. Being a grownup was exhausting. Maybe that’s why, almost the moment I turned 18, I made a u-turn and slowly found my way back to playfulness as a way of life. 

There’s still an underlying seriousness to all I’ve done as an adult: writing stories in hopes of connecting with people in meaningful ways, traveling in search of a better understanding of myself and the world, marrying a man who brings out the best in me and doing my best to return the favor, trying to be of service to my friends and to let them be of service to me. Yet, in all I do, I look for a chance to play.

How?
 

     -- As a writer, I play with words. Now that I’m writing a novel I even get to make things up.
     --  As a traveler, I’m constantly poking my nose into everything, like a little kid: What is that? Can we climb it? What are you doing? Can I watch? What’s next?
     --  As a photographer, I draw pictures of the world as I see it.
     --  As a wife, I often use these very words with my husband “Come play with me!”  From conversation, to hiking, to sex… what I like about my husband is that I spend so much time doubled over with laughter. 
     --  As a reader and a movie lover, what I’m really saying is, “Please, tell me a story.”
     --  As a dancer, well, I dance, and when I trip, I just laugh and keep dancing.
     --  As a laugher, I laugh, even at things other people find serious, and I just let them stare.

Now:

In my life today, I do something that children instinctively do: if I can help it, I only play and work with people I like. I’m not talking about isolating myself from people who are different. My point is that, if I spend more time playing with those people with whom I connect, instead of struggling to be socially acceptable, I’ll experience greater joy and growth, as well as the support that leads to true accomplishment. Everyone has a tribe, if only we’re brave enough to reveal our true selves and ignore the judgments of those who don’t share our values.

When we were kids, our teachers taught us the importance of playing well with others, and of knowing when to stop playing and get back to work. These lessons are important, but now that we’ve learned them, I think it’s safe to listen to those other childhood instincts: knowing when to stop working and get back to play, and being ourselves even when it means we won’t get along with everyone who tries to play with us.

How does the little girl in me show up now? She acts as weird as she wants, and waits for the other weird kids to find her. 


Picture
About Cara:
Cara Lopez Lee is the author of They Only Eat Their Husbands: A Memoir of Alaskan Love, World Travel, and the Power of Running Away, coming Nov. 15, 2010 from Ghost Road Press. She’s also the creator of the Girls Trek Too blog, which is dedicated to inspiring women to live life as an adventure.

http://www.TheyOnlyEatTheirHusbands.com
http://girlstrektoo.com/blog

Business Baby Shower - Special Guest: Amy Oscar

9/10/2010

 
Our business baby shower gifts continue (see post on 8/16/2010 for explanation).

Story alchemist, author, magazine editor, and mom Amy Oscar answers the question:
How does your fun little girl self show up in your life now?


"My little girl self DOESN'T show up very often - and your question reminds me of that. I'd like to see her much more - I'd like to see the little girl who played with her dollhouse for hours, just sat on the floor, deeply involved in moving mini-furniture around, in deciding where, exactly, the little red table that my mother made for me should be placed."

Right now, as I visit my mother - who is 80 now - and share memories over coffee, I am remembering more and more that little girl. I am letting her show up when my mother has a difficult night and I walk down the hall and slip into bed beside her, and hold her hand, the way she used to hold mine."

~ Amy Oscar
   http://www.amyoscar.blogspot.com

Business Baby Shower - Special Guest: Robbie Kaye

9/8/2010

 
Our business baby shower gifts continue (see post on 8/16/2010 for explanation). 

Robbie Kaye, Photographer and Photojournalist, answers the question:
How does your fun little girl self show up in your life now?

"My little girl shows up lately as a "girly girl" - I notice that I am more attracted to frilly things, pink things...soft and delicate materials that make me feel cozy.  I never was the pink kind of of girl, I was more of a tom-boy, so this phase is somewhat new and sweet.  I think it's the delicate part of me that is now willing to be revealed...unlike before, when I felt like I had something to defend.  These days, my little girl is content in playing in her own space and distracted less and less by "the other kids" playing in their spaces.  I may look up for a minute, but then I am content to get back to what I was doing that was bringing me so much delight.  So, I think this winter, I will buy myself a pair of pink silky pajamas or a pink fuzzy bathrobe and enjoy the delicate aspects of who I am..."

~ Robbie Kaye 
    www.robbiekaye.com


Business Baby Shower - Special Guest: Marcia G. Yerman

9/6/2010

 
Our business baby shower gifts continue (see post on 8/16/2010 for explanation). 

Marcia G. Yerman, NYC writer focusing on women's issues & culture, Huffington Post writer, and Co-founder of cultureID, answers the question:
How does your fun little girl self show up in your life now?

"
Sometimes I find it hard to take time for my inner child because in the last several years I have become so consumed with issues affecting the world. My first college boyfriend accused me of being too serious, and there's a part of me that hasn't changed. Maybe it's the result of getting older and realizing that I have a certain amount of time to try to give back in a constructive way. It could be seeing my son grow up and wanting to make sure that the planet has a healthy future. There are numerous things that I do for enjoyment. However, if I think inner child, no holds barred, the one thing that comes to mind is dancing. Dancing to music that speaks purely to my body, makes me jump around, bump and grind with abandon, with no other thoughts in my head."

~ Marcia G. Yerman
   http://www.mgyerman.com  


Business Baby Shower - Special Guest: Lisa Sawyer

9/2/2010

 
Our business baby shower gifts continue (see post on 8/16/2010 for explanation).

Lisa Sawyer, Entrepreneur and
President of Guardian Financial Services Group, answers the question:
How does your fun little girl self show up in your life now? 

"The greatest pleasure my three-year-old self is enjoying is no longer sweating the small stuff. When I now encounter people who freak out at every little thing (like the older version of me used to), I am often amused. I have found myself giggling in someone's face before. Oops, didn't mean to. It's not that I am uncaring, but it makes me realize just how ridiculous I must have looked at times. I am sure to give my young self a little nod whenever I have this awareness. With this energy that I am no longer wasting on being so anxious, I am able to enjoy long walks in the country with 80-90's music blasting, so I can sing every word, and I have a newfound appreciation for the simple, natural things in life." 

Blessings in your new endeavor!
~ Lisa Sawyer

   www.guardian-fsg.com 

 

    Authors

    Authors of these stories are all of you who have experienced healing and balance through reclaiming the Feminine in your lives.
    Congratulations, and       thank you for sharing your stories with us!    

    For more information,  please see the first post on March 13, 2009.

    E-mail your stories to:
    rebecca(at)rebeccaelia.com.   Remember to give your permission to post your stories. 


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