40 Before 40 #3: Visiting Seattle (and Portland)

A view of Seattle

A view of Seattle’s Space Needle and a sculpture by glass artist Dale Chihuly at the Chihuly Garden and Glass

The third checkmark on my 40 Before 40 List was #3, Visiting Seattle, Washington. I don’t generally post recommendations on things to see and do while on vacation, but I thought it was appropriate and might even be helpful in this instance.

Hubby and I started out our Pacific Northwest trip visiting friends and family outside Portland. Other than reconnecting with loved ones, the highlight for me was visiting Silver Falls State Park.

The weather was beautiful the day we visited and so the hike to South Falls was a bit crowded. We passed it and wandered on to Lower South Falls along Canyon Trail, which proved to be prettier and quieter. The return trip along Maple Ridge Trail—during which Brian and I were mostly alone—was a steep climb and a bit too much for my current energy levels but we persevered. Overall, a lovely walk in the woods.

Lower South Falls at Silver Falls State Park, Oregon

Lower South Falls at Silver Falls State Park, Oregon

The next day we drove north to Seattle, arriving just as rush hour began to see the locals biking, jogging, and using public transportation to make their way home and enjoy their long summer day. Via AirBNB, we arranged to stay in a cozy basement apartment in the Ballard neighborhood.

We had only one full day in town, so we crammed in as much as we could comfortably see. Among the highlights, a visit to Chihuly Garden and Glass, a stop by Centennial Park to escape the summer tourists crowding downtown, and an evening stroll along Ballard Avenue with an old friend from Los Angeles.

Inside the Glasshouse at Chihuly Garden and Glass, Seattle

Inside the Glasshouse at Chihuly Garden and Glass, Seattle

Seattle

Seattle’s Centennial Park

Had we both not been on doctor-supervised diets, we would have loved to partake of Seattle’s amazing culinary and microbrew scene. We’ve vowed to return to do just that but in winter next time, when most of the tourists have gone home.

After our short visit to Seattle, we headed back to Portland to stay with friends for a few more days. It had been a busy trip already and I was a bit worn out, but we still managed to make some more mischief. Highlights include:

If you can believe it (I can’t!), we hit several more scenic spots in our few days there, some of which you can see below:

A view of the creek at Tryon Creek State Park in Portland

Tryon Creek State Park in Portland

A zen garden at Portland Japanese Garden

A zen garden at Portland Japanese Garden

So that’s what I did on my summer vacation. What did you do on yours?

Cheers,

Kate Watson

 

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Kate Watson - Thanks, Cassandra! You were a wonderful hostess and we so enjoyed seeing you in your new home.

Cassandra Rae - it was so fun hosting you and Brian! Please do come back when you can indulge in the awesome food and drink of Portland xoxo

Everybody Hurts. Be Kind.

Recently I found the following on Pinterest:

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. The quote, often attributed to Plato or others, seems most likely to be the words of Scottish theologian Ian Maclaren. Whoever first said it, it remains true at least a century later, as evidenced by something my stepsister shared on Facebook the other day:

Everyone will go through hard times at some point. Life isn’t easy. For all my friends who are going through some issues right now, let’s start an intention avalanche. We all need positive intentions right now.

Then the hubs brought home a Chipotle bag featuring “Two Minutes of Rambling Wisdom” by Judd Apatow. (If you haven’t read it, click the link. It’s worth your two minutes.) For the CliffsNotes version, read on:

Don’t be a jerk. Try to love everyone. Give more than you take. And do it despite the fact that you only really like about seven out of 500 people.

All of these recent experiences coalesced to remind me of something I’ve been meaning to write about for a while now: Kindness.

Everybody hurts. Be kind.

“Everybody Hurts” is more than the name of an REM song. It’s a reminder of the beautiful, heartbreaking, uplifting, and devastating journey we’re all on together.

There’s a lot going on in the world and in the lives of people I know right now: A couple of our friends are battling cancer. Family members recently lost a dear friend in a tragic accident. My Facebook feed is lit up with children in hospitals, family members held captive in foreign countries, layoffs—large and small signs that life can be hard.

Is this selection bias? Maybe. If life is going swimmingly for you right now, take a pause to count your blessings. Today’s message is for you, too.

I basically have three rules for life—and really, when I think about it, it’s only one rule in the form of a step-by-step ladder to mastery. So, that rule is:

  1. Be conscious. If you can’t be conscious…
  2. Be kind. If you can’t be kind…
  3. Avoid causing harm.

That’s it. I’ll admit right now that I have not mastered any one of these steps. Instead, I rely on them to help me be the person I want to be.

In case there’s any question about what I mean by them:

Be conscious. Be aware of how your belief systems, thoughts, and actions affect other people. Open your mind to how the choices you make on a daily basis—what you eat, what you buy, how you choose to live—affect our society and planet.

Be kind. As Judd said, you may only like seven out of every 500 people. That’s ok, they probably feel the same about you. Choose to be kind anyway.

Avoid causing harm. If you can’t be kind, try to avoid making another being’s life worse. Choose not to litter, or kick a dog, or retaliate for a perceived slight. It’s not really worth it, is it? We’re all in this thing together.

I know—It’s not always possible to avoid causing someone harm inadvertently. Still, having the intention is often enough.

How are you practicing the art of life today?

Cheers,

Kate Watson

Title Photo Credit: StuartWebster via Compfight cc

40 Before 40 #2: Sponsoring an Elephant

How to Sponsor an ElephantThe first thing I did on my 40 Before 40 list was #2, sponsoring an elephant. For my birthday this year, I donated to David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust to support nursery baby Mbegu.

Mbegu was rescued by DSWT at just two months of age on May 15, 2014. She was the victim of community violence after a member of her herd killed a woman and was shot by the Kenya Wildlife Service. The herd then fled, abandoning the baby elephant to experience significant trauma at the hands of the angry community members. Before she was rescued, Mbegu was speared several times and stoned by school children.

When she arrived at DSWT headquarters, one of the keepers noted that she must have come from a “tiny seed” because she was the smallest of the nursery herd. (Mbegu means “seed” in Swahili.)

According to her keeper’s diary, “Mbegu is a perfect little treasure, incredibly playful and full [of] nonsense, and given her tender age has bounced back from her emotional scarring very quickly and is now totally at home in her new environment…”

Enjoy some photos of adorable Mbegu and the rest of her pint-sized elephant posse in Kenya:

Arruba & little Mbegu, August 2014 - The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust

Arruba & little Mbegu, August 2014 – The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust

Lemoyian & Mbegu, August 2014 - The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust

Lemoyian & Mbegu, August 2014 – The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust

Mbegu with her keeper and elephant herd, July 2014 - The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust

Mbegu with her keeper and elephant herd, July 2014 – The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust

The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Nairobi, Kenya works for the “conservation, preservation, and protection of wildlife.” Its interests include anti-poaching, protecting the natural environment, enhancing community awareness, and more, including rescuing and hand-rearing orphaned African animals, particularly elephants and rhinos. They also recently added a giraffe to their motley crew.

“To date the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust has successfully hand-raised over 150 infant elephants and has accomplished its long-term conservation priority by effectively reintegrating orphans back into the wild herds of Tsavo, claiming many healthy wild-born calves from former-orphaned elephants raised in our care.”

To learn more about DSWT’s orphan-raising program or sponsoring an elephant, please check out their website or visit their Facebook page. Sponsors receive a fostering certificate and regular updates about their elephant by email.

If you’re interested in other ways to get involved with elephant conservation, check out my post for World Elephant Day.

As you can see, elephant conservation is a big deal to me. What global issue is a big deal to you?

Cheers,

Kate Watson

Title Photo Credit: hyper7pro via Compfight cc

Meeting Myself Where I Am

Learning to Meet Myself Where I Am

Hello friends, I’m back! I ended up taking the month of September off from blogging for health reasons. I won’t go into all the details right now but it’s been quite a learning experience.

If I were to summarize the overall theme, it would be learning to accept my limitations. I don’t mean that in a defeated, I’m-not-good-enough way; I mean it from a place of honoring where I really am and accepting what my body needs to heal. I’m learning to meet myself where I am. It has been an exercise in mindfulness.

This exercise takes many forms:

  • It means clearing my calendar of everything but the essentials.
  • It means accepting when I can’t exert enough energy to go for a walk, when I can’t concentrate sufficiently to read a book, or when I need a nap in the middle of the day.
  • It means wanting to do things I can’t physically manage right now, like attending my regular painting classes, signing up for a documentary photography workshop, or traveling.
  • It means acknowledging that attempting to push through these limits sets me back. Apparently I’ve pushed one too many times over the years and now my body just won’t. let. me. do. it.
  • It means learning to moderate my emotional responses to things, to not let others’ requests or needs stress me out.
  • It means reminding myself (frequently!) that it’s okay to rest, that doing so honors where I am and what I need in this moment.
  • It means learning how NOT to castigate myself when I am resting. After all, it’s not rest if you’re criticizing yourself the whole time.
  • It means practicing greater self-care overall.

As you might glean from the list above, meeting myself where I am is not something that comes naturally to me. While I strive to live consciously, what I’ve always meant by that is that I consider the larger-scale impact of my beliefs and actions, consider the needs of mankind and our planet over my own selfish desires.

Being mindful of my emotions, thoughts, and sensations in each moment and—even more importantly—honoring them through my choice of action or non-action is a new experience. And not an easy one thus far.

Therefore, I’ve developed a new mantra to remind myself of the path that I’m on: I’m doing the best I can. Whether doing my best means acknowledging that I need a nap or that I neglected to honor my needs when I tried to push through, I’m always doing the best I can right here in this moment.

How are you doing the best you can?

Cheers,

Kate Watson

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40 Before 40 #3: Visiting Seattle (and Portland) » KateWatson.net - […] Ridge Trail—during which Brian and I were mostly alone—was a steep climb and a bit too much for my current energy levels but we persevered. Overall, a lovely walk in the […]

On Honoring Accomplishments

are you honoring accomplishmentsDo you ever feel like you aren’t accomplishing anything? Or that you aren’t making strides fast enough? Or maybe that what you have accomplished doesn’t matter? I hear ya. There are days I feel like I haven’t done much of anything for years—since I put my photography business on hold to travel, in fact.

But here’s the real question: Does thinking any of these things serve me? And, if not, what can I do about it?

It’s so easy to downplay our accomplishments. Whether we’re in a bad mood or our accomplishments haven’t exactly met the mark we’re striving for or even if we don’t know exactly what we’re striving for, it can be easy to get caught up in the day-to-day stresses of our lives and forget what we have accomplished.

Next time you’re riding that train, try this instead: Make a list.

Yep, grab your journal and pen or open up your word processing software and make a list of everything you’ve accomplished over the last month, year, or several years.

Your list could be personal: Maybe you planned a family vacation or took on a new volunteer responsibility.

It could be professional: Perhaps you maintained a weekly blog schedule for a certain amount of time or got rave reviews from a recent client engagement, or even took a course that will help you achieve big things.

Your list could be small: Losing two pounds.
Or big: Training for and completing a 10k, or riding a bike across Kansas.

It doesn’t matter what’s on the list so much as that you’re acknowledging what you’ve done. If it gives you a sense of pride, even for a moment, it’s worth including.

Once you’ve gotten your list written down, store it somewhere you can refer back to whenever feelings of doubt creep in. When I Grow Up Coach Michelle Ward calls hers a “Win Book.” Follow the link for the whys and hows to create your own.

So, how are you honoring accomplishments? What’s going into your Win Book?

Cheers,
Kate Watson