Happiness is: a walk to work

I walked to work today. Because I work at home this might seem a bit strange. But because I find the fresh air and exercise so beneficial, I try and walk to work as many days a week as I can. Today I was especially aware of the simple small things that can happen on a short 30 monute walk that set my day up in such a satisfied way. Feeling simple gratitude makes all the difference.

The trick of course is to notice. Today, I happened to notice. 

Here are 7 things that happened on the way to work:

1.) I walked across the field with high grass overlooking the local castle. Today I took a moment to enjoy this view on my way up that hill. Delicious. 

2.) So many flowers and plants are bursting out of their coiled state in and among the hedgerows along the road and path I take. This outrageous and passionate display of nature warms my heart and reminds me that I too am a part of this fertile display of natural expression.

2.) At the top of the path where I walk, I can see an incredible view of the natural outcrop that is the wonder of Hay Tor. Today it was clear enough to see for many miles up to this vast area of Dartmoor. The breadth and depth of this view keeps me connected to the bigger picture and the spaciousness within my life.

3.) I had a brief chat with the farmer on an all-terrain motorcycle. He was standing at a T junction and I wondered if his bike was out of order. He assured me he was fine and that this was the 2nd time today he had to get his bullock back after he escaped into neighboring field. Cows and sheep are a feature of Devon that I still find charming and a bit odd. I am definitely not in the urban “Kansas” I grew up in anymore!

4.) I admired the array of about 40 solar panels in a new land development that is partly buried in a hillside. I have no idea whether this is domestic or other, but I'm very curious and interested. I'm also delighted that whatever they do they're using the south facing angle of their great location.

5.) I got to throw a tennis ball for a beautiful 5-year-old golden lab “puppy” as I meandered down the footpath. She was very proud to be walking her human. 

6.) I chatted briefly with a man preparing his drain at the base of his driveway. As I approached I simply heard some swearing from someone a bit frustrated. When asked if he was okay, he smiled broadly showed me everything was great and invited me to enjoy the sunshine as he was.

7.) As I crossed before a line of bungalows, I found a heart-shaped leaf wanted to come home with me and remind me of the simple things… Like noticing things on this walk… to carry into my day-to-day work, play and parenting.

And with this I am like to and refreshed to begin my day starting with this simple blog.

 I feel incredibly grateful for the simple things that come my way. They are happening all the time if I notice. Enjoy the simple things in your day-to-day.

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Katheryn Trenshaw, director Passionate Presence Center, is a teacher, consultant, artist and writer. If you would like to explore more about her passionate presence work or other courses, the next Sunday evening course is indefinite on July 1 from 7 to 9:30 PM. The next residential weekend is called Coming Home from the Inside Out.  More information at www.passionatepresence.org or feel free to join our mailing list for events or Email us.

Facebook: Katheryn Trenshaw, In Your Own Skin Project and Passionate Presence Center

Freedom: Making Space

I went to visit my friend Pete yesterday who is dying. We all are dying, of course, but for Pete this is more obviously immanent. A year ago this friend was suffering from a toothache that wouldn't go away. He was extremely fit and he led and extraordinarily healthy lifestyle. People often guessed he was 10 to 15 years younger than he was.  This 60-ish man is now hobbling across a corridor door as he ushers me into his flat for my long overdue visit. Since I saw him a few months ago he has lost perhaps half of his body weight. The cancer has spread all around Pete's body in spite of doing all that is possible to stop or slow its growth.

It is of course rather shocking to see my beloved friend. But all of those obvious changes aside, what strikes me most is his dignity and grace and generosity. Pete shares what his process has been like these last weeks and what he values now, but mostly he wants to hear stories from the "outside world"...Nothing is too mundane. He wants it all. I have known Pete for over 20 years. We share a love of music, hot tubs and are both ex pats. We have seen each other through thick and thin. And we cry together now as he endures a wave of pain. We cry together, as well, as he celebrates with me how well my life is going after a long "dark night of the soul” period. He loves my film and book projects and has seen them gestate over a long period. He knows more than most what I have lived through. And now in his last days or weeks or months in this life, his being broken open stops time. It doesn't matter what we are talking about. All that is important now with Pete is physically touching, preferably where it doesn't hurt too much and the quality of sharing. We are only concerned with disposition.  The content is a bonus or even an incidental thing.

And it was great to be able to joke with him that finally after all these years he "got me in bed with him" as I snuggled up to his good side to hold him! It was wonderful to see and hear and feel his laughter. 

And what I'm left with now, besides feeling incredibly grateful and gifted, is something he said; He spoke about how we can't run away from our traumas. And Pete feels that for him this experience is directly related to undigested trauma from very early life. He thought he had resolved most things, but now can see that this process is to do with completing some of that time in his life. Regardless of how one feels about such things, it was incredibly touching to feel his dignified response. His taking response-ability for his life. He is making his life count right to the end. And in so doing, he is inspiring the privileged few of us who get to spend time with him. I am inspired more than ever to to let things go that need to be released and to live an authentic imperfect perfect life.

As I write this I am again brought to tears thinking of my own sadness for his discomfort. And I am also filled with gratitude and inspired with more vigor to continue the work that I have chosen to do... because I love it and because it makes it difference. Over a year ago, before all of this, my now dying friend was kind enough to be a part of my In Your Own Skin project in which he, like all the others who took part, share something that is not obvious to strangers.   I wrote on his skin for photographic portrait. He chose the words “space maker.” At the time, this referred to a congruency in his life both his early life as a landscape architect as well as his latter life as an extremely skilled and sought after masseur. Now, as his body shrinks in size and the funeral arrangements have been made, he is preparing to make even more space and to embrace the the space of empty fullness that is death.  

My friend Michaela recently sent out a touching little note in her shock and grief at the sudden death of her co-teacher James. She noted with poignancy that his last contact in the Social Networking world was this, "The more you commit to life, the more you can commit to death." She also noted that, especially recently, he lived with a deep freedom. What more is there at an essential level?

So here is to making space in your heart and your freedom! And blessings on my friend, on James and on all of us as we live until we die.

Poetry and Potential

Poetry and Potential

Today, I am buzzing around between my office and meetings and errands. Among all of these things which are a part of a normal work day, I am delighted to be scheduling 3 meetings  with people along with interviews and photoshoots in London for later in the week. 

People are amazing! And these 3 individuals with whom I will soon meet are inspirations to me in very different ways. One is the director of an organization dedicated to increasing happiness in the world and workplace, another is an advocate for asylum seekers as well as  a refugee himself, and the third is a performer who has lived through incredible physical challenges. They will all be modeling for me this week for the  In Your Own Skin  portraits and revealing something concealed.  I will have the privilege of engaging in an inquiry with them to decide what word or phrase they will chose to share. Its such an incredibly wholehearted and surprising process because it is simple and real. And, at the moment as I progress with the lead up to the launch of the first major crowd sourcing for my In Your Own Skin Project documentary, I am blessed with so many positive responses.

These 3 Londoners with whom I will soon meet are extraordinary and also, of course, very ordinary folks. As I prepare and pack my bags for the journey, I am struck once again by how the combination of these portraits with words on skin create a simple giant poem to humanity in all its shades. And I am further reminded in my own life and via others by how we are even MORE beautiful when we are deeply present in ourselves, especially with the thing we fear the most or something that is concealed.

In the midst of all this, as luck would happen, I stumble upon the Aimee Mullins talk on TED.com (March 2009) where she asserts in her inimitable style that "Poetry matters. Poetry is what elevates the banal and neglected object to a realm of art. It can transform the thing that might have made people fearful into something that invites them to look, and look a little longer, and maybe even understand."

I could not have said it better. And the very gorgeous Aimee Mullins, a double amputee with her collection of prosthetic legs, who set records in the 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, and who has a modeling career as well as an acting vocation sure knows about “celebrat(ing) those heartbreaking strengths and those glorious disabilities that we all have.” She is amazing.  And far from “disabled.” by the traditional definition. In fact, she asserts that, “From an identity standpoint, what does it mean to have a disability? Pamela Anderson has more prosthetic in her body than I do. Nobody calls her disabled.”

And thank goodness for the power of art to transform.  It is the vision of an artist and scientists that created those amazing woven carbon fiber sprinting prosthetic legs modeled after the hind leg of a cheetah for Aimee to win track and field events in.  It is nothing other than alchemy…. Transforming straw into gold. Transforming the hidden into treasure. Transforming the vulnerable into the most valuable form of happiness.

And on a much more everyday level, how delicious it is to have the space within the busy fullness of the day to take the time to notice this simple poetry that is a part of all of us, with all of our wonderful imperfections. The things we once thought we were afraid to show are our juice and vitality. And we can breathe it all in and say simply, thank you.

PS  And Aimee, if you are reading this, would you like to be a part of my In Your Own Skin Project Please?

In Your Own Skin is an social art multi-media project to spread authenticity and happiness with photographic portraits from over 100 people who have shared for a moment what is hidden as a gift to us all. What word or phrase would be absolutely true about you but not obvious to strangers?

"Katheryn Trenshaw's In Your Own Skin Project confirms my faith in deep essential human beauty and the innate benevolence in us all. It is an inspiring visual anthem to humanity."

-Jamie Catto, musician and film-maker, creator of dance music super-group Faithless, Grammy award winning 1 Giant Leap

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In Your Own Skin Film Trailer Premiere & Fundraiser June 13th @ the Barrelhouse, Totnes UK 7.30pm.

With special appearance by Juliet Russell (singer and BBC 1’s The Voice coach) and Matt Harvey and many more.

For more information:

In Your Own Skin:  http://www.ktrenshaw.com/InYourOwnSkin.htm

FB: https://www.facebook.com/pages/In-Your-Own-Skin-Project/177799442314881

Passionate Presence Events:  www.passionatepresence.org

Katheryn Trenshaw:  www.ktrenshaw.com

April Fools

Inefficiency required: innovation and serendipity

"Creativity is a receptive experience."
-Jamie Catto


The demands on me in my life as writer, a mom, an artist and a teacher amongst many other things are enormous. And, I am always seeking ways to make things more efficient and sustainable. I also wish to contribute during my lifetime to the best and truest of my ability.


And, in the mix, I like to consider myself to be an innovator and a cultural creative. I know full well that the world needs more of us too. There is a need for imaginal intelligence and creativity like never before. We need to be spaces through which ideas and intelligence arise. We need to be as interested or more interested in the spaces in between. We probably have enough bankers for the moment. (No offense to bankers per se. But you know what I mean!) And I know more and more that two things are efficient and essential to support this: serendipity and exposure to diverse people, places and ideas. If I am feeling stuck or in need of inspiration I know for sure that even something as simple as a change of scene, like a 10 minute walk or a 3 minute dance, will give me a new perspective or clarify an idea. By the same token, if I get together a group of trusted diverse colleagues to brainstorm an idea for say 30 minutes, the efficiency goes up 10 fold. This is not rocket science. I think it's more reliable.


And to get outside of my familiar box and patterns, paradoxically, gets me more inside my deep self, deep presence and a connection to the wholeness of life. It seems to give rise to natural intelligence that is lost in getting into a predictable pattern or rut.


I recently stayed in a hotel in London on my way to be a part of Jamie Catto's brilliant "What about You?" weekend (full of diversity and innovation in and of itself. Excellent!) Due to this simple synchronicity, I came across an article in a Magazine in the room I would not normally read called Intelligent Life (Jan/Feb 2012). It was called 'Staging Serendipity' by Ian Leslie and it affirmed my appreciation for both synchronicity and diversity in such an unlikely place.


“Creativity is the practice of awe.” My dear friend MC Richards once said. And this practice of taking the time for awe is considered by many to be a waste of time. Don’t be fooled. Often, in the name of being efficient, we lose our capacity for innovation. Put another way, Ethan Zuckerman, Director of the Center for Civil Media at MIT says, "Serendipity is necessarily inefficient". Something inside of me feels relieved when I read these words. As a creative, I know the need to sketch, feel awe, daydream and write 'nonsense' in order to arrive at what needs unwrapping inside myself. “


Mr. Zuckerman also asserts that, "Innovation thrives on the serendipitous collision of ideas." Yes! Ideas, people, food combinations, new turns of phrase, fresh images, unusual streets and sounds. These all collide to form what will become the next work of art, the next set of images for the multi-media project or something in the next chapter of the book I am working on. We NEED fresh input to see where we are and stay awake. This can also be a fresh combination of things in one square foot of our front garden by the way!


And then there is the term "value homophile" which is a social term for our tendency to associate with others who think in similar ways to us. We think our worlds are full of diverse input because we use, say, Google search engines. But in fact, even with all the information available to us on the Internet, we will tend to stick to the same 1st page references. We tend to take the same way home and walk in the same small area of the places we live. We can be very easily and unknowingly creating our own rat run. Same routes, same people, same ideas. Have a look at how your drive, cycle or walk home over the next weeks. How much does your route vary?


We tend to orbit in the same way around people, places, social issues and friends. Ethan Zuckerman gave a speech to investment managers on Serendipity. He was nervous that they would not relate to the material. But on the contrary, they loved it. He says it was because "What they are looking for are strategies for finding inspiration outside their information orbit." Yes. We hunger for fresh perspectives to increase our natural awakeness. Even if you work from home, like I often do, you can 'walk to work' by going out into the hills above your office for an hours walk to clear your head and prepare for the day with much better oxygen flow to body and mind. When we get outside our own boxes we can operate more from the inside out.


In the Psychology of Happiness, it is a known fact that a great way to create a more connected and caring society is to make friends with people who are very different from us. Action for Happiness recently posted a lovely interview with Jon Yates from The Challenge Network explaining how greater diversity in our friendships has a positive impact on well being, responsibility, and the contribution young people can make in society.


This, in a similar vein, keeps us from complacency. This keeps us from 'us and them' and all manner of dualism. This keeps us sane and connected and awake as well. So here is to innovation and serendipity. All hail inefficiency, page 10 on the Google search, and discovering new friends and a new way home.


www.ktrenshaw.com

Celebrating Shamelessness

"Dartmoor Pony near Haytor" photo by Orion Trenshaw-Leggett

Embracing Natural Intelligence

"This is a trickster moment in history,” the wonderful Martin Shaw asserts as he contextualizes the role of myth and story in our time. And it HAS been an extreme time of quickening.  It seems like it's all falling apart. But like Arundhati Roy shares:

"Another world is not only possible, she is on her way! On a quiet day, if you listen carefully, you can hear her breathing."

And like this breath, and the flow of stories and myths shared, genius lives in the margins… betwixt and between. From the edges, as I digest the deep beauty and wildness from the last 5 day Passionate Presence retreat Diving in Deep here in Devon, I am stuck by how our access to wilderness within and without is our confirmation.  Through time in nature, it confirms our natural intelligence.  Through dance, it clarifies our deep knowing. Through creative expression, it connects us to each other and the greater web of beings and life. We are broken open to the vastness that lives inside. And on an incredibly mundane level it simply cuts through to what is real and raw and authentic. How efficient.  How truly sustaining and sustainable.

This is not necessarily easy, but it IS very simple. And these insights feed the community in which we live. Powerful myth, I am also reminded by Martin, also feeds community.

And that leads me to recount the mythical story of Tatterhood*:

In the story of Tatterhood, the King and the Queen who cannot conceive seek fertility counseling from the Gypsy mother who lives on the margins of society.  They are desperate and so they resort to the margins.

In this symbolically rich story the Queen does indeed conceive and become pregnant after following strict instructions to take the bed outside and sleep in the woods. She also must bathe under the stars and return her bathwater to the earth.  And she must eat the white flower that grows from this watering and magic making. She eats the white AND the red flower as she cannot resist and it has consequence.  Of course it does.  It is a natural process and it is a myth.

The queen gives birth to twins.  And from between her quivering thighs, Tatterhood emerges first, riding a goat, covered in a furry hood and carrying a spoon raised and begging for food from the moment she emerges. Her sister comes second. She is fair, blond and exceedingly beautiful. She is also cooing, compliant and quiet. These sisters experienced many adventures and transformations. And what is most moving to me as I experience this story as if for the 1st time is the partnership between complementary forces; wild and tame, raw and refined, agitation and calm, masculine and feminine, fierce and passive. The deep love between the sisters allows space and the deep embrace for wildness, shamelessness and natural intelligence to arise.

The twins are inseparable. Together through adventures and courage, they create wholeness in each other and support each other’s fullness. They are without shame.

And when the 2 sisters at the end of the story have a joint wedding, Tatterhood's deep and utter beauty is at last revealed by simply being seen for who she really is by the masculine. Her goat becomes a stallion, her spoon becomes a magic wand and her hood becomes a feminine bejeweled crown.  And this "shameless" wild "creature" is even more beautiful than her lovely twin sister.

So here is to getting confirmed by deep wilderness. And here is to wisdom that lives betwixt and between. And here is to being broken open to the vastness that lives inside us all, and sustaining and feeding our communities. Just listen closely in the stillness of your heart, and you can hear her breathing without shame.

*Note: A Special note of gratitude to the amazing beings who made the Diving in Deep retreat such a powerful week, and to Martin Shaw for his highly skilled wholehearted sharing of story and soul at the Consciousness Cafe January 26 at the Barrelhouse in Totnes as a part of the Transition Town Totnes Movement.

for more information on Passionate Presence Center for Creative Expression offerings see www.ktrenshaw.com

The Dance of a lifetime

My dad died just over 18 years ago at this time of year. I realize that qualifies as a lifetime ago.  And rather poetically my son managed to be born on exactly the same day that my father died. We come. We go. (No pun intended.)

And every year at this time I think about my dad and these 2 juxtaposed life-altering experiences. Death. Birth. And what I am struck by this year is another favourite memory of my father…and how he may well have had a part in my deep love of dance. I don't remember where we were when this happened. I am sure it happened on several occasions. I can tell you we were somewhere in the Midwest United States in the late 60’s or early 70’s. 

I CAN remember the sensations and smells so clearly. The swooping feeling. The giddiness and grinning from ear to ear. The movement made my dark auburn curls sway back and forth. And then there was the dusty wooden floor and faint scent of women’s perfume and men’s shoe polish. The thrill and delight and ecstasy of feeling safe, supported, and cherished. My huge giant of a father waltzing me around the slightly dull worn oak dance floor with grace and ease and delight.  And light is what I felt… both a physical weightless quality and a giddyness as well as a kind of unstoppable radiance beaming from my heart.

It's the little things that matter.  And as I remember and still grieve my father, this little memory brings me great joy in the deep dark grey of winter. So always remember dads, cherish your daughters.  Let them stand on your shoes and dance them around the ballroom while you still can. The  grace and beauty of that dance will last her whole life long.