Julie Wong - BLOG -

to learn

gargoyle, University of Calgary

"What is the first business of one who practices philosophy? To get rid of self-conceit. For it is impossible for anyone to begin to learn that which he thinks he already knows."

-EPICTETUS

cherry blossom

cherry blossom candy

Something about the way she carried herself. Dignified, elegant... Shoulders pulled back, cane in hand.

Ready to face the world head on.

We waited together for the bus on a cool Sunday morning. I sat down on the long wood bench, in my fishnet tights, high heeled shoes, scarf thrown over my neck. She stood beside me, wearing navy blue stockings, a wool dress coat, and little black pumps with pointy toes. Hair? Coiffed just so. Dressed to kill at 80 years old.

I couldn't help but wonder. What did she look like at my age? Did she dance the night away, wearing silk stockings and beautiful shoes? Did she curl her hair and paint her lips red? Did she laugh with friends and smile a lot, inviting lines to appear at the corners of her eyes?

I bet she did.

new shoes

shannon at gravity pope trashing my old shoes

When you don't have a lot of money, you have to make choices about how to spend what you do have. Somehow, in the rough patches, I've always chosen things that fed my soul over more practical, sensible items. New paints, pens or brushes, colorful magazines full of exotic places and palatial houses, scraps of beautiful fabric, glowing chinese lanterns, dangly earrings that make me feel pretty... rich, soft cheese, warm fresh bread, raspberries, fizzy sweet orangina...

Somehow, having allowed myself these little extravagances {these tiny but precious luxuries} made me feel rich beyond belief and reminded me to stay connected to the joy in simple, everyday blessings.

Boring but necessary items, I can definitely do without. Fancy clothes, a new winter coat, socks without holes, new shoes...

One afternoon, Tyler Perry, a magnificent and wildly successful human being, who wrote, produced, and acted in the very funny and touching play/film, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, (a MUST rent when you need to escape to a happy place and have a really really good laugh...) came on the Oprah show. She asked him about the first thing he bought when he made some big money and he said, without hesitation... new shoes. Living on the streets, while he was writing, surviving, and hoping for his big break, he'd coaxed his old, worn, hole-y shoes into hanging in there. Just a little longer. New shoes were a sign of success, of transition, of hope for the future.

It's funny how things that seem simplistic (and even silly) to the outsider, can be so significant and symbolic in our lives.

Here's to tenacity, here's to people like Tyler Perry who remind us to hang on to the impossible dreams, and... of course... to new shoes.

regime

red berries

Hot damn these are some good words... say them out loud and let yourself really say them... you'll see...

• REGIME
• ASSAY
• DEMARCATE
• AMPLITUDE
• INJECT
• PERTURBATION
• SOMATIC SOMA
• PULSE
• ACTIVATION
• LAG

All noted during a talk I went to today - (a little clue as to what I'm doing with myself these days!)

"First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do."
-EPICTETUS

foxtail

graffiti crown

Seemed like a normal guy, otherwise. Just like any other 17, 18-year-old kid you'd see on the train at night... Except for the giant faux-fur fox tail, tucked under the hem of his t-shirt, swinging from side to side as he walked.

As I watched other people, watching him, I couldn't help but start to smile... a small one at first. He swooshed his tail out from behind him, over the side of the seat... Bigger... People bending their heads toward each other, whispering... Even BIGGER... After 10 minutes of sneaking glances at this guy sporting a giant fox tail on public transit, wishing I could work up the guts to say, "Hey dude, I like your tail," he got up and made his way to the door of the train, wandering off into the night.

I've been thinking a lot this past week about the random, transient moments we experience all the time. The ones where we want desperately to say something, to reach out to someone, to connect in some small way. More often than not I resist that impulse, smile... and look away.

So I made a decision. I'm making an effort to follow my gut. Since then, many wonderful conversations with complete strangers young, old, and otherwise have been illuminating my solo journeys throughout the city. Bubble tea running in sticky rivulets across the floor, a bucket of hot KFC, drinking, minimum wage, movie extras, shoes, art and singing... all hot topics of conversation.

This week, I'm giving you an assignment. When the mood strikes, act on it. Speak your heart and your mind, and make a connection. Whether it's one moment or many, come back here and share your stories with us by leaving a comment below. You can do it!

"It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure,
to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer
meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting,
for in movement there is life, and in change there is power."

-ALAN COHEN