Judy's Homegrown Blog

Originally posted at Writeindependent.org on December 10, 2011

There is one fact of nature that you absolutely have to embrace:

Nature is plentiful; nature is prolific; nature is abundant.

If we do not get in the way of nature, it will provide all that is necessary. If we create the conditions to nurture our homes and families, and if we cooperate, there is no doubt that we will thrive as a society.

Don’t let people scare you into thinking that there is too little to go around. The problem isn’t the amount; it’s the distribution.

Originally posted at Writeindependent.org on December 9, 2011

One of my favorite people is someone I’ve never met. His name is Derek Sivers and he started a company called CD Baby, which he eventually sold.

Now he gives talks to companies about entrepreneurship and various “soft” topics like this one: how your idea might be good, so go ahead and put it out there. Watch this YouTube video; it’s truly inspirational.

If you or a friend has an idea, but you’re afraid no one will think it’s brilliant, put it out there anyway. You just might be on to something.

Originally posted at Writeindependent.org on December 8, 2011

Without the benefit of my mom being alive today, I am certain that she would be proud of me to see what I am doing.

Before she died in 2002, she saw the twin towers come down, she saw our country head into a fearful time when the government would increase its reach into its citizens’ privacy. She knew there was something foul going on, though she had no idea how to change things. She was under the delusion that writing to your Congressman or Senator might actually make a difference, when in fact, this act has lost much of its power now that the influence in Washington sides with the monied interests.

She knew: there was something rotten.

In my family, there were four of us children. My eldest brother is the most highly educated, my middle brother is the most charismatic, my little sister is the most kind-hearted, and then there is me. I was the one most likely to do something strange and (perhaps) wonderful. I can’t just sit things out, or stay quietly on the sidelines. I have an irrepressible spirit that made my Dad call me the smartest, though I think he said that to each one of us in privacy (I can’t be sure, because children often forget what their parents say.)

Someone close to me said a very smart thing yesterday: she said that we don’t teach children to listen to their joy. In other words, we don’t sit them down and say “pay attention to what makes your heart sing, and don’t be so mindful of what you fear.” In fact, I don’t agree completely with this idea. Fear is a great motivator. But rather than be fearful of other people and their agenda, what scares me the most is not fulfilling my own mandate of what I can achieve in my lifetime. I am afraid of dying before I finish the job I was set here to accomplish.

And yet, the message of joy is not lost on me. Little things like having my daughter read to me, or tasting an excellent concoction I whipped up, or picking a homegrown broccoli head with NO aphids on it, or opening up my new checkbook for writeindependent feed my life. Things that haven’t happened yet, but I wish for like witnessing people who “get” this website, or overcoming my fear of being in the public eye, or being on the Colbert Report (!), these things make my heart leap in anticipation! It does wonders to the soul to have imaginary little fantasies because they keep me in a positive “it’s possible!” frame of mind.

I think it is my willful fantasy life that makes me the oddball, go-get-’em type that my Mom would be proud of today. I kept my idealism going, no matter how many years and disappointments I’ve been through. This one is for you, Mom.

Originally posted at Writeindependent.org on December 7, 2011

Have we forgotten who started this nation? Our ancestors were the bravest, most hard-working people. They left their families, their countries of origin, because they believed they could create a better life. They were the strongest: they survived long voyages, harsh conditions, they had to learn a new language, start from scratch, leave almost everything they had behind.

In short, we are built from scrappy people. So not only is America filled with the most courageous ancestors, they were also tried and tested.

The spirit of this country comes from these people. All we have to do is look back at our heritage to realize that what made this country great is the industriousness of people who had it hard at one time or another.

We have the genetic material of these people; we can stay great by applying the same indomitable spirit again.

My grandfather built a business out of nothing. He grew up during the depression; he went from house to house offering to mend suits (he came from a family of tailors) to eke out enough money to buy the most basic necessities. He slowly built by borrowing money from his wife’s brother (my great uncle) to establish businesses first in formal wear and then later in costumes.

If he had not leveraged the skills he learned as a child, he would not have been able to purchase real estate in Pennsylvania and build himself a small fortune before he passed away.

Nothing happens overnight, but people in this country have managed to pull themselves up out of poverty by consistent and persevering effort.

Originally posted at Writeindependent.org on December 6, 2011

murmuration – synchronicity – politics – promises

Before you read this blog post, you have to refer to the entry I made on November 13, 2011. If you do, you’ll be able to spot a synchronicity in this John Stossel report: http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerindex?id=6062018

I don’t always like John’s segments, usually when he doesn’t know enough about the topic to do it justice. For example, he once slammed organic produce without having enough information to weigh in correctly.

What I like about synchronicities is that they show me I’m on the right track. I am referring to the kind of synchronicity that Jung “discovered” and defined in his lifetime.

The Occupy movement, or movements like them are an organic outcome of the world trying to “right” itself. When nature is completely out of balance, it will do what is necessary to find homeostasis. There are several examples of this type of behavior in John’s report, so it bears watching. At the same time, it is important to watch Sunday Driver, my blog post of November 13^th, because it is a metaphor for what we are seeing all over the world today. Amazing!

If you stick with me throughout this entire election cycle, you will see and read about more synchronicities and therefore more proof that a power greater than us is involved in our lives.

Originally posted at Writeindependent.org on December 5, 2011

My women friends say I should write from my heart, and my men friends say I should keep my personal s**t out of my blog.

My women friends say that if I write from personal experience, other people will relate to me and understand (trust) me. My men friends say I will lose my credibility.

My women friends say that my power lies in overcoming my fears and everyone’s objections through getting out there and really showing myself. My men friends think it’s “unprofessional.”

My women friends say that the problem with politics is that it isn’t real anymore; it’s all lies and criticisms. And my men friends say that this isn’t going to work: who’s going to vote for who they really want? People only vote for one party to keep the other from winning.

I have to say it: men are going to keep things the same, and it’s up to us women to fix the mess the men have made. So I’m going to have to side with the women this time. They really do know what’s best for this country, so listen up guys!

Originally posted at Writeindependent.org on December 4, 2011

When I was in 8th grade, I read Sylvia Plath’s The Belljar. It was the most depressing piece of literature I’d ever read; I can’t even remember if I picked it up because it was assigned, or because someone liked it and recommended it.

That book put me in a MOOD. I went to school the next day, pissed as hell about how nobody talks about what’s really bothering them. And when I sat down at the cafeteria table with my quasi friends and said to them that nobody ever talks about what’s really going on, or cops to what we’re all really feeling, my pseudo-friend Audrey said vehemently “Of course we don’t all say what’s on our minds. Nobody goes around telling people what they really think, because you can’t just DO that! Nobody does that. So get used to it!”

I cried that day, because she was right. People don’t say what’s really bugging them, or how things didn’t work out the way they hoped, and how disappointing business or life, or plenty of things can be.

Audrey went on to Penn State and got knocked up in her freshman year and quit school because she needed to have the baby and marry the guy who was a young naive ROTC, maybe like a fling to her.

Funny how karma got her back for shouting at me that way. I hope she learned how to say what was bothering her.

Originally posted at Writeindependent.org on December 3, 2011

I was speaking to a venture capitalist about my business and he told me I didn’t “sound” like an entrepreneur. It was not meant to hurt me, though it did: it was meant to educate me. I’m not investment-worthy, and this was the way he was telling me to go out and learn the lingo.

He’s probably used to people always wanting things from him. He wants to have a discussion in the paradigm of business, and I am not “corporate.” I don’t know how to be corporate, because I have never been in a hierarchal environment without being the one who started it all. I loathe being subordinate to anyone. That’s why people who expect me to fit a mold, some preconceived idea of what I “should” be, or how I “should” fall in line are confused what to do with me.

But it hurt, because I’m coming into it so late in life: trying to start a business from scratch again, and needing help from so many people.

Originally posted at Writeindependent.org on December 2, 2011

Remember the scene in Jerry Maguire where Jerry hands out his “manifesto” to everyone in his company, urging them to have more integrity and then shortly thereafter, he regrets it?

That scene spoke to me, because he was getting to the bottom of what is wrong with everyday business.

You know what? Everyday business is just that: busy-ness.

Nobody really wants to work for a company that feels hollow. People are motivated by a product or a work environment that aspires to be fun and create great things, or to save the world, or at least make it a better place.

People have huge misconceptions about money and power.

Men think they are sexier if they have these things, but actually women who want these things from a man aren’t really looking for sex per se. Men use these as chits to get women, but ladies, we are looking at the end game of what happens when men and androgynous women think money and power is the be-all of life.
We talk about how materialistic our society has become. When life is all about owning, acquiring, and buying more, increasing in wealth ad infinitum, when it’s about “bottom line” and “growth” and fiscal health, we’re trapped in a game.

I asked the author of the movie “Jerry Maguire,” Cameron Crowe: “What happened to you, that you were able to write those scenes where Jerry has a dark night of the soul?”

And he said that once he realized success with a few movies, his friends were all turning on him, saying that he was pandering to rock stars, putting their music into his movies to curry favor. So he had a breakdown of sorts, not knowing who was his friend anymore.

You can’t get out of this life without suffering disappointments. It will happen to you, too: you’ll be faced with a decision whether you will take the high road or the low road. Life isn’t just about money and power, it’s about defining yourself with your choices.

I can tell the difference between someone who is alive and someone who sold out. It doesn’t take a genius. “Are you proud of yourself?”