Be Your Best

Alicia Keys & Brandi Carlile Perform 'A Beautiful Noise' Guest host Brandi Carlile welcomed her friend Alicia Keys to perform an acoustic version of their Grammy-nominated duet, "A Beautiful Noise." ...

The Lola Library
Books, Movies, Music, TV Shows, Podcasts that have helped me grow, learn, appreciate, and that have challenged and inspired me.
So Today I talk about a book of essays called The Book Of Delights by Ross Gay https://www.rossgay.net/the-book-of-delights ....
Now I have made mention of my health issues during the 2 years of Covid and what I have not said was that I retreated from the world because physical and emotional pain go intimately together and...
Nobody noticed because there was just too much going on for everyone. Now this was a good and a bad thing, good because I did not need to explain myself and what was going on for me, I literally did not have the energy to do that but bad because nobody noticed and I was alone inside my head a lot struggling and afraid, not good for anyone.
To distract myself from the fear and aloneness I went on long walks and listened to podcasts and one day on a podcast called The Happiness Lab with Dr Laurie Santos from Yale she spoke of this book. And I was grasping for any joy so I looked it up at the library but I could only get the audio book so I got that. So I walked and I listened and it brought me moments of light which are like little life jackets thrown when you are drowning and cannot see the light.
I highly recommend the audiobook as Ross Gay narrates and his Joy and Delight are infused in his voice and because he is a poet his essays are even better read out loud.
What I took away from it was we need to mark and marinate more in the Joys and Delights in our lives. We will marinate in the s**t for days, weeks even years but celebrate the good, the beauty, the connection, the magic in our lives and in others only briefly then let it go just as quick.
To make this post more of Delight, if you read this post just take a moment to share one small delight you experience or see today because a delight shared is a delight doubled.
JL Laale 'Lola'

The Book of Delights — ROSS GAY THE BOOK OF DELIGHTS A New York Times BestsellerNamed one of the Best Books of 2019 by the Washington Independent Review of Books and Shelf Awareness Named a best reviewed book of 2019 by Lit Hub. Named one of five books every high schooler should read by the School Library JournalNamed one of .....

The Lola Lessons #1

‘Leave No Creativity Unbirthed’

So for 25 years I was a creative. I wrote and produced plays, developed musicals, choreographed dances, wrote poems, and created an array of entertaining, educational workshops for businesses, organizations, schools, teams, adults, teenagers, and children. And for the most part, I loved every minute of it, and even when it was hard because it was my work, because those I supported needed/expected me to show up I did again and again.

If I could create something that would showcase you, build your confidence, show your potential, shine your light, I was in. My passion was my all out commitment to your growth. What I did not completely undertand was that I’d have rather helped you, supported you in your dreams, then support my own.

During the pandemic, I had some serious health issues that knocked me sideways and made me reevaluate and look at my beliefs and my way of showing up in the world and showing up for myself.
What I came to undertand was that
I had forgotten how to create for the pure joy of creating, creating for creativity sake.
I had forgottten my dreams or even how to dream
I had forgotten how to support and show up for myself.

So during my darkest times I created, and it was challengig
Never before painted but encouraged by my sister-in-law I painted from YouTube videos,
I made myself a promise to write one poem or song per week and made myself accountable to my sister for 10 weeks.
I lovingly created, renovated, and decorated the first house I’d ever turned into a home in my 50 years on the planet.
I knitted scarves and hats for the ones I loved
I took photos of things that spoke to me of beauty and awe
I planted flowers.
I built rock stupas,
and I wrote.

And as I created, as I put myself and my creativity and my dreams first I healed and as I healed the creativity flowed.

I realized that in showing up and supporting myself that there was a wealth and depth of untapped creativity inside of me and that my greatest regret or sadness would be if I left this earth with all that magic left inside of me.

But I was afraid, afraid to share my creativity...and yet I yearned to share it.
Afraid it would not be liked or be sophisticated or good enough... and yet who was I trying to impress and why did I care?
Afraid that if I put it all out there it would lead to something I was not yet ready for...
And yet I’d spent 25 years teaching others that ‘it is their light not their darkness that most frightens them that if they face their fears and let their light shine they unconsciously give other people permission to do the same’.

It is humbling to be a person who taught for years how to face fears, how to believe in yourself, how to Be Your Best and then to find out you’ve not been following your own teachings....and so today I take my own advice and I’m going to share my creativity and learnings of the last few years, share my insights, my stories, my creativity and my vulnerability.

May all the creativity I have locked up inside of me, and all the magical creativity that has been gifted to me flow freely out of me and into the world. For now I am going to call these sharings ‘The Lola Lessons’ and yet since I am for ever in a state of evolving this too may change.

AND...
If these posts resonate with you, wonderful
If they inspire you to create, brilliant
If they make you laugh or cry, beautiful
If they make you pause and think, remember or reevaluate, fantastic
If they make you want to reach out to me or others and start a conversation, awesome
If not, if they make you want to react in a negative way that’s ok too because then I’m not your person or post today and may you keep surfing and may you find your wave.

JL Laale ‘Lola’

IMPROVE your...
Team skills
Communication skills
Listening skills
Quick thinking skills
Creativity
and humour
with IMPROV [email protected]

So proud and grateful to be one of the workshop presenters who will be going into schools due to these Proud To Be Me grants.This is an incredible group of people doing good in our community. Check out www.ptbm.ca and support them so they can help support the youth of our community.

Congratulations to all our 2019 Proud To Be Me Grant Recipients. This year's grant process saw a record number of grant applications! This unprecedented demand did result in longer notification time and lower success rates compared to previous years for repeat applicants.

We thank all our applicants for their ongoing patience as we reviewed the applications. All applications were assessed against our grant criteria with all board members refraining from voting on Conflicts of interest. All successful grant applicants have been notified via email.

The increase in applications continues to highlight the ever-growing need for funding and support for programs and services that help the youth in our community.

Thank you, everyone, for your support and participation in the 2019 Proud To Be Me Grant process.

For questions or more information on your grant our the grant process please email us at [email protected]

On this Thanksgiving weekend I wanted to take a moment to say how GRATEFUL I am to all the kids who have passed through my life, those in my classes right now, those in all the schools I go to every week, those who have passed through my classes and who are now adults, some now with kids of your own... remember we want to have a Canada where all our kids in all their similarities and differences can Have It All. This is my hope for all of you a song that represents my heart. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFkTu8Y1KLs

Jason Mraz - Have It All (Official Video) The official video of "Have It All" by Jason Mraz from the album 'Know.' "Have It All" available now: https://Atlantic.lnk.to/HaveItAllID 'Know.' available n...

Wonderful grant application and initiatives for schools. I am affiliated with this group and yes you can apply for Improve with Improv: bullying prevention, character building, growth and positive mindset, leadership workshops.Feel free to contact me [email protected] or [email protected]

Grants and funding are available to fully or partially support mission-related initiatives for programs and schools in Ottawa and the surrounding region that seek to generate impact and create lasting change!
Visit http://ptbm.ca/index.php/what-we-do/grants to submit your 2019-2020 grant!