Travel
Esther Swaty
Moving to Austin, Texas

It’s hard to believe I from Seattle in Austin, Texas on August 8, 2019 and now I’ve almost been here for two weeks. In a way it feels like so much has happened and so little at the same time. The story of how my partner and I ended up in Austin is long and short.

Moving to Austin, Texas
Learning, Social Media
Esther Swaty
Today’s Citizens Must Equip Themselves For The ...

Today, data and algorithms have influence over everything from our democracy, to our homes, to our work. We are in an era of seemingly unlimited technological progress and the speed of innovation requires citizens to be engaged in non-partisan learning and discussion. We don’t have to know everything but we need to know enough to think critically and ask questions about the technologies being developed, as well as be able to hold accountable the individuals and organizations creating them.

Today’s Citizens Must Equip Themselves For The Technological Future

thedesertinthecity

Create A Sacred Space

When was the last time you felt like you were in a sacred place of refuge, a place where you wanted to light a candle, take off your shoes and just be? As I write this, I am sitting in my favorite corner, it's near a balconette, and a curtain that sways with the breeze. I made the area cozy with a blanket and pillows. I have an old wooden typewriter box, that is topped with candles, books, and my beautiful mala beads. This is where I try to begin every morning. I sit here with a cup of tea and just breathe. I seek to cultivate peace here in this very spot. It's a small space, but it's my haven.

"I am going to make everything around me beautiful. That will be my life." - Elsie de Wolfe

Marie Kondo stated it perfectly there is a power in surrounding ourselves with things which "spark joy". When was the last time that you walked through your home and removed those things which do not spark joy? Objects can so often trigger memories which can affect your thoughts. Sometimes removing physical items, can help you to process emotional baggage. Consider removing those things which feed negative thoughts and perpetuate unfulfilling patterns. It's important to be encircled by those things which make your heart happy.

"Happiness is the choice I make today. It does not rest on my circumstances but on my frame of mind. I surrender any emotional habits that lead me down the path of unhappiness and pray for guidance in shifting my thoughts. In cultivating the habits of happiness, I attract the people and situations that match its frequency." - Marianne Williamson

This past weekend as I was sitting on my living room floor I thought about how content I am that my apartment reminds me of my childhood home. My parents worked very hard to cultivate a home base for my sisters and myself, to this day I treasure the hand painted floors, the German curtains and the glass balls in the window (even the one I poked a hole into). I am not talking about being focused on material items, we each need to live within our means. But some of my favorite places are those where the exterior is a bit shabby but when you open the door you step into a magical place.

Practical Step

June Saruwatari says to look at every item you own through what she calls a fourfold lens of "truth, love, meaning, purpose":

  • Do you honestly need this item?
  • Do you love it?
  • Does it have some sort of significance in your life?
  • Does it serve a purpose?

While we may dream of cultivating our entire home into a place which sparks joy, let's begin with a tiny corner, this is where our morning ritual can bloom.

Invent your world. Surround yourself with people, color, sounds and work that nourish you. - Susan Ariel Rainbow K.

The Desert In The City

If you like me have found yourself hungry for something more, dissatisfied with the seeming shallows of social media and empty networking events, this series is for you. I believe that each of us has the power to cultivate a depth which unfortunately has become a rarity in today's culture. We have lustily engorged ourselves on curated experiences, moving from one high to the next. Where has the era of treasuring and caring for every detail of life gone, just reminisce upon the stories of exquisitely perfumed clothing and hope chests compiled over generations? When was the last time you held a piece of fragrant sun-ripened fruit to your nose? When was the last time someone pulled out a knife to cut you a slice of a perfect peach? We must re-train ourselves to sit in a moment and to savor it as if that moment held within in it a costly wine, aged for years in a hidden dark cellar until it reached perfection.

As the summer days begin to wind down, let us capture the sunshine of bright memories, so that in the cold and rainy days to come we may unbottle those memories and have our homes made cozy by their warmth. To live such a life does not happen by mere accident, it is cultivated with intentionality. Today, I launch The Desert In The City series as much to water seeds of change in my own life as in yours.

"We are not given a good life or a bad life. We are given a life, and it is up to us to make it good or bad." - Paulo Coehlo