i SPENT A NIGHT WITH SNOOP DOGG
In September, at our annual Global dōTERRA Convention, we got to see and hear Leon Logothetis, creator of the TV show The Kindness Diaries. If you don’t know it, cozy up and snuggle down to watch Leon circumnavigate the globe on a vintage yellow motorbike named “Kindness One” relying totally on the kindness of strangers — for food, lodging, gas money - basically everything needed to stay alive. I was reminded how easy it is to be kind but I was inspired to be inspired.
For most of my life, I used to wait to get inspired. Which meant I mostly was looking forward to the next big something instead of being open to inspiration in any moment. Because when you expect it, it’s likely to show up. Finding inspiration is a powerful force that lifts me to a state of possibility - which triggers my happiness hormones and that’s a fine way to live and work. It does wonders for the human condition, especially if you’re sharing your humanity with kids, a spouse, colleagues, friends, neighbors, customers and even the furry ones, too (the pets, not the customers).
Finding this force, somehow motors me to appeal to people, and life in general, more authentically. More vulnerably. In a way, it’s like collecting what’s good or powerful or beautiful in the world and then finding my own intense joy or inspiration in it. In this place, I bring more of me to the job of life, work and play and, I have much more power and choice. Looking at the world like you’re looking at a lover will open you. To express. To channel.
It wasn’t a surprise we named our new business The Zest Zone. The spirit of zest defines who we are and what we purport to inspire. We are in the Essential Oil business. We sell natural medicine. We help others to elevate energy into a more positive vibration, emotionally and physically. I once read that high-vibe living is like being your best self with a little extra light attached.
Finding that light in others or in things turns me on. It might be found in nature - like staring into the Grand Canyon, now the home of several hundred goosebumps I left behind. I was moved by boundless beauty to an understanding of so many things bigger than my life and my stuff. I can be inspired by a deep, deep meditation. A larger-than-life character in a movie. A blanketing snowfall. A poem or song with suggestive power. A singer with a guttural, whispery voice. A clarinet or horn player who puts me in a narcotic state. A woman who owns her strut. Someone’s bold and brilliant earrings. How someone wears their clothing — how they own it. Sometimes, it’s a writer who opens her soul with words that pour from her heart and cut onto mine. Whether the inspiration comes from a driving inner force, a beautiful scene, from faith or someone being openly weird (a judgement, but you know what I mean), in all these examples, I know one thing for sure — I am always inspired when others put their genuine selves out there. Their light. When someone lets their passion pour out or their freak flag fly - it makes me high.
Enter Cardi B, Chance the Rapper and Snoop. Wait, what?! Stay with me. It was late one night a few weeks back but this little momma could not think about slumber time so I did what any smart-self-sufficient-midnight-owl would do — I hit up Netflix. And, then it happened. I fell into the first few episodes of Rhythm + Flow, a new music competition show where big rap stars hit the street to find the next rap superstar and then judge the contestants in front of a rap-thirsty crowd. By 2:30 a.m., I was in deep and hooked. Rhythm + Flow is unscripted and uncensored and undeniably emotionally undressed.
One by one, the hopeful challengers shared their lyrical prowess. Their truths. Their tragedies. Triumphs often marred with life’s realities. Drugs. Murder. Sex. Power. Money. The street. Each with their own imprisoned personal plot, sometimes a life vanished. I found it irresistible.
And, in their moments, I found my own. Inspired, once again, by raw, real humanity. Just being their best selves — with a little extra light attached.
In that reality show, I found a slice of my own. I was reminded that I am the only one who has the power to decide who I want to be. What I want to look like. How I want to dress. And, what I need to change.
I was reminded of how amazing I am in my spotlight. I was reminded that I still have time to transform into someone that no-one has seen before.
I was reminded that my heart is still my GPS. And, my journey is just a continuation of all the inspired moments that brought me to this one.
Zestfully yours,
Ilene
Stop by for our future adventures. We only post positive life shit.