Skepticism - Is it a Path to Spaciousness

Since the onset of COVID-19, my dog Finnegan faced a bit of a skin ailment right near his left eye these past few months. I wasn’t sure what caused it, but it suddenly appeared the following day after a blissful moment rolling on newly cut grass walking as we were exploring our neighborhood in March right before the lockdown. A spot got punctured into a little pimple, and as I watched it grow and get angry, I began to worry about the ramifications if I didn’t address the cause. With COVID-19, I was limited to sitting in the parking lot while Finnegan was seen by the veterinarian inside. I talked to several animal doctors, all of whom suggested that Finn gets surgery on his right eye and left. I was open to suggestions, but when I heard that there is no guarantee it wouldn’t return, I had to step back whether surgery was the right course of action. When we lived in Columbus, we were fortunate to have a veterinarian who also practiced holistic medicine, so it was common for Finn to get acupuncture treatments. I’ll save this for another post another day.

I learned more than what I had ever imagined. I learned that we could heal with only one remedy. This journey was to uncover layers of resistance to patience, observation, pausing, giving love, waiting, and waiting and waiting. That angry wound that was bleeding and swelling in pain is gone and has new growth of hair. The skeptic in me was the resistant one. Letting go of fear and worry, I opened myself to learning something new, Homeopathy. It happened one day, when someone said, “what happened to his eye?” many times walking in the neighborhood! One when it was a red pimple; the second time was when the cyst was in its stages of oozing and anger, so big that it almost covered his eye, the third when the cyst was shrinking, and the fourth was when it was finally gone. The neighbors couldn't believe it; even a retired veterinarian surgeon couldn’t believe what he saw.

Homeopathy is being in a meditative state. Things show up, and I learned to let go of reacting and seeking results. Allowing the space to be. The body is incredible. Trust the system to heal itself. Dogs know more than we think.

The discovery of finding the remedy that healed Finn’s eye blows my mind.

I hope this inspires you to explore homeopathy to take care of your furry companions. Much love xo

Getting out and meeting people

Any chance you get at meeting people face-to-face, just do it and accept the opportunity. This is so valuable because it allows us to connect and learn about the people we meet and vice versa. If we are ever so lucky, we can learn about their needs, dreams, fears, and hopes. Being able to see the person in front of you, their facial expressions and hearing their tone of voice is a great opportunity. It speaks volumes.

The less we meet up, the less confident we become, and yes, we can lose touch of our human nature. Imagine if we do not ever get out and hike in the woods. What will happen? When we do not go out and meet people and invest in our friends and community, we become less aware of our body language and fail at picking up social queues. It is like a dance. Getting out and meeting people is taking the step on the dance floor. This dance shows a level of trust and interest in the world.

What type of work do you want to pursue? What are your dreams and hopes? What does it take to show I care? The act of showing interest is a conversation waiting to be had. For instance, if we are going to go into sales, cultivating relationships with people is necessary. When it comes to building new relationships, the foundation matters, showing up sends a message of trust, respect, and interest. If you go out and meet the person you are selling your product to, you are showing them that you are interested in doing business with them. You are communicating that you believe in them, you are sending a message that you care, and this matters so much. Not only that, this product is one that is needed because you have developed a trust with people who have worked in the trenches to share to you that they need this service or solution (you fill in the blank). It is not from the top down. It is from people who are actually working or using the product. Treat people with dignity and respect.

I am aware that I sound like a stream of consciousness (I have vast experience in this, I am laughing at myself), but people are essential. Needs and solutions are inspired by talking to people face to face and in the trenches. I will speak about the products in my later blog post. Right now, I am saying this. Go out and create relationships in the world face-to-face. Listen to people. Open yourself to the possibility of making something greater than yourself. Trust. Look inward and see how you communicate. By going out, you see it is all right. We are all people who have wants, dreams, needs, fears, and hopes. These are windows of opportunity to create something together.

In this device-dependent world, voice and face-to-face interactions are genuinely a higher currency. Showing up takes effort. It is easy to send an email and text. Trust is a currency. Trusting is priceless. Making assumptions and getting in the mindset of negativity does not serve its purpose but put us in a comfort zone of misery and frustration. Love is energy. It is really amazing when we hear that love is patient and that love is kind. The act of respect is compassionate, courageous, and has a rippling effect. When you trust, it shows in the body language. Within trusting, you take risks. Let's not underestimate the power of the human spirit and energy. You got this.

I recently found this insightful Linkedin Learning video about Body Language. If you ever wonder about the energy you project, here's a start. There once was a young woman who got so annoyed about being told that she looked closed off because of her hands being crossed while someone was talking to them. Her old boyfriend gave made a copy of a video on body language. Who do you think that young lady was? Hahaha. Have fun learning more about body language.

Welcome from Body Language for Women by Dorie Clark

On going live

…there is never the right moment ever to start to share your story, but now.

It starts with this very moment. When I first started writing content for Ramen Girl Don’t Hesitate, I kept thinking of many excuses why I had to have this before making it more accessible to the world. In my mind, I had to have a logo. Well, that was in November 2018, and it’s now July 2019. I still do not have one. Who cares. If I wait for the right moment, it will never happen. If I wait for things to be perfect, I will never have the right moment. I will never ever share this story. I remember thinking about how long the title of this website, but I also wanted to make it memorable and fun. Here’s my move, so I came up with this. I am getting myself out of the way. I wanted to get my ego, my pride, my mind, out of the way of my own crazy creative desire to share my silly story in the hopes that someone out there in this thing called the world wide web of stories and dreams, would find joy in it to get empowered to get out in the world and make it happen no matter what.

I have a lot to be embarrassed about if I wanted to go there and be self-deprecating. Believe me, I can make myself go there if I really wanted to make myself sad and miserable. I will share with you the vulnerable side of not having a job lined up, moving to the most expensive part of the United States. What was I thinking? My mind quickly likes to go there at times when I haven’t eaten or rested or haven’t practiced my self-care.

Imagine this. One mid-morning in May, I showed up at my parent’s house thinking it would be a lovely surprise for them. Something that would bring them happiness to finally see me here, near them. The thought of seeing my mom more brought me so much excitement. The idea of seeing my dad and finally getting a chance to go on brewery trips with him, mom and my siblings would be the ultimate dream come true and would spark joy.

I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, California, on May 2018.

You can fill in the blanks of the reality check. You can imagine the energy of this and the ripple effects a girl has caused to her friends and family, her dog Finnegan. Moving to the Bay without a job is CRAZY! Enjoy this run-on sentence stream of consciousness of her mind. “To think that I made a declaration in one evening of December 2017 that I would simplify my life manifesting things to move in the direction of purging stuff that I have accumulated through the years of creating a home and life in Columbus, Ohio; my Honda Fit getting totaled by a Subaru Forrester on my home from lunch on the lightly powdered snow day; falling down my icy front steps that one January freezing morning; Marie Kondo-ing the 3-bedroom house I love, thrive and live in; talking to my boss announcing my move and asking for my resignation. It came in three. That move inspired RGDH. I have some things I have yet to do to for the people I left who helped shape me and help me become the person I am now and continuously becoming.”

I have taken some time off for personal reasons. These pages are helping me explore what is deeply important. I don’t know where I am going. I have no answers, but for those who get a chance to discover these pages, I hope you can find inspiration and no fear to pursue something greater than yourself. Being in California, I see the day to day struggles, challenges, and fantastic impact of many incredible individuals I have encountered; of those who are in the trenches of manifesting their dreams. California is not a comfortable place to live, but one thing for sure, you will find people from many walks of life and experiences beyond what you expect, whose hearts are open and the drive to make something to observe. There will be forces out there that will test your emotions and thoughts. Stay the course, and practice resilience and gratitude. I will forever be grateful for Steve Jobs and his impact in this world. Stay weird and different. Your time will come.

So if you’re struggling with where you want to go, yourself, comparing yourself to others’ achievements, not being perfect, not being pretty; not be good enough; being ashamed; being embarrassed or being uncomfortable…this is a place where creativity happens if you stop and get time to yourself. It begins with awareness, it starts with you, only you, in the struggles and the valleys of sorrow and fear with your heart, mind and soul, there is hope and the desire to move forward, the opportunity to grow and find joy in the world around you even when things are not as you expected, imagined, planned. For this, I present to you my tiny ever-evolving wabi-sabi Ramen Girl Don’t Hesitate.

I was thinking of how space is an opportunity to get down and real. Music is space. There is no perfect time. It is now. Put yourself out there and see how it feels. Brandbeats | SE32 | The Influence of Space on Spotify kiss and celebrating music and the creative weirdos out there. With love and respect.

On intentions

New year. New you. Here’s why every day is a great day to set our intentions. It is never too late and it doesn’t have to be New Years. What’s important is that we are taking the step to actually write and put our energy in how we want to be, express, and how we want to create.

How beautiful it is to see my friends and family as 2018 passed and now here is 2019. Why?

Deep down, there is always this desire within us to make things better for ourselves and set goals. What drives us to do this? It is a remarkable thing. Aren't people amazing? Why? We use this time to see that it is a gift to have space, time and the ability to renew ourselves. The new year is beautiful. Each day is an expression. How am I going to be?

Thankful for the year-end and new years to reflect and practice.

Questions to ask oneself:

What is my intention?

Are my actions and mindset in line with that intention?

Why is it important to check oneself?

What steps am I taking to create this space of purpose?

Is it working?

How are you going to be?

It is exciting. It is humbling to observe the mind. Stay open. That is the intention. Lean back to lean in. Trust. Risk. Be open. Thrive. Lead. Inspire.

I am excited and grateful to be one of the chosen women to participate in this initiative. It is called affhermation (https://affhermation.org). Check it out.

On Building Rapport and Trust

When I was attending The Ohio State University, to help pay for my daily living expenses, school supplies, and textbooks, I worked for The Gap. There I learned the pure art of selling. Even to this day, I often refer to what I learned working there as I relate to people who I work with to guide me on how to build rapport. I am forever grateful for that experience of becoming a Denim Expert. I will write more about this later, but I want to share the video “5 Rules on How to Run Your Next Sales Call” because it expands on the idea of building relationships when on-boarding. Self-respect: both self and for our clients plays an impact on how we build trust as we work with people. I have been following a great group of guys in The Futur. The ideas they share resonate deeply. I get pretty excited when I listen to their talks. One of the most important things is fostering the relationship with our client. It is simple. People are important. Building rapport is a practice and a frame of mind where we can cultivate trust and respect, and it centers on people. It is focusing on our client's needs. It is important to ask our clients’ pain point and challenges in order to figure out what product they will need. It is like building a house, using nuts and bolts to strengthen the foundation. This is the connection. A connection is being upfront and honest of your intention. I'll be delving on this some more in later posts.

The Futur is a valuable resource. I am super grateful to founder Chris Doh for sharing and educating so many who are pursuing their dream to launch their own business.

Takeaway gems that I got from this video: Price early. Build rapport. Show don’t tell. Ask more questions. Build trust.