visioning day!

ah, there are times when i feel that brilliance rubs up against me at night, snuggling me and seeping into my brain. and then i wake up all glowing with inspiration and need to share it with the world in group settings.

this is how i woke up on tuesday and it carried through my organization's visioning day. i intended to stop by the office to gather my thoughts and make my notes and in addition to creating an outline to talk about how to effectively use our websites as vehicles for ACTION, i supported my ED as she was gathering up pieces to bring to the day (agendas, handouts). i felt like i was floating in a sea of being present in the midst of last minute chaos.

and then i was left alone in the office. i thought it was odd not to be offered a ride, but since our venue was a mere 6 blocks away, i thought i could do the walk in 20 minutes.

at folsom street i caught the 47 bus and got off at the corner of 11th and mission. i scurried up the stairs, gotan project in my ears and my inner musician tingling at all the violin music i am rediscovering since i want to be a student of it all. i signed in and one of our board members waited at the desk. i wondered if i was late...

no.

i was one THE first one. this usually happens when it comes to professional events.

i assess the space, i am introduced to Goodwill's tech guy and get an overview of our projector for the afternoon. folks trickle in. by the time we gather and settle, it's 12:30 and 6 people are gathered in the room.

we speak of the purpose of the visioning day. we walk through a discussion about our database and plans to implement it more usefully. we discuss our websites as more dynamic vehicles to call our constituents and our pariticpants to action.

it all feels very productive and i am charged! we are not only TALKING abou stuff, but it seems to be moving us in the direction of ACTION. super exciting stuff.

the day unfolds productively. we're sharing our vision of what the world would be like once girlsource has finished its job. i am introduced to the harvard business school concept of the BHAG (big, hairy, audacious goal) and fall in love with how rediculous-sounding the acronym is. and i think to my personal BHAG...i will continue to scribe it this year.

at 6 pm, i am satisfied with the work i have done with fellow coworkers, board members, prospective board members, former participants and myself. one of our board drops me off at the office and i head upstairs to wrap my head around some emails to prepare for a meeting on wednesday with the full circle fund tech committee around our strategy for change and how that will inform our direction for 2006.

all of this sounds so amazing to me. i love my brain to be turned on, to tune into new ideas! i feel so mentally nourished! it's SOOO good.

after some correspondence i reward myself with violin practice. i got a little cocky, did some bowing exercises before diving straight into "go tell aunt rody". there's a transition in the 2nd measure that's a little tricky. i basically go from the open A strong to a G, which is the D string with the index, middle, and ring finger placed on the fingerboard at specific intervals. i am working on the exact timing of releasing the bow from the A string, positioning my fingers to produce the correct note on the D string and then bowing to execute the note.

i repeated this measure over and over.

i slowed down the metronome so i wouldn't rush it.

i sat and then stood, facing a mirror and feeling bold. my face was studious and daring.

i wanted to get this passage.

and i did and the next measure, too.

the fingering and timing of this measure was more challenging. by 8 pm i was exhausted of it and so ended with my jam session. tonight's selections were from groups similar to the gotan project. electronica and live strings played. a really cool romani-inspired tune by pink martini stuck in my head. i jazzed up ol' aunt rody to play with the electronica...filling in long strokes to play off the tango-esque mood of the piece. i played with short strokes. i experimented with rocking the bow from string to string, engaging two strings at once and randomly placing my fingers to see what sounds i would produce.

lo encantaba. i am creating the building blocks to making music! que bien!

i spoke with ms. michelle and we concocted a plan. i am house and cat sitting for her til Sunday and so needed the rundown on the house and how to take care. she and i ended up talking about our jobs, my trip, our expectations of ourselfs in this world. she is always ALWAYS an excellent listener. and we can riff off balancing our lives with our values. that balance is not always easy to strike. she and i both love nourishing food. she shops more often than i do, since i get claustrophobic in stores...she's one of my sane sisters. and i adore her for that.

we also talked about O, and how phoenix is going. then i got into how i think she and Joe are one of my models for perfect coupledom...not that they are disgustingly romantic, but how they are good partners to each other. i am honored to see that and am high off that from seeing Kris and Scott this past weekend.

what's exciting about beautiful, positive, sustainable relationships is that it destroys the untruth in my mind that relationships must be this horrible power struggle between partners where inequities are used to disempower. i am seeing relationships move past adversity of circumstance with the faith in the partnership. i am hoping this will inform me.

there are no walls. no barriers...to communication...to being in positive relationships that BUILD on strengths and not try to OUT DO the other partner.

super-bien.

y ahora i go to sleep because today is now ash wednesday and i am about to embark on a 40 day journey with my Windsor Pilates trial to respect my body. i am giving up poor self image this lent and replacing it with the project that is my body and mind--my temple is a healthy monument and testament to what Is endowed me with and facilitated my being here for. (wow. that's deep. i must need sleep. like, now!)