Yesterday — July 6 — was Frida Kahlo’s 110th birth anniversary and I ended the day by leafing through the watercolored-pages of The Diary of Frida Kahlo: An Intimate Self-Portrait (Amazon| Indiebound). There were tomes in Spanish, sketches, self-portraits, the word “Diego” written on many, many pages and more of her writing.
I’m familiar with most of Frida’s paintings and seeing the sketches in her diary transported me back to Casa Azul, which I went to the minute we landed in Mexico City. So raw, so beautiful. Thank you for your life, love and courage, Frida.
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Today’s email from Jack Kornfield over at the Spirit Rock Meditation Center was so necessary.
“May I love myself just as I am.
May I sense my worthiness and well-being.
May I trust this world.
May I hold myself in compassion.
May I meet the suffering and ignorance of others with compassion.”
If you are a person who has regular, repeated destructive thoughts, thoughts of self-judgment, criticism, shame, or unworthiness, work with this training for a week or, even better, for a month.
First, become more carefully aware of the content and rhythm of the voices inside. What are their regular, unhealthy remarks and devastating comments? What do they sound like? What do they feel like? Begin to study how much pain they cause you. Feel how they take you over and how they hurt. When do they come out most strongly, day or night? What situations provoke them? Social occasions, family time, partners, competitive situations, work or leisure? Do they criticize your body, your mind, your actions, your whole being?
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I’m loving this piece from NPR: Summer Reading for your Woke Kids.
“Give kids credit,” says Stan Yogi, one of the authors on our list. “They have an innate sense of what’s right and what’s wrong. Being able to draw on that innate sense of justice through relatable stories is so important.”
libromance 