The Joy Of Doing Things Badly
Happy New You, January 2005
Welcome to our newsletter! We've put together a monthly tribute to something we all have in common: life. Whether it's the time you hit 'send' when you meant to hit 'delete,' or the time you let your kid play hookie to go to a game, only for her to end up in the emergency room with a concussion from a fly ball, or even the way you always mispronounce your boss' last name.
Whatever it is, we know; we've been there too! This is all about sharing those times, when you want nothing more than to find a nice cave to crawl in and take some time off from being you. But don't think for a second that this is all about wallowing; we have come far past that. This is about triumph! When you couldn't find that cave, what did you do instead? What made you sit up, take a deep breath, and say "Alright, I guess it's time for round two."
We invite you to share a piece of yourself with us every month. Send us your stories, your pictures, your words of inspiration. Each month will be themed, starting with February. If you haven't guessed it already, it's going to be all about love. So make sure to share with us and go ahead and pass this on to anyone you know who could use a healthy dose of some good old fashioned joy.
Bon Apetit
From the Editor
Vivianne A. Njoku
Hello and good day (and if it's not, hurry up and make it one!). I am so thrilled to have this project on my list of monthly to-dos. Besides the fact that most of the others are about dollar signs and deadlines, I feel like this is a necessary change of pace.
I'm pretty sure you all agree with me that as a race of people, we need to stop running away from our own humanity. Granted, in our fickle society, it's no wonder that so many of us have strayed further and further from our true selves; flawed and fabulous.
I am taking a stand today my friends. I am looking at you square in the monacle and speaking in the clearest, unmistakable tone: "It's time to go back to the drawing board." You heard me--it's time to start all over, right back at square one, when you were too new to care about self-consciousness, or etiquette, or perfection. When all you knew was to get up, dust your butt off where you took a spill, and take a running start right back onto the playground.
In the here and now, the playground is what you have to deal with every day: appointments, relationships, telemarketers. The spills aren't easy to forget, they're what you wish you had done better, or faster, or not at all. And your butt, well... it's still your butt. Dust it off and come on! The playground isn't gonna be open forever.
- Vivianne A. Njoku
Our Inspiration
Veronica Chambers
In the ideal world, this will be more than just a missive from me to you--confessing all my failures and shortcomings. Let's fill this newsletter with your stories and ideas--tell us what you're bad at and why you do it anyway. What is it that helps you make it as an imperfect person--in a world that heralds perfection. I'll start.
I began the day oversleeping (set the alarm for 6pm instead of 6am) and my running partner ended up waiting for me cold and frantic on a corner in Beverly Hills. The day went from bad to worse, ending with me being an hour late to a 9pm birthday dinner. I was driving in my car--my foot a little too heavy on the gas pedal, my music a little too loud, and my heart racing a little too quickly.
I told myself to chill. I got into the slow lane. And I remembered--like a gift from heaven--a favorite quote from Marianne Williamson. "Failure is an archery term," she once said. "It simply means you've missed the mark."
"Vegetarian Voodoo" by Ebony Rose Custis
I went to the grocery store last night, the all night one. I like to go around 2:00am in flip-flops, flannel shorts, a wife-beater, and my black nylon wave cap. I feel more like myself during these stolen moments. The absence of heavy makeup, daylight, supportive lingerie, and judgmental observers makes me feel light enough to fly.
I shuffle freely through the aisles, investigating new snack possibilities. Unrushed, or crowded by competing shoppers. I had made it halfway through the 16 aisles, trying to decide between curly fries and tater-tots when I saw this woman. She looked way too nice to be in the same aisle as me. Didn't she know what time it was? She looked as if she'd begun preparing at midnight for her glamorous 2:00am appearance at Win-Dixie. Dressed in a tank top, summer skirt, and heeled sandals she was making me lose my usually voracious appetite.
Excerpt From "The Joy of Doing Things Badly..."
photograph provided by David McPherson
After the warm up, the first dance that Connie taught us was called the Souno. It is a West African dance that's typically taught to children. You trace the seven days of the week, alternating between the right and the left as your foot moves diagonally, like in the Charleston. With each step, we repeated after Connie:
"...Seven days a week, we do our best. Seven days a week, we do our best. Seven days a week, we do our best." Repeating these words, over and over again was almost a religious experience for me. It was all I could do not to cry because I realized, as each word left my lips, that these were the truest words that I had spoken in a very, very long time.
"What an idiot," I tell myself when I make a simple mistake like leaving my work ID at home. "Loser," I call myself when I realize yet again that I have made a gross miscalculation in balancing my checkbook. The insults I can hurl at myself know no end. But the truth is seven days a week, I do my best. As I danced the Souno and said these words, I was so grateful for the gift of kindness to myself.
Quotes Quotes Quotes!
“The discovery of a new dish does more for human happiness than the discovery of a star.” - Anthelme Brillat-Savarin
“We know nothing of tomorrow, our business is to be good and happy today.” - Sydney Smith
“See the happy moron, He doesn't give a damn. I wish I were a moron--My God, perhaps I am!” - Anonymous
“The physician can bury his mistakes, but the architect can only advise his client to plant vines.” - Frank Lloyd Wright
“When I make a mistake, it's a beaut!” - Fiorello Henry LaGuardia
“The excursion is the same when you go looking for your sorrow as when you go looking for your joy.” - Eudora Welty
“This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.” - George Bernard Shaw
Please Join Us!
Simply send us an email at joyofdoingthingsbadly@yahoo.com and have your subject read: I want some JOY! Hope to hear from you!