jenny's top eight no. 2

You thought I was gonna stop? Um.. no. I’m gonna keep going!! Jenny’s Top Eight is my favorite. It forces me to keep being curious, keep savoring, keep trying new things. It forces my brain to acknowledge the beauty and fun in the world to offset all that worry!!

I’ve been thinking so much about my nervous system lately. It feels like there is a little bit of a lie going around that we are supposed to be calm all the time, that a healthy nervous system is always regulated; that if we are not peaceful and graceful in the face of all the tumult, joy and surprise of living than we are failing. I don’t know about you, but most of my biggest, life changing, hardest, absolute best moments of being alive have not been comfortable. I do believe that we are spiritual beings having a human experience BUT WE ARE HERE TO HAVE A HUMAN EXPERIENCE!! Sometimes we do not take a graceful pause before responding, and we act like a shit AND THEN we can go back and apologize, say, oops sorry I got upset, can we talk about it, do you have any feelings you wanna express? Humans are not perfect. We do not come into the world screaming, gasping for air to then wear tank tops that say Growth Mindset, do yoga and OM our way out of human. Comfort is not the goal. Living is the goal.

A healthy nervous system is designed to move dynamically through all states, it flows through ventral, sympathetic, dorsal. Obviously it can get really stuck and then we gotta really get down to business to get it unstuck, we gotta do the uncomfortable work of getting it back to safety so it can do it’s dance! A strong nervous system like a strong relationship knows how to repair, and get back into motion.

So, you must be like WTF lady? What does this have to do with what you loved this month? This is what, Can you allow yourself to be curious, to do new things this month, try new stuff, be a little tiny bit uncomfortable. We are designed to be dynamic! Our brains are brilliant and also lazy and will try to get us to do the same thing over and over, and then we get sad sack and bored and think, no I don’t wanna be a sad sack, but I guess I am, that’s life. No! Life is an adventure, lessons, experiences! Go be curious. We are filled with possibility!! There are so many stars in the sky, whole universes that we do not know about. Go find a new universe. Think about more than just the same 5 things you’ve been thinking about all month. Go. Live! Start small. Start with some stuff you thought was cool. Make your own top eight!!

PS. I shouldn’t call our brains lazy, they are like very busy working single moms in the 80’s who prop us down in front of the TV because c’mon it’s a big big job. But also if you suggest to that mom that you wanna do an art project their first response is prob gonna be no. You see my point. Go make some art!

1. FIRST BLUSH!! This is my favorite time of year in Los Angeles because the ROSES are back and my god are they back. They are huge, they smell amazing, there are so many brilliant colors and they have names like Neon Cowboy and Broadway. Descanso Gardens and Huntington Gardens are my weekly go to’s this time of year, but never forget gas stations also have the prettiest roses. Get gas, stop and smell the roses.

   And they built a labyrinth at Descanso. I LOVE a labyrinth!! It balances the right and left hemisphere of the brain. A brain balance and all that beauty!! NO BRAINER!

2. I do not know what is in this incense. I die for it. Most mornings I do a little Reiki symbol of great bright light and I light some Holy Smoke. I think of it like a shower for my home! I always pick some up when I’m at Noted in Ojai!

3. THE LONELY FEW!!! Okay. This isn’t fair that I’m posting this now because it’s ending tonight. BUT I want you to know about it, keep your eyes and ears peeled for this INCREDIBLE show, maybe it’s a musical. Okay it’s a MUSICAL!! I am a little bit speechless and madly in love. I loved it so much that I am going back ALONE on closing night because I could not bear to not see it one more time. Do I feel embarrassed? Yeah, a little. I’m sort of fan girling for Lauren Patton, but keep it to yourself.

4. Sarah Gilfillan ECHOES at Sarah Brook Gallery!! This show ends May 6!! So hoof it over to Hollywood Blvd! Such a beautiful body of work! I am in love with Chorus and Birds and Bones (pictured). I have one of Sarah’s pieces in my living room. I believe that art lives and breaths, and like us, its cells change. I look at her painting a lot because it seems like it goes somewhere, because it seems like a hidden message is waiting for me. I feel the same about the pieces up at Sarah Brook right now.

Also go next store to Obet & Del’s and grab a Thai Town Tea Latte. Super Delicious!

5. It’s PIXIE season y’all! The smell of the orange blossoms alone is worth the drive to Ojai right now. And then the pixies. I love going to stands along Grand Avenue and putting a dollar in the box. It reminds me of farm stands in The Hudson valley and I get a juicy pixie!

6. I like nice things and this is one of my favorite nice thing splurges; my Simone Fan fancy towel clothes could probably be on every months top eight. I’ve been rocking (subjective) it since I walked into Sunroom last year (because Lucy is so ahead of the game Gwenyth) and instantly fell in love with towel dresses, pants, bucket hats. I want more towel clothes!! But the classic jacket is my dearest!!! MORE Please! Do you think I could pull off the trench?

7. Qi GONG! YES! Let’s GO! Probably no practice makes me feel as grounded, connected, and energized as Qi Gong, and yet, I forget to do it. One of my fondest lockdown memories was standing barefoot on the grass outside doing my turtle longevity series. I forget to do what makes me feel genuinely good a lot of the time.

I was so excited to do a class with Courtney Alexandra Aldor on Maui this past February. Her class was so thoughtful and smart! I was like get me on this mailing list STAT! Welllllll…. Starting tomorrow, for the month of May, she will be doing classes Mondays at 11PST ON ZOOM for $40!!! Or $10 for a drop in class. Sign up here!

8. The Workbook! Where are you Going? YOU ARE RIGHT HERE! Are you doing your workbook? Do you need one? There are 20 Left!! I’m gonna admit that I am not doing a perfect job with the workbook. I’ll often ignore it and then go hard on it. Sometimes I’ll read a question that I typed and think OH HELL NO, I”M NOT ANSWERING THAT! and then a couple days, weeks later I’ll answer it. But here’s the thing… I always feel better when I use it. I start to see what really matters to me. I start to see what I really need to change in my life. I’m gonna say something crazy right now, CLARITY and HONESTY with ourselves makes us FEEL BETTER!!

Okay Bunnies. I love you if you do and I love you if you don’t! xxJ