Being

Herein is the the thematic underscore to this site. The mission. The objective. The ideal.

Ready?

Be In

That is it.

4 Letters. Believe me if I could have made it 3 I would have.

Ready for the longer version?

BE IN YOUR LIFE.

That is my message.

Go all IN.
Be IN it to win it.
Be happy/content/blissful/thankful/joyous IN the moment.
Be INto you.
Be the central hero or heroine IN your story.
Be IN.

The Why

For far too long I wasn’t IN my own life. I was living a life — a fairly good life — but it wasn’t mine. It took one resounding wake up call where I literally turned around to see who had made the statement in my own head to start me on the path towards change and a better life for me.

It took years to make adjustments and shifts to create a better reality for myself — and that process is ongoing — but I first needed the reminder that I am in control here. I belong IN the driver’s seat IN my own life.

It’s not too late.

You can make the choice to do the same.

BE IN

Under that theme there are the routes: INspiration (coffee), INnformation (books) and INntentional enjoyment (beer).

There is great crossover but generally here is how I break it down:
 

Moments of INspiration (coffee)

Coffee LoveLike the coffee that starts your day, these are the fuels that light your fire. They come in the form of life experiences, lovely images, passionate posts of fellow bloggers, great conversations, great cups of literal coffee, interesting people or the latest workout-high creative inception.

What ignites your heart’s desires and motivate you to be IN and contributing to the world?

Make sure your life is full of them. Treasure them. Use them to kickstart your passions and push you forward.

 

 

INformation about varied and various paths (books)

342/365: BooksThis starts with understanding our own steps forward and steps back. I also love meeting and telling of the INdividuals I meet who are living the Be IN mantra.  If I can pinpoint or posit on them, I’ll share the keys to their engagement with their life.

My lit lover self also enjoys escaping into a novel, reading about a different life, and discovering different people, places and events through a good tale. It is this process that further INforms us as individuals and, by looking at others and having an emotional reaction to a story, INforms you about you.

 

INtentional enjoyment rounds out the triad (beer)

Craft Brew in candlelightAh yes, the beer. Drinking fully of life (and beer) but not to excess or to escape reality. The ideal is to be fully engaged IN where you are. To be able to laugh and be merry IN the moment (with or without beer).

I think that you can find experiences, observations, elements, opportunities and simple pleasures whenever that is what you want.

I strive for the positive spin and search for joy unbounded.

(and I like beer)

 

These three things contribute to a life of being IN.

The objective isn’t to “be different.” The objective is to find our own engaged and happiest normalcy.

We are IN when we appreciate and surround ourselves with the ideas and physical things that we are INto and provide ourselves with happy purpose.

We are writing our own story every day and have the choice to make and mold it to be what we want.

Whatever you are INto, you should be INto you.

I’m Joanna and CBB is let beginning of my process to share my story and be further IN myself. I hope you are able to find inspiration, information and enjoyment here as well.

Now go BE IN YOUR LIFE.

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A note from the (future) archivist: After working over this idea in my head for the last few months I finally googled “Be In.” Apparently Be-IN was a cultural phenomena of the 60s (what wasn’t?) that has seen some recent resurgence in the digital sphere. As I don’t disagree with their calls I’m sticking with mine.

Class dismissed.

Images via Flickr under CC license by yours truly and Magic Madzik (342/365)

My Journey List

Per inspiration and instructions from Mr. Impossible himself (AKA Joel Runyon of the Impossible League) I am sharing my own intended Life Itinerary Way-points:

The truly Epic:

Substantially and Quantifiably help one person pursue his/her passion… every year

Invent one word that makes it into the Dictionary (not just the urban one)

Fund an artist for (at least) a year

Other Life:

52 weeks of one blog post a week

52 weeks of one book a week

1 year living debt free (no mortgage, car payment, student loans, nor carried credit card balances)

Live in another country for (at least) 6 months

Publish an Academic Article

Publish a Non-Fiction Article (printed)

Be paid for a speaking gig

Teach a collegiate course

Travel:

Solo travel in non-english speaking country

Visit Every Continent

Drive US coast-to-coast

Spend (at least) 1 week hiking Appalachian Trail (or comparable)

Stay in a hostel (yes, I really never have)

Couchsurf

WOOF

Spend a night on a sailboat at sea

Have coffee in 50 countries before I turn 50

Fitness:

Race/Ride/Event in every US State (and DC)

5K (technically I haven’t raced a 5K, first race was 4miles) (Corri di Vita 9/30/12)

 

10K

Half Marathon

30mile No-Stop Ride

Metric Century Ride

Full Century Ride

Double Century (2 Days)

Double Century in one day (STP – July 2012)

Triathalon – sprint distance

Triathlon – olympic distance

Things to learn:

Scuba

Emergency Medical Training

Yoga teaching certification

Fluent in one other language

Things to try:

Bellydancing

Poledancing (for fitness)

Rollerderby

Trapeze

Guided Meditation

Fly a plane

Jump out of a plane (skydive)

Rappel

Hand-glide

Roast my own coffee

Brew My own beer

Raise Chickens

A 3-Day Fast

Vegan for 3 months

Polar Bear Swim

Surfing

Snowboarding

 

My Kind of Town

I slipped back into my city as if returning from vacation instead of dropping in for a weekend visit. The weather is slightly different seven months later but it feels more like only seven days since I left. Conversations break the spell as lots of “what are you doing here?!”s were not part of my daily NYC life.

My favorite Maintenance Man from my old office building and my bagel guy both remembered my name (and I theirs) with a warm smile. The latter, (corner of 6th and 45th) reached expertly for my cinnamon raisin without missing a beat. A brief catch up on family and workout routine, turning to weather and baseball… our chat wandered the usual paths of acquaintance and ended with a “see you soon.”

I walked away pondering the nature of “soon,” relieved to know my ideas of being able to drop back into this, my city home, were not complete delusions. My list of Must-Eats over the next 72 hours my marker that I don’t currently reside here… But boyhowdy do I live here.

In addition to those meals, I aimed to cross things off my internal “I never did…” list.

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