The Performative Love Letters

Monday

Dear Erica,
Yard work is among your many gifts.
Love, Erica.

Someone even gave me a t. shirt for my efforts. It is so me.
 


Me and the Hedgeclippers in I Let Go



 

Tuesday

Dear Erica,
 
Your walking pursuits are legendary. Way to draw those femur bones back. Walking all over the place is excellent for your pelvis, your relationship to the earth, and your connection to the people around you. Congratulations on your astounding commitment to walking. Well done. You could totally make it as a people walker, or a dog walker. Or a ferret walker, if you didn’t hate ferrets. Also, your fashion sense is impeccable.

Have a wonderful day,

Love, Erica.

Fabulous Fashion sense, Erica. You could totally make it as a People Walker.

Wednesday

Dear Erica,

You are truly a delight to hang out with at airports. The posture you maintain while carrying your light and meticulously packed luggage is spectacular. With great generosity, you offer love and compassion to those who may not be as unfrazzled and smug as you are. You make a wonderful travel buddy and airports are lucky to have you.

Love, Erica.

Unfrazzled and Smug at the Goa Airport

Thursday

Dear Erica,

Perhaps your powerful emotions have given you a hard time, but you are learning to make space for them in the most healing and genuine way you know how. It was generous, creative and brace of you to invent Performative Crying in Alleys. It is beautiful to see you try to seek truth and wisdom from how you feel. This process will help wake you up, and it will hopefully inspire the rest of the world to be more honest.

Love, Erica.

Performative Crying in Alleys

Friday

Dear Erica,

People always say, "I have never met anyone like you," and they are right. You are precious and interesting and irreplaceable. This doesn't mean that you need to be full of yourself, but try to have a fun time with the unique person you've become. No one else has the exact same passion for Butt Club, Ocean Invertebrate Personalities or Performative Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. The phrases and ideas that enter and exit your brain are original, creative and often rather amusing. Perhaps you don’t always say exactly the right thing, but you win points for honesty. Being so open is liberating for the people around you. You do not need to apologize for who you are. Be unapologetic. You are not a broken disaster and your life is not a series of mistakes. Although just being you is enough of a purpose, one day you will figure out the purpose you seek. Don’t give up.

Love, Erica.


What Ocean Invertebrate Personality Are You?


There is no one else like you.
The End.

Exuberant Bodhisattva on Facebook
Twiiter: @mypelvicfloor

Performative Grilled Cheese
The O's in the Tôtô have Hats
Five Days of Creative Recovery

I Let Go, by Erica J. Schmidt

 

 

Business Ideas. On a Tuesday.

Business Idea #1. On A Tuesday.

People Walker: Since moving to Montreal and quitting Ashtanga yoga, I have been walking all over the place, all the time. So far I have not regretted one step. Walking is delightful. In the process, you can listen to podcasts, talk on the phone, space out, or watch families wash their cars and play road hockey in alleyways. And I have found that I am gradually phasing out my clicky hip, crooked spine, eighty year old arthritis days. I have said this several times before and I still agree with myself: it is more important to me to be able to walk pain-free for long distances than it is to put my legs behind my head and/or bend backwards and stick my face in my crotch. While these things may not always mutually exclusive, for now my priority is drawing my femur bones back. I believe that walking can be just as spiritual as yoga. In fact, all my walking theories can be amalgamated into a philosophy called Spirit Walking which may hold the same marketing potential as Prancercize, an ecstatic and revolutionary success. And so my Excellent Business Idea is becoming a People Walker. This entails walking people up and down streets, hills, or wherever they’d like. As we walk, we can talk about femur bones, children, sex, food, or any topic that brings the client immense joy. Noble and spiritual silence is also an option. Everything is an option, even leashes. Business is open, as of this afternoon. Hit me up before I leave for India and/or I’ll walk you in Delhi!

Prancercize
Related Literature about Prancercize (Wikipedia)

Some Exciting Footwear Options:

 

Business Idea #2. On a Tuesday.

Letter Writer: When I was 20 years old, I came across a copy of the Artist’s Way. Written by Julia Cameron, the Artist’s Way outlines a 12-step spiritual guide to Higher Creativity. Besides her spiritual self-help books for blocked creatives, I had never heard of any of Julia Cameron’s excellent novels, haikus or theatrical productions. Even so, I embarked upon my spiritual journey with JC. One of the first things you learn on this Spiritual Path is a practice called Morning Pages. Morning Pages entails waking up thirty minutes earlier than usual, and then filling at least three pages with uninhibited writing. JC views Morning Pages as a sort of Active Meditation during which all the deepest desires and irritations of your unconscious emerge to the surface. According to JC, becoming aware of what is Deep Inside of You will bring you closer to overcoming the obstacles that prevent you from achieving your biggest dreams and becoming a real artist. For nearly a decade, I wholeheartedly devoted myself to Morning Pages. And then I decided to stop. I discovered that hammering my problems into the page for half an hour every day only exacerbated my angst and neurosis. It seems I already have a natural level of impeccable self-awareness. And as it turns out, self-awareness is somewhat overrated. These days, instead of whining in a journal of Morning Pages, I have begun to enjoy sending heartfelt letters and emails to my friends. Writing letters makes for a low-pressure and generous writing practice. Knowing you have an audience keeps the angst and self-absorption at bay, even if your audience is a forgiving and compassionate friend. Sometimes you end up writing decent sentences which you can use to inspire your other art. Almost always, the person is happy to hear from you. And so, Letter Writing is my Second Business Idea for this Tuesday. Between grade three and grade five, I used to send a letter to my grandparents in Manitoba, nearly every day. This might have been the peak of my life. Perhaps it is time for a New Peak. If you or someone you know would benefit from receiving letters or emails, as of today, I am an official Letter Writer. To insert a selling point, I have vast experience signing off letters in interesting ten-year-old ways. For example:

Yours ‘til the dew drops.
Yours ‘til the jelly rolls.
Yours ‘til the banana splits.

As business expands, I’m sure I will come up with something even better. I look forward to hearing from you.  Don’t be shy.

The Envelope I sent to my grandparents, circa 1995

The End.



Happy New Year Letter. Quite Irresistible

Exuberant Bodhisattva on Facebook
Twitter: @mypelvicfloor
I Let Go, by Erica J. Schmidt

Yours Til Ekam Inhales
Pen Pal
Cardboard Box

The Benefits of an Ashtanga Yoga Practice, Part Two
Internet Diagnosis of the Week
Move Your DNA, by Katy Bowman