This Precious Life

Patti and her family after evacuating to a friend’s house that is surrounded by water, so they can safely stay close to home and our offices. The sky full of smoke hides the usually brilliant sunset.

As many of you know, we are experiencing a major devastating wildfire here in Santa Barbara, as well as other parts of California. It has displaced so many in our community – thousands have had to evacuate without knowing what will happen to their properties, and some have even lost their homes to the fire.

There is a deep unease, life is thrown into limbo, yet the very disruption is also engendering a deep connection among us – an understanding of what it means to be a community.

December here is usually a time of celebration, getting together with our loved ones and friends, delighting each other with gifts, and enjoying the season. But the fires here have changed that for us, as we move our families out of harm’s way, wear masks to protect ourselves from the smoke, and live on the edge, not knowing what the future will look like here. In our Waxing Poetic family, we have had several employees who were required to evacuate, including my family, and several more who may be evacuated over the next few days. We also have friends, customers and vendors who are at risk. We share our angst, fear and hope with each other and have come together to support the larger community.

Though so many things are unknown, what we do know is that we are being given yet another opportunity to choose love over fear. Love, and our connection to it in the most divine sense, and to each other, is the truth we all are moving towards. In being faced with losing our homes, the lives we have come to know, we are given the freedom to release ourselves from our past, from who we think we are, and instead, embrace the here and now, who we are, and who we might become. We are hopefully able to wake up so that we may not squander this precious life, but instead show each other that we matter, that all of this matters, all living things, as we all are so dependent on each other in order to live.

Thank you to our incredibly strong, caring and resilient community; to the firefighters, the heroes and heroines, all of us who are facing these disasters who continue to shine their light on the situation to help others. We pray for everyone’s safety. As the fires become more contained, will be working with local organizations to lend a hand, rebuild and rediscover this beloved spot on earth that we are so grateful to call home.

With gratitude,

Patti

Photo taken yesterday by our friends at Pacific Health Foods, right around the corner from our offices. Photo of the ridgeline of Carpinteria, taken last evening from our sanctuary at Sandyland Cove.

A Mother’s Thanks

Amidst the many extreme challenges our world is facing, sometimes we don’t feel so “Happy, happy, happy” as the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday is supposed to make us feel.

Yet even so, there are still so many things to be thankful for.  Our resilience. Our faith. Our friends and family. And still sometimes the darkness can seem overwhelming. Oh my, there is so much. Yet I am hopeful that we are being taught on this path of evolution… to come together in the face of so much adversity. As George Harrison sang “with every mistake, we must surely be learning."

So much to write on this. But later. This year my focus is elsewhere. When something life-threatening happens to someone we love, everything else falls silently into the background, and we realize (I sure did) how precious the life is that we share together.

Writing this, I write as a mother, to share a little about the event that drowned the world around me out and shook me to my core.

Last November, our daughter Lulu was getting sick. It was unexplained, and after several urgent care visits, we ended up in the emergency room.  I will never forget the horrible, helpless feeling of my heart sinking when the ER doctor came in the room and said “Mom, can I speak to you outside?”

Our then 6-year old daughter had a condition that required us to helicopter her to Los Angeles, where she could get the care our smaller hospital couldn’t provide.  John flew with her and I drove down to the LA Children’s Hospital nearly hysterical - my friend Jen on the phone with me, trying to keep me focused all the way down. John and Lulu were met by the medical team on the helipad and Lulu was brought directly into the ICU.

After many tests and 5 days and nights at the hospital Lulu seemed strong enough to go home. A month later Lulu was in surgery. Hour after hour, alongside my husband and Lulu’s Grandmother, Mimi, I deeply meditated on her coming through, sending her light, asking God to guide her surgeon’s hands, praying for her and not knowing what the outcome would be (I can barely write these words without tears).  Moms (and Dads) who have been through something like this, I know you understand. I know most everyone can.

This little girl…. She made it through, and we made it through, bolstered by the prayers and love of our community, forever altered by what happened.

So here we are, transformed by heartache, uncertainty, pain, trauma and the big love. Today, if we can stay present to each other and to this gift of life, each sunrise, each mess, each hug, each baking session, each laugh, each sunset is one more that we have together, together…  John, Lulu and I are still here, together.

In my little family, we hug a little harder these days.  Within these hugs lies the energy and love of everyone who helped Lulu get better, and our friends and family, and our larger community who helped us cope along the way.  I am humbled and grateful to realize the gifts you have given us.

Wishing you all the great joys of finding and being in the present moment, and a deeply Joyful Thanksgiving together with those we love,

Patti

A Thankful Poem from Patti

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you

for being,

Thank you for noticing,

Thank you for seeing our metaphoric light signal &

Blinking back brightly –

Thank you for showing your hearts,

for sharing your joys and celebrations,

Thank you for telling us your stories, For taking risks

For never ceasing to inspire us

For holding space for wonder,

for making room for the poignant & particular,

For validating the inexplicable pull certain words have

for seeing

symbols and sentiments as brave beacons

avenues towards something brighter and truer than

one might normally imagine

for seeing

for being

For celebrating the journey in many different forms

For understanding what it is we are trying to share with the world

And for making it more understandable by sharing yourselves

For tiny moments of brilliant sparkles

cherished memories, victories of varying scale

stories with heart, with cheers and tears (more times than we can count)

For keeping Faith + Friendship feisty displays of

Sisterhood

Motherhood

Daughterhood


Cousinhood

Loved-ones-hood


all the other words that aren’t yet ready

For trying out, for coming back, for being braver

For giving us more reasons to make more reasons

 
For you, for you, for you

(we are thankful)

Who We Love

And… a testament to who we love

She likes

kindness and cats

fashion and soccer

poetry and shiny things

butterflies and baseball

Your world, and in it

The mother and free spirit

The survivor and friend

The neighbor and birdwatcher

The sister and saint

You are seen and you are cherished

The husband and hero

The wife and heroine

The journey and the moment

Recognized here, now.

As you live and breathe

In time and through space

Under the moon and stars

I like you and love you

Sons and musicians

Daughters and dancers

Friends and dreamers

This is for you.

This is for everyone.

This is for you.

Who we love.

Patti Shares Her Journey & Meaning of Being an Entrepreneur

In celebration of entrepreneur month, we asked Patti to share her journey as an entrepreneur and what it means to her.

It starts with a dream.

Entrepreneurship is a deep connection with the dream state, a curiosity about life and how things work, and very intuitive for me.  I can’t resist channeling new ideas, and then acting on the best of those ideas to contribute to the world… to move things forward in some meaningful way, to create something that wasn’t there before… something that brings value, meaning, and delight to others.

Paying attention.
Paying attention to my inner life is important. Waxing Poetic first came to me (quite in an “a-ha moment”) as a very simple idea that just wouldn’t go away: a small, iconic jewelry design that represented so much more than the form it took. I knew it was a great idea that had never been done before. It aligned with my beliefs.  I didn’t know where it was going exactly, but I knew that I had to bring it to life.

You have an idea, then what?

You go all in. This is the hard part, but the reverse side of that coin is that it is thrilling. When you believe in yourself, when you have some support (for me, it was my husband, sister and parents) and when you have talent and drive, innately you know that you can get there, so you put everything you have into making it happen. If you keep going, you simply can’t fail.

And sleepless nights?   

Yes. I have had more than my fair share of sleepless nights, sure, but all-in-all, I wake up and can’t wait to get to work.  The hard parts inherent in bringing a new idea to life will test you, but will also show you what you are made of.

Why take such risks?

In my experience, an idea needs to be developed to a certain point before others will join you.    When I have a gut instinct that something has huge potential, but others are not convinced yet, I will often just go ahead and start developing it.  If it fails, I have only myself to blame.  But if it starts “going,” this is usually when other people will want to join in. To me, the rewards usually always outweigh the risks (even though risk can bring you right to the edge testing your limits like you have never done before).  Knowing what you are made of, what “could have been,” why something failed, and ultimately having success, being able to share that success and doing some good in the world: these things are like gold to an entrepreneur… gold that is more valuable than some of the things you had to give up to get there.

Talk about fear.

Fear can be the most useful compass that points the entrepreneur towards innovation.  My process for dealing with fear is to try to greet it head-on, and then alchemize it into innovation. In business, if you are not afraid, you may be stagnating.  If I am fearful at all, I know I am onto something challenging and ultimately rewarding.   All entrepreneurs want to create the wonderful, “never-before” from their extraordinary gifts.  That is the point really, so a big “thank you” to fear is in order!

Talk about failure.

Failure to me is a two-fold gift: it is a great teacher, and it is a great transformer.  If someone hasn’t failed, they haven’t tried.  There is that great saying about “you miss 100% of the shots you never take.” I love that.  Take the shots, don’t be afraid to fail.  Learn, refine, and keep taking more shots.  Failures put into action are often transformed into winning shots.

What is the best business advice you’ve ever received?

My dad is a former NFL football player, and early on he told me “keep your head down, and keep running until you hear the glass shatter.”  I don’t think he meant the “glass ceiling,” but just to play your own game, be focused, and keep moving toward your goal.  But I love that for me, it also means owning my ambition, and continually and unapologetically moving towards breaking some new ground for women as a female business owner.

Advice for other entrepreneurs?

  There will be times when other people don’t. That is okay, do it for yourself.
Pay attention to your dreams.  This is where the magic happens. Channel those dreams into action.
Don’t listen to people who don’t get what you are doing.  Until you show them, they might not understand. Be okay with that. Keep going.

Don’t look for the answers “out there.” Operate from the inside out.  Don’t let external people or forces sway you from your mission.

Learn the lessons. Building a business is full of S curves. Learn from both the upticks and downturns.

Invest your time in people. Share yourself and your business with others.

Have integrity in everything you do.

Don’t try to over-control outcomes. Trust in the unknown. What comes of it might be better than anything you could have imagined.
SHARE YOUR STORY

“You have been my friend…” Meet the Poetic Pooches

“Why did you do all this for me?' he asked.
'I don't deserve it. I've never done anything for you.'
'You have been my friend,' replied Charlotte. 'That in itself is a tremendous thing.” 
― E.B. White, Charlotte's Web

The Waxing Poetic gang thought we’d share photos of our Poetic Pooches with you all in celebration of National Dog Week, along with a pledge:

We pledge to give our dogs extra rubs, hugs, walks, fetch sessions,
treats and LOVE this week,
and let them up on the bed,

and give them an extra bath or massage session,

and some delicious scraps,
and why not always…
we do indulge them,
after all,
they have been our friends,
and that is a tremendous thing.

Founder and Creative Director Patti with Georgia, 8 year old German Shorthaired Pointer. Georgia likes to sunbathe, chase tennis balls, and accompany her people on hikes and adventures of all sorts.  She has a recognized “master nose,” and can sniff out anything, anywhere, even in the dark!  Her nicknames are Animals of Love, Person, and The Nibbletron.

More of our Poetic Pooches

We’d love to see you and your tremendous friends.  Post a photo and tag it #poeticpooches and help us celebrate some of the best love we will ever know on this earth! See more of pooches on pinterest.

AN UNFINISHED SONG

It has been one year since I finished my treatment for breast cancer, and there isn’t a day that goes by that isn’t filled with insights and lessons, my “gifts” from this life-changing journey.

I never really considered myself a writer per se, but things do come to me, and I just try to let them through. And I LOVE music (who doesn’t really?). Recently, I was on a flight and was listening to Joni Mitchell’s song “Free man in Paris,” which she wrote about her friend David Geffen, the music agent / promoter who that felt trapped by his career and obligations. Great song. After listening, then some quiet, I heard music, and then started writing my own song… about the initial confusion, denial, and fearfulness I was mired in when I got my diagnosis… and the eventual path of light that led me through the dark forces of disease.

Thought I’d share the lyrics… pardon if they read a bit odd, as they have never been sung / edited. Maybe someday one of my musician friends will put some music to it and help me finish it.

With Love,

Patti

Bird of Heaven

Somewhere up there in the unsure breeze

Nowhere to go, only to believe

Someday I’ll be free

It’s not just myself I want to deceive

In the light, the pink moonlight

There is no bargain, there is no plea

If it weren’t for my calling here

I’d be living with the free

Am I a bird of heaven

On the wire, saying no way

Pulled in the night by some unseen lead

Must be I am meant to bleed

On the wire, feeling my way

When the call came, I answered it with tears

Held back, then to take a dive

Through waves of confusion and deep, deep fears

Here I am, I’m still alive,
(but not as certain of the years)

Then I sat myself back and I looked at the light

Saw it shining on, around, without me

I rose, I arose with a fight alright,

From the demon hour, from the night

And this bird of heaven

On the wire, showed me the way

The knowing of how we can all be freed

I followed along with little need

On the wire, feeling my way

To meet the shadows of your curse

The birds of the night took wing

It is ours, not yours, this universe

And I am here to sing

Yes, I am. The bird of heaven

On the wire, feeling the way

Pulled from the night by nature’s creed

I float along with little need

On the wire, knowing my way

The birds and us children of the universe

We are here to sing

Join us to help create a world where our sisters and mothers, our daughters and friends are not at risk.  We have a long way to go.  We should be able to make it with each other’s help, and great organizations like the NBCF.

During the month of October, Waxing Poetic will donate a portion of all sales to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

Call No One Wants

It is the call no one wants to give or get.  I have breast cancer.

I have unfortunately been on both sides of that phone call. Given the statistics, many of you have also. It is the call where you explain, or witness, the deepest disruption of peace and well-being one might ever know, the rationalizing of your life and circumstances, the most confusing “how and why” this happened to me… and usually some sort of self-blame statement that starts with some form of I “should have…”
We all have to deal with our own should-haves that surround a cancer diagnosis, but looking beyond that to how we can help each other, perhaps we can re-frame the phrase should have for the benefit of all of us who are in this journey together:
We should have done more.
We should have more options.
We should have a better understanding of cancer.Research, testing and the dissemination of knowledge is critical to the development of new treatments that work, and new laws that create a better environment in which all of us can live.  Organizations like the National Breast Cancer Foundation do this work on our behalf, to better understand the disease and its causes and to turn the should into could and, finally, did.Join us to help create a world where our sisters and mothers, our daughters and friends are not at risk.  We have a long way to go.  We should be able to make it with each other’s help, and great organizations like the NBCF.During the month of October, Waxing Poetic will donate a portion of all sales to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

What Matters Most

Found Again with new friends who walk to end breast cancer

For the month of October, 2017, we are focusing on What Matters Most.  One of the reasons why I love what I do so much is that Waxing Poetic jewelry can be a catalyst for connection.  These small pieces carry such meaning… we choose them for a reason… and that emotional energy and intention feels somehow contained in the reminder that is the physical piece of jewelry.

So, in the wearing, in the giving, we get to discover this all over again.  We are truly Waxing Poetic; becoming more poetic, seeing the world through our own lens, and connecting and interpreting it along the way.

There are a lot of things that matter, and we all know, deep down, and not so deep down, that perhaps the things that matter most are not “things” at all, but each other.  We Matter Most, all of us, and in seeing ourselves in each other, our common concerns and cares, and wearing reminders of this awareness, we can receive one of the most treasured “gifts” of a Waxing Poetic piece. I wanted to share with you a day that mattered to me for this very reason.  I was wearing my Found Again Star pendant recently in our new Waxing Poetic flagship experience at The Shopkeepers in Santa Barbara, and became connected through a friend (and fellow survivor) with a group of women who chose the same pendant as a reminder of something that mattered to them – completing a walk for breast cancer awareness.

Having gone through treatment and shared this journey on the other side with some friends and family also, this cause is on my mind. Constantly. There isn’t a day that goes by that I am not somehow reminded of my journey though cancer, of friends that have beat it, of friends that are at some place on their journeys, and of some that have lost theirs.

As a cause that is in my heart and that I know is very important to my coworkers here at Waxing Poetic, we are honored to be supporting the National Breast Cancer Foundation this month with a percentage of all sales being donated to find an end to this cancer that affects 1 in 8 women each year.

Thanks for helping us, thanks for being a fellow traveler with us.  And now, the short story of what happened that day…

Meet Anne, Laura, Diana, Amy, Katie, Martha, Cheryl and Jenny. These incredible, beautiful women completed the Avon39 walk to end Breast Cancer in Santa Barbara last month, and stopped by our Waxing Poetic flagship store at The Shopkeepers the day after (what I am calling the Found Again day).  One of the women, Diana, started waking after her breast cancer experience 7 years ago. She and her husband Declan have fundraisers and support the whole team (called the Double D’s) hosting group events at Harp and Fiddle in Park Ridge, IL, and Casey’s in New Buffalo MI.

I was so blessed that I was there that day, as we connected and shared stories and laughs. It was as if I had known these ladies since childhood – an instant familiarity, and lots of appreciation and sharing.

Here I am with my friend and fellow survivor / thriver Ann on the left, and the Double D’s

The ladies already knew Waxing Poetic, so they were excited to come visit and see the whole line in our new space.  They were on a mission, looking for a “memory” charm or pendant to mark the completion of this walk together, and they each individually, and then as a group, chose the Found Again Star Pendant. When we realized that it was the same pendant I was wearing that very day, we couldn’t believe the coincidence (as many of our customers know, we have a lot of different styles to choose from)!

So, if these lovely ladies will have me, I can consider myself a satellite now, a remote-yet-connected traveler on this journey, sharing the same star, Found Again.

Found Again Pendant with Heart's Content Cross on a Pipin Necklace

When I wear this pendant now, I am reminded of the light and beauty of these women, and myself too… despite (and because of) everything we have been through, and everything we do that is brave and right and good.  This pendant has taken on new meaning for me, and every time I wear it, I will think of this day.

What I learned from these amazing women: Beauty is a by-product of living life to its fullest expression.  Thanks to Anne, Diana and the ladies for making my day and being such an inspiration.

Sending a big hug and always good thoughts and inner beauty and peace to everyone in the journey through breast cancer, and to all of us on the walk in this constellation of Life. Learn more about the Avon 39 walks planned in Santa Barbara for next September, 2018. Learn more about our October give-back organization, the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Follow Waxing Poetic on Instagram @waxingpoetic Follow The Shopkeepers Santa Barbara @the.shopkeepers

Moving Mountains

While I was going through treatment for breast cancer, and especially during chemotherapy, I felt isolated at times. My senses were deadened and my body struggled to hold strong against the ravaging effects of the drugs. And then there was that stranger looking back at me in the mirror, the one trying to save her hair (and some dignity).

The feeling is one of submersion. Where you can’t really hear or see or feel like everyone else does. It felt as if life is going on “up there”- on the surface, where there is laughter and joy and exercise and all sorts of earthly pleasures reserved for the healthy folks. Where people have eyelashes, can taste their food, can get through a day without needing to get sick or rest.

Now, I have so many friends, and almost all of them were calling and cooking for us, sending gifts and books and all sorts of supportive gestures. This was such a different reality, and it was all mine. There I was. Feeling alone. Down there in the deep. Wondering, can anyone really see me down here?

One day, I came across the work of Torri Horness on her Instagram outpost of poetry, @notesontheway and grabbed the lifeline. One poem, Mountains, found a way in… a way for me to feel what was happening around me. My friends rescued me every single day I was feeling down, and this poem beautifully illustrates the journey of friendship, connected and brave and powerful.I contacted Torri when I returned to work, and asked her if we could design a special little compass (inspired by the compass she drew on her post) to accompany this poem to support breast cancer awareness, and she happily obliged. We are so grateful to be able to offer this beautiful poem, along with the compass necklace, as a special gift with purchase for yourself, or a friend in need of this love (the poem can be framed to be kept close).I’d like to dedicate this post to my friend Amy, who is starting her health journey soon, and to all friends on any side of a cancer journey.

With Love,

Patti

Mountains, by Torri Horness

whatever anyone says or
fails to say, you are loved.

& when you are standing

alone at the edge of the earth

& it looks like no one is coming,

           listen closely…

you will hear the roar of rattling

stones, trembling beneath the

feet of friends

who are moving mountains

to find you.

Join us to help create a world where our sisters and mothers, our daughters and friends are not at risk.  We have a long way to go.  We should be able to make it with each other’s help, and great organizations like the NBCF.

During the month of October, Waxing Poetic will donate a portion of all sales to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.