Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare. – Audre Lorde

It really wasn’t as dramatic as “political warfare” – then again in today’s political and socioeconomic environment, maybe it is – but when I first read Audre Lorde’s quote I immediately felt empowered. I felt like jumping up and shouting “Yes, by god, that’s right!”

You see, for years I took care of myself – always dressed well, loved designer shoes and handbags, adored bubble baths – but it wasn’t until just recently that I discovered that the idea of taking care of one’s self, in terms of being fit, fashionable and clean was very different from actually “caring for one’s self”. I believe what Lorde is talking about goes way beyond simply bathing every day and working out.

As self-preservation, this is a matter of all the above but mostly being true to yourself. It’s a matter of not letting the world (or any specific individual) stereotype you, label you, or bully you into not realizing your true potential and worth. It means standing up for yourself should someone, or something, try and denigrate you … even if you have to get absolutely rebellious. As a friend once said to me, it’s being ‘soft ice’.

This is where I am, right now, in my life. After a year of clawing my way back to wellness after learning I had adrenal exhaustion, I understand the meaning of self-care and self-preservation. The world can stress you out, and burn you out until there is nothing left of you to give. Don’t let that happen. Grab ahold of your true self, your desires, your goals and your true potential. Care for yourself as if your life depended on it. Because it does.

What are your goals and desires?

Here are some of mine:
Spend more time in the forest. Always remember my invisible crown. Feel strong in body and mind. I desire to be in the presence of my sons, to walk in the rain, to travel, have great luggage, to inspire others with my writing, to inform others with my writing, learn languages, earn respect, peace and quiet, to be alone, to write alone … for many days on end, catch snowflakes on my tongue, swim in the ocean, love my body, accept my body, take gorgeous photos which tell stories, publish a book of my photos, publish two books of my photos, experience more thunderstorms, continue to discover myself, live in a tidy well kept home, be wildly creative, belly laugh, learn to say no, find nirvana, conquer my fears, remember good posture, be financially solvent … forever, release anger, stay away from negativity, remember to focus on my own shit even when someone else attempts to distract me from my missions, and be comfortable in a pair of jeans again.

The post Self care as resistance appeared first on Lisa Mikulski - Writer.

An open letter to my international friends and associates,

It is sometimes a surreal experience seeing the US from an outside perspective. Living now in Sweden, as an American citizen, I consume a huge amount of news from many resources. Many of them from the United States such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, PBS, NPR, Washington Post, Vox and others. I also consume a great deal of news from International resources – Associated Press, Reuters, RT, Al Jazeera, BBC, The Guardian, Göteborg Posten, SvD, and others.

Every morning I sit with the US and International news. And every morning for the last several months, I start my day in a state of complete disbelief, anxiety, and astonishment. I feel embarrassed, and not just a little freaked out, by the implications these headlines are having on our international friends. I am, of course, writing about the 2016 presidential election coverage and its Republican nominee.

Several weeks ago, I posted on my Facebook profile that I would no longer be sharing or commenting on this year’s election. I no longer wished be one of the individuals who provided the Republican nominee free press or commentary based on his outrageous behavior. That Facebook post was met with a good many comments expressing respect and support for my decision. However, this morning’s headline citing a thinly veiled physical threat against his Democratic opponent, calling to arms the “second amendment people” compels me to break my silence. I must write, and express to you, that the headlines coming from the US in the last several months do not reflect the America, or the American people, I know.

I understand that there are a great many folks in the US, who are angry. They are angry and scared and they are acting out. Living in the United States can be difficult in the best of times. We do not enjoy free education, free health care – or even affordable health care. There are those who fear the loss of their jobs, their homes, and their security.

However, violence and derision will not fix these issues nor does it provide freedom, peace, or security. In fact, as most will agree, it does quite the opposite.

My friends, my family members – my tribe – were taught respect. My tribe was encouraged to read, get educated, be outspoken and frank but not beyond the bounds of diplomacy and, yes, even political correctness. We were taught to think for ourselves, seek to understand both sides of a disagreement, help our neighbors, work hard, and to be generous and fair with our allies and international associates.

My Tribe – I believe I can speak for them – is saddened and horrified that there is a man running for the highest office who regularly and consistently extolls hatred, fear, encourages violence, lies, avoids personal responsibility, issues cruel and unnecessarily mean spirited barbs of criticism. This type of person is not only someone that my tribe would loath as a President, he is someone my tribe would avoid in any circumstance because he is simply not a decent human being.

Statements made by the Republican nominee over the last few months, and particularly during last night’s rally, is like watching a domestic abuser validate his actions. “It was just a JOKE” we often hear him say when he gets called out in the press. It is not lost on me, or on other journalists and writers, that indeed his “jokes” sound very similar to the abuser who insults you in a backhanded way and then claims that you are too sensitive. This, as it is in domestic abuse, is unacceptable.

So please my international friends, do not base your opinion of America on the outrageous and vitriolic statements made by this year’s Republican nominee. That man receives the headlines and the news attention he does because his comments are so over-the-top offensive that the press can’t not report the insanity that has become this year’s election.

My fear, whether or not this man becomes the next President, is that great damage has already been done to the image of the United States and her people. As for my part, however small this may be, I could not let those offenses go unchecked.

The post Not the America I know appeared first on Lisa Mikulski - Writer.

I am feeling absolutely non-inspired today. Yup, it happens. Every artist, writer, designer and creative person at some point has days (hopefully not too many) of complete and utter dysfunction. Perhaps, in my case, it is because today is Monday and after a weekend of activity, I need the day to regroup. I scan my apartment and see that there are a hundred pounds of laundry needing care, plants that are screaming for my attention, and I have a ToDo list which is making me anxious. I’m wanting to read too many books, share too many thoughts, and achieve too many things. It’s hard to sit and write when such distractions loom huge.

But, the thing about non-inspiring days, those days when words don’t seem to fit together properly and my photography doesn’t reflect what my mind’s eye wants to share, is that I still have to show up and do the work. I have to show my muse I mean business, and hopefully she will be a bit kinder to me tomorrow … and the next day and the day after that.

So I write my words and I struggle with images today. And then after a good show of faith, I find that I must get up and address the laundry, water the plants, and mark a few other items off my ToDo list. I’ll take tonight to read something wonderful and do some journaling. I do this knowing that once my house, and my mind, is in order, tomorrow will be a better day.

What do you do to get through the non-inspiring days?

The post When Inspiration is Lost appeared first on Lisa Mikulski - Writer.

Tasks on a To-Do list can grow like the snakes on Medusa’s head. No one likes a To-Do list and yet we make them in attempt to keep our lives and our goals on track. But the thing about the To-Do list is that is becomes rather counter-productive as you check one item off and add four more. We begin to get the sense that, despite our best intentions, these lists don’t benefit us in any way except to remind us of how much we have to do and mostly how much we haven’t done.

Several years ago I wrote a post which suggested replacing the To-Do list with something that I considered a better idea – a Done list. That post received quite a nice reception so I thought I’d share the idea here again but with some refinements.

The Done list is basically a To-Do list in reverse. Throughout the day, you jot down the items you’ve accomplished. As I would look at my Done list, I might see days with wild productivity (good) or I might see days in which my productivity was not so great (bad). If days flew by without any worthwhile accomplishments, I knew I had to up-my-game and get busy. If I saw many days where productivity was high, I might take some time off to relax.

I like the idea of a Done list because it shows productivity as opposed to showing a never ending stream of work. It also shows me the activities where I am spending the bulk of my time and so I can make adjustments to achieve greater balance in my work flow. Seeing all those items (and yup, I even put check marks next to them to satisfy myself) DONE is really rewarding, I can tell you.

I still adhere to my Done list but over the last few months, I added a few embellishments. The notion of a Bullet Journal struck me as a nice way to further manage tasks that weren’t necessarily work related but hobbies and goals I wanted to keep track of during the month. Each month I’d create a graph of hobbies and I’d color in the day so that by the end of the month I could see my beautiful multicolored progress. Items on my bullet list include things such as yoga, meditation, photography, coloring, creative endeavors, walking, 30 minute tidy up, 20 minutes of sunshine, and whatever else happens to strike my fancy that month.

And yet, after all this time management tweaking and adjusting, I still in some way wanted to make friends with that nasty old To-Do list. It wasn’t until I began reading Danielle LaPorte’s Desire Map that an idea occurred to me on how to create a To-Do that I didn’t actually hate.

LaPorte’s Desire Map focuses on meeting your goals and dreams by knowing how you actually want to feel! According to her website, Laporte writes:

“We have the procedures of achievement upside down. Typically we come up with our to-do lists, our bucket lists, and our strategic plans — all the stuff we want to have, get, accomplish, and experience outside of ourselves. All of those aspirations are being driven by an innate desire to feel a certain way.

What if, first, we got clear on how we actually wanted to feel in our life, and then we laid out our intentions? What if your most desired feelings consciously informed how you plan your day, your year, your career, your holidays — your life?”

So yeah, how about making a desire list? A daily list of several tasks that makes you feel great, and honors the creative and happy side of you. I like it!

The post Your Daily List of Desires appeared first on Lisa Mikulski - Writer.

Whoever said that meditation will bring you bliss was full of shit. For the last year or so, I have embarked on a quest for self awareness. I’ve found that breathing exercises can release stress, relieve anxiety, clear one’s mind, and calm the soul. Yoga has released knots and bundles of tight muscles in my body, increased my flexibility, and provided peace.

But the quest for self awareness, if done properly, is anything but blissful. Breakthroughs and epiphanies bring forth a lot of painful memories long ago repressed. New insights and awareness regarding not only yourself but those closest to you can be heartbreaking. Not always is what you learn through your study of mediation going to be peace, love, and tie-dye. In fact, I can tell you … it’s often very unpleasant.

Indeed, you have had a breakthrough and you are now a new person, much more aware and seeing your life and the world with new eyes. You are working your way toward a better, more authentic self. You are told, and you believe, that this new found awareness is a good thing and yes … now, you can work to remedy and repair and address that new-found knowledge. This is an opportunity to heal.

You are believing “Yes, I have found some answers. Let’s march onward soldier”. And then you sit with this new found knowledge for a bit, and find yourself … devastatingly sad beyond belief. Your world is not what is was before, and by god, it might not have been wonderful back then, but it was comfortable. You knew the parameters and now suddenly, there are a whole new set of rules that pertain to YOU.

So what’s a person to do? You certainly can’t go back to the old you because that new knowledge can’t be unlearned. Here are a couple of ideas that will hopefully get you, and me, over the hump.

• Be very kind to yourself: In your next meditations hug that scared inner child. God knows, she/he needs it. Pamper and care for your immediate self. Bubble baths, salt baths, walks in nature, read fiction, stay at home under the covers for a day, watch TV. Do whatever it is you need to do to self soothe. Having said that … I don’t recommend diving into the realm of drugs and alcohol. Nothing good will come of that, I promise you. Stay sober. Embrace the suck. Eat well. Drink a lot of water.
• Be with friends. Talk to them. Tell them what you have gone through. Gain support. Accept hugs. Buy a friend a flower.
• Do something creative. Write it out. Paint it out. Pick up your sad self and express what’s inside.
• Go to sleep. You have just gone through a trauma. Sleep will help you repair.
• Process. It’s tempting to disregard all that you learned, but take the time to be quiet. Process what you’ve learned and sit with it. The worst is over.

I guess the most important thing is to not give up. This too shall pass and soon you will find yourself in a better place to deal with what meditation has taught you. You will move forward. You will find clarity. You will take action. You will heal … until the next meditation delivers its next batch of crap. So prepare.

The post Meditation bliss is crap appeared first on Lisa Mikulski - Writer.

We all have bad days and we all have sad days. But some days can be just insurmountable. These are the moments in our lives when our hearts have been not just broken, but shattered.

Friends and family may try to encourage you to shake off your sadness. “Distract yourself,” they say. “Come out and drink with us,” they say. I am here to tell you that on the saddest day of your life, this is bad advice. Do not distract yourself. Embrace your sadness. Acknowledge it and process it, for if you don’t it may well come back to haunt you in the future and nobody wants that.

Your sadness may come from the end of a relationship, a betrayal, a loss, an event, or something completely unique to you. But, this is an opportunity for some major self awareness work. And I promise you, there will be a day very soon when you notice, that by some miracle, the clouds have cleared and you will see there is hope and light in your future.

In the meanwhile, here are 12 things you might try on the saddest day of your life:

– Listen to guided meditations: I swear these saved my life. There are tons of them on YouTube and putting on the autoplay option lets the meditations stream. I listened to them at night, during the day curled up on the couch, on the bus … and they helped. They let me know I wasn’t alone. They assisted me as I embraced the suckiness of my situation. They told me of brighter days. They made me better aware of who I was and what I was feeling and told me it was ok. Some really good ones are Guided Meditations by Michael Sealey and Guided Meditations by Jason Stephenson. Also take a listen to spiritual adviser Teal Swan who has some smart advise to give on any number of topics for self awareness.

– Cry it out: Absolutely. Cry your eyes out. Sob into your pillow, drool, get it all out. Crying is therapeutic and you must get the sadness out of your body. Studies have found that crying helps to wash out chemicals and toxins linked to stress and high emotions. This is why we often feel better after a good cry. Higher levels of adrenocorticotrophic hormone have been found in emotional tears as compared to those of reflex crying and so, I don’t care if you are man or woman, find release in crying if that is what you need to do. Don’t hold back.

– Exercise, meditate, or do yoga to release the pain: Our bodies retain our pain, and sadness is probably the lowest vibration we can emit. Moving our body is a great release for our pain, for centering ourself, and to remind us we are alive despite the heartbreak which we believe may be killing us.

– Talk to people, surround yourself with your loving tribe: I tend to be a cat when I’m hurt. My instinct is to go to dark corner and hide. Isolation is not a good option. Maybe for a day. Maybe for two. But eventually, flee to the arms of those who love you and know you best. Interaction with friends who accept you and love you as you are can be a healing balm and they might even get you to laugh.

– Consider a therapist: I can’t claim to know, as I write this post and as you read it, what has made you sad. But if it’s a big thing – something you will really need to work on to recover – perhaps a therapist is the way to go. These good folks will let you talk it all out and will lead you to viable solutions.

– Watch great movies: Binge watching Star Trek, episodes of Downton Abbey (for the third time) or even autoplay TV series you love can help alleviate your mind from the hard work you have been doing. Because yes, as I tell you to embrace your sadness, there also needs to be a bit of relief.

– Make a music playlist: Music – the great equalizer. It moves us to tears, cheers us up, causes us to dance, and puts us to sleep. Having a playlist is a handy thing to have. Make a play list of sad songs. Make a play list of happy and uplifting music. Do what comforts your soul.

– Read about people who have overcome great challenges: JK Rowling. Steve Jobs. There are so many of us who have faced incredible challenges and come out on top. It wasn’t easy and it took great courage and bravery, but they took control of their situation and that’s why they can inspire us today. Read about them, or watch their speeches from commencement addresses or on TED. Oh yeah! TED!

– Take up a new hobby: Maybe not right yet, not on the saddest day of your life, but plant a seed. Consider the things you used to do which you loved and may have neglected. Maybe something new that you now have time for. Write, paint, express yourself creatively. Get involved in new projects. Perhaps volunteer for a worthy cause. Think about the future and how YOU can best prepare yourself to be all that you can be.

– Embrace your inner child and tell her/him it’s gonna be ok: This was important for me … maybe due to all the guided meditations I listened to, but yes, in meditation I reached out for the hurt, scared, lonely little girl and hugged her. I told her we were in this together and that I would not leave her alone. I wiped her eyes and told her it was going to be ok. She believes me.

– Find compassion: Have compassion for yourself. Forgive yourself for any mistakes you might have made and don’t spend time contributing to your sadness by adding quilt or regret into the mix. Consider the pain of others and send love and light into the universe. Reminding yourself of your compassion is a heart healing endeavor.

– Connect with the saddest part of your body and ask it what it wants, and then give it to it: Oh hell yes, need a bath? Do it. A walk? A good solid cry? Some sleep? Need to scream? Ask the pain that is manifesting in your body what it needs. Listen. And then give it what it needs.

In closing, I wish you love and healing. And remember, you can’t be found until you’ve been lost.

The post 12 things to do on the saddest day of your life appeared first on Lisa Mikulski - Writer.

I’m thrilled to write that after five long years in Sweden, I’ve returned to the place I call home. Now based in Boston – a city of art and culture – everything feels deliciously new. There are bright opportunities, new friends and new points of view, but there is also the benefit of looking at and building upon the tapestry of past experiences.

Over the years, I have been fortunate to have worked as a regular features and editorial contributor for several US and European publications. Much of my work in the US focused on art, design, and culture and I endeavor to once again provide these services along with photography for my clients.

In Sweden, my work took a decided turn toward news writing and current events and those areas provide me with the experience to write about our present state of national madness and also how to best care for ourselves, and others, during such madness. These are dark times for our country but they are also times of renewed focus and activism.

Let’s take the journey together

I’m always looking for great gigs with great people and networking opportunities. You can see my complete list of services for writing and photography, and some nice things people have said about my work. I also invite you to view my blog from Sweden called 2sweden4love – this website is no longer active but contains some years of writing expression and shines a light on Swedish culture.

In brief, I can help with the following:

• Editorial writing, content development, and feature writing
• Event photography, portraiture, and street photography
• Graphic design and artistic services

Contact me to just say hello or begin a project.

It’s great to be back home and I can’t wait to hear from you.

The post Hello Boston – writing and photography from Lisa appeared first on Lisa Mikulski - Writer.

The New York Times ran a piece on their Learning Network, October 22, 2013, entitled How Much Does Your Neighborhood Define Who You Are? While the post was written several years ago, the notion of it stayed with me in particular because of the country where I was living at the time.

Nope, Sweden was not for me and the culture, while I had always dreamed of embracing it – and did so while living outside the country – in reality it countered everything I held dear. The inability of being able to authentically express myself in word and deed stymied me profoundly both personally and professionally. The ways I went about marketing my business were no longer truisms in that Scandinavian country. I often felt as if my IQ was being systemically drained because very few people, while they were smart and well read, were willing to discuss what they read or how they felt about it. Debating ideas is not conversational fare at your typical Swedish diner party.

But, intelligence is not only based on how much one knows but also in how one expresses it. Or not. Gone were the days of healthy political debate and intellectual conversation. I missed them deeply.

All of this begged the question, would I – would we – be different people if we were born and raised elsewhere?

It is rare that people stay in one place for all of their life. Most of us grow up, move to another city, and settle down or continue to move about. Some of us move to other countries and stay for years, and some of us are habitual expats. And while the cultural nuggets we accrue during these travels get added to our personage, is it in fact, our starter homes and environments which build our personalities?

You can’t go home again?

In 1937, Gertrude Stein said of her return to Oakland, California, “there is no ‘there’ there.” This quote was with regard to her idea that her childhood home no longer existed. I felt the same way about Sweden, so concerned were they with outside appearances that they stopped embracing their own culture and uniqueness. I was deeply disappointed that there was no ‘there’ there.

A beautiful definition on the importance of place comes from the National Academies Press within the piece called, The Importance of Place and Connectedness – People and Place. It reads “Like livability and sustainability, place is an ensemble concept”.

How ripe this is for me with connotation because the idea of place is an ensemble concept including not only the neighborhoods we choose to locate ourselves in, the homes we design for ourselves, or the countries and the cultures of a geographic location, but in also smaller, microcosmic, notions. Like music, there are layers of complexity and bars of simple expression.

As I went about making a living in Sweden as a writer, I tried repeatedly to create a writing place, a space, for myself and my business within our apartment. It was as simple as having a writer’s desk just tucked away in a corner somewhere. Despite my attempts at setting up a space, my writing was usually conducted under duress and seated at the kitchen table or upon the living room floor using the coffee table as a surface. These were my writing places and they were sadly, woefully inadequate. I can’t help but think that these non-places affected my writing in adverse ways for the entire five years I spent in Gothenburg.

For a writer, there is something comforting, essential actually, about one’s writing space. Whether it be an office, a desk, or a coffee shop, the places writers select to do their craft is important. The coffee has to be just right. The bookshelves arranged just so. The objects on one’s desk all have a significance. These things contribute to a place of creativity and provide nourishment for the creative soul and spirit.

I wish I could claim a gypsy heart and find adventure and place on the road, such as Gloria Steinem in her book My Life on the Road. I will always love travel, and opportunities to visit far away places and collect pieces of those cultures to add to my life experience. But I will always need a place to come home and a writer’s desk which inspires me to share those experiences.

Writer/photographer Lisa Mikulski. Available for print or online publications. Editorial, features, content development, and creative.

The post The Importance of Place appeared first on Lisa Mikulski - Writer.

Living in the aftermath of the 2016 US presidential election is akin to being tangled up in a domestic violence situation. No matter how much or how loud you plead for the abuse to stop, it continues. It’s noisy. There is word salad, and chaos, and confusion. One tends to constantly re-examine one’s grasp on reality – checking and re-checking to ensure that what we just heard or what we just read makes sense. Or not. It’s emotional abuse on a grand scale.

I realized how pervasive all this noise was when my son took a vacation on the Cape and I was provided a week alone in his apartment in charge of caring for his two cats. We live in one of Boston’s most diverse and enchanting neighborhoods with more than its fair share of cozy restaurants, coffee houses, pubs, triple-decker townhouses, and a favorite bodega on every block.

I deeply wanted to take advantage of the week, perhaps even imagining myself on a writer’s retreat of sorts. I intended to walk about the neighborhood, shoot some photos, and immerse myself in the different cultural offerings. It was, I imagined, a period of time when I could be inspired, study, and focus without interruption.

But there were interruptions. There were many many interruptions. They came in the form of dozens of emails from the ACLU, Pen America, Washington Post and more. There were also social media outbursts, a constant succession of breaking news, nonsensical presidential tweets, and robocalls. Two days passed before I figured out that I wasn’t really enjoying solitude or experiencing profound inspiration. I was being besieged and like a women in a domestic violence situation, it was imperative that I identify the source of the trouble and cut it out of my life.

Digital chatter does not contribute to our life. It detracts from it. Life is actually the stuff we do in the three dimensional world.

What would happen if, I “unplugged” for the week? I read somewhere that this was suppose to be good for you. But it was a heady decision, riddled perhaps with some issues of addiction, the need for validation, and fear of missing something big. Could I actually do it?

I stowed my mobile in my underwear drawer, turned off all the notifications on my tablet, and decided to check email only once a day. I sent Facebook and Twitter on a vacation.

The first day of my retreat was overcast and rainy. It wasn’t the type of rain that falls heavy to the ground and bounces on pavement, but instead a mist which swirled about in the air covering everything in a half hearted wetness. Regardless, it was perfect writing and reading weather. I parked myself in the living room with a coffee and a new memoir that I was reading. It was oddly silent. The odd part about it was that I knew, or at least hoped, that the silence would last – much like when an abusive partner leaves for work and you are ensured a certain period of respite.

I heard the dripping of the kitchen faucet and the hum of the frig. That was all. My shoulders began to unknot. I had an entire day of peace. That day turned into a week. That first week turned into another. And then another. It was satisfying how much I accomplished and how much more I enjoyed my free time. The quality of life improved.

But, of course, back in the real world, emails have to be answered, and social media needs to be checked and used for marketing, news needs to be read, and it’s always nice to hear from friends. What the difference has become for me is that I’ve become much stricter with its intrusion, I’ve cut off the heads of unwanted distress, and have become more mindful about my time.

Writer/photographer Lisa Mikulski. Available for print or online publications. Editorial, features, content development, and creative.

The post The Assault of Digital Distraction appeared first on Lisa Mikulski - Writer.

It’s my hope that if you are local to the area, you will pick up the print edition of Artscope to hold in your hands because 3D publications are such a treat in this digital world.

Writer/photographer Lisa Mikulski based in Boston, MA. Available for print or online publications. Editorial, features, content development, and creative.

The post Writing for Artscope Magazine appeared first on Lisa Mikulski - Writer.

A friend of mine recently wrote to me asking, “How does one go about starting a new life?” She explained that everything in her present situation was unacceptable and she desperately needed changes. She needed really big life changes.

Her reason for writing to me was because, knowing my past history, she considered me to be a bit of an expert on the subject. I’ve gone about and reinvented my own life twice in the last five years – the first time through choice, the second from trauma. Both events were life changing and challenging, the second much more than the first.

Having given my friend’s question a good deal of thought – for this is not a question to be taken lightly – I wrote to her providing the only answer I could, “It takes something extraordinary”. 

The extraordinary may be something you march into willingly. Or it might be something which you don’t necessarily want to do but find that you must. It takes a lot of bravery and it’s a lot of work. Both times in reinventing my life, I likened it to jumping off a precipice into the abyss of the unknown.

But what do I mean when I talk about starting again from scratch? Of course, we are all made up of our past experiences and we all work from the personal and biological attributes that make us us. These things define who we are and provide us with a foundation to build anew or to change that which needs changing.

So when I write about rebuilding a life, I refer to not only the dismantling of material possessions, where you live or with whom, but also elements that change who we are. This requires a lot of thinking, a lot of self reflection, and much sacrifice. It is not for the faint of heart.

Reinventing one’s life might affect – across the board – where you live, your marriage, your money, your career, your friendships, your lover, your family. You might lose it all. It may, and probably will, involve a shift of values, a different way of thinking, your attitude toward others, your entire future, and working toward who you are now going to become and how and where you are going to do that. Are you really ready to do that hard work? It is a choice.

J.K. Rowling gave a commencement speech at Harvard in 2008 entitled “The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination”. It is one of the most inspiring and referenced commencement speeches given. Her quotes on hope, success, and failure have helped me survive the last five years.

“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all — in which case, you fail by default.”

And my favorite:

“I was set free, because my greatest fear had been realised, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.”

She goes on to say, “Failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged.”

Rowling’s words are wonderful and inspiring, but I need to point out the one thing missing here, which she does allude to, is that when all is said and done, in order to rebuild a life, we need to acknowledge our purpose.

As I settle in for my writer’s retreat this week, I leave you with this thought. Despite how frightening it may be, you will absolutely know when your situation has become dire enough that you must start again. Mastin Kipp, in his book Claim Your Power, calls these events “divine storms”. And believe me, divine storms will present themselves … you just need to know what they are and when to act on them.

I guess, the thing about jumping off the precipice is the understanding that it is going to suck. But you jump anyway knowing that the fear of jumping is only temporary and that once you land your life will be so much the better. You learn, in fact, that you can fly.

Writer/photographer Lisa Mikulski based in Boston, MA. Available for print or online publications. Editorial, features, content development, and creative.

The post Thoughts on rebuilding a life appeared first on Lisa Mikulski - Writer.

It was almost shocking – the feeling of submerging my body into that crystal blue pool on a brilliant September afternoon.

I can’t remember the last time I went swimming. It had become a long forgotten experience and the sensation of cool water completely suspending me was so foreign, so surprising, that it took my breathe away. It was a visceral awakening and I wanted more. I plunged beneath the surface.

Setting myself to dry in the sun, I thought about the last time I actually inhabited my body? Meditation and yoga will encourage these feelings of mindfulness, but what about all the other experiences we have – the daily experiences – that we miss because of our too busy schedules, our addictions on mobile devices, and fact that we are all too often lost in our own minds. Or perhaps it is that we simply are no longer aware of the pleasures our body can give to us.

Can you remember the sensation of a sweet breeze rolling over your skin? The exquisite moment of surrender during love making? The warm sun on your face on an autumn afternoon? What joys these things are. And yet we rarely acknowledge them let alone feel them as we move along to our next appointed task.

Later that evening, I enjoyed a second watery experience. Bathing in the Jacuzzi in my room, bubbles everywhere, my image and steam reflected in a thousand mirrors. I stayed there a long time until my muscles released themselves leaving me again with a physical contentment unfamiliar.

It had been so long since I’d been nice to myself. When was the last time you were? I think it’s not just a matter of feeling the sensations but also taking advantage of the opportunities which allow us to.

The post Being in our body appeared first on Lisa Mikulski - Writer.

Make him irrelevant.

This man is a scourge upon our nation and a plight upon the world. Since returning to the US, I’ve been pretty quiet about politics and my opinions on this guy. I’ve sat, listened, and watched him actively work to destroy and divide our country and I’ll be honest, his behavior rings so damn familiar to the reason I escaped from Sweden that it serves to re-traumatize me. The same type of behavior. The same holier-than-thou attitude. The same vindictive, vengeful, smirking personality. The same brilliant, two-steps-ahead, crazy-making cancer of an individual with an agenda for harm and hate. This is the destructive and vicious handy-work of the wildly creative animal known as a malignant narcissist.

I’m not talking about the kind of narcissist who gazes into a mirror and thinks their shit doesn’t stink – although Trump certainly fits that bill – I’m referring to another much more malevolent type of personality. It is the type of personality disorder that seeks power and self validation by bringing down others.

And look at him go. The greater the platform, the greater the harm. Make no mistake, there are no limits to how far a malignant narcissist will go to seek destruction of others and we have given this one a world platform.

I know of what I speak. He is delighting, yes delighting, in the attention. He goes to sleep with a smile on his face because in his mind he is winning. This attention serves as his narcissistic supply and narcissists need this supply like a junkie needs drugs. And, he feels pretty big and powerful right now because we are helping to make him feel that way.

“But why,” you may ask, “Why would anyone do this?” Because it is the mission of a malignant narcissist to do harm.

How do you stop a malignant narcissist? You abandon them. You make them irrelevant. You hold them accountable. You provide no validation. You make policy or uphold policy without his involvement. You side step him every damn chance you get. You stop enabling him.

Stop enabling him!

Newspapers need to stop quoting his every utterance. TV needs to stop covering his “rallies” and his public appearances. World leaders need to stop including him, meeting with him, and catering to his crazy. People must stop reacting to him and move on.

I know, I know, it is a pastime to try and figure out what the hell is wrong with this man. To attempt the make sane something which is not sane. We can’t quite wrap our heads around it and many of us have never come up against this type of disorder so we shake our heads and say “what the fuck” while really what needs to be done is …

We need to make him irrelevant.

Previously published Facebook September 23, 2017

Writer/photographer Lisa Mikulski based in Boston, MA. Available for print or online publications. Editorial, features, content development, and creative.

The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump:

The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: Robert Jay Lifton and Bill Moyers on ‘A Duty to Warn’

The post Make Trump Irrelevant appeared first on Lisa Mikulski - Writer.

In February 2017, I was told that reverse culture shock might be an issue for someone like myself returning to the United States after five years abroad. When I was told this, I scoffed. I was simply too happy to have returned to a place where I once again … fit.

While I don’t dismiss the repatriation experience of others, for myself I have only had a few blips –  like figuring out the ATM at the cash register, how doors open when entering a building, and the fact that the pedestrian street-walk buttons in Boston often don’t work. I have had no problems with reverse culture shock with the exception of perhaps navigating the work/life balance I learned in Sweden. 

In Sweden, the people hold very dear the idea that one doesn’t live to work. There should be balance. While they take their work quite seriously – arriving on time, following rules, leaving on time – weekends were days off to enjoy life in the park, and evenings were time to relax. It took me an entire year and a half to come to embrace the notion that I didn’t have to, and most certainly should not, work ten hours a day, seven days a week.

Lagom – a Swedish word meaning not too much, not too little. Just enough.  An interesting point here, this philosophy does not apply to drinking.

In the States, Americans hold dear to the idea that working long days will bring success and increased opportunities. Everyone does it. Well, anyone who believes that tenacity and determination can make one’s dreams come true. While I find myself again working during the evening and on Saturdays, I do hold Sunday as ‘my day’. It’s sacrosanct.

I often wonder and attempt to reconcile what my European experience would have been, could have been, had I not had the domestic disappointment I experienced there. The betrayal of a loved one – one upon whom an expat is dependent as they integrate into a new culture – clouds the entire experience. It is, however, my intention to rectify my time there and bring home something of that sweet Nordic culture which I can call my own.

I don’t know what that is.

Perhaps the true Swedish friends I made there. Or the Swede’s love of nature. The idea of work/life balance, and most definitely fredagsmys (cozy Friday). I would have very much liked to have learned that crazy language and had that language inform my writing – I was too busy and confused trying to survive the day to day battles which became a lifestyle and the neediness required by a narcissist.

I so want to embrace my Swedish experience but that time and place gave me mostly traumatic memories which I continue to work to rectify. It shouldn’t have been that way but … it was. Eight months into my return to the States, I reflect on what I can make of my time abroad. Five years in Sweden should count for something more than disappointment and I strive to turn it into something positive which I can weave into the tapestry of my life.

Writer/photographer Lisa Mikulski is based in Boston, MA. Available for print or online publications. Editorial, features, content development, and creative. Contact me.

The post Eight months repatriation in Boston appeared first on Lisa Mikulski - Writer.

It’s autumn now. The leaves turn gold and red. The Morning Glory vines have shriveled and turned brown, the chilly nights altering their assent toward the roof of the porch. Autumn makes me self-reflective and I’ve been thinking about where I’ve been and where I’m going. I consider the paths and opportunities available to me and these ideas remind me of my youth when all things were possible. I became a writer partly because of my mother’s insistence that I become a reader. She told me that books would “take me away” to far away lands, introduce me to interesting people, and teach me about the world.

My mother would strategically put books in places for me – on the back seat of the car and on the tank of the toilet. Always a book and a Reader’s Digest. This was pretty good thinking on her part because where else could I go when in a car or in the loo? But as a young girl, I wasn’t interested in books. I was interested in bugs and hanging around in the woods with my dog.

My mom read three newspapers everyday – “front to back”, as she liked to say – and before becoming a mother she read six books a week. She was voracious.

At some point, I got sick with a childhood illness. Frustrated with my inability to play outside, I picked up the Wizard of Oz. I remember the feel of that book. A waxy cover that cradled its pages nicely in my hand. I loved the weight of it, a bit floppy, but forming a complete tome symbolizing the world it held within. I was transformed.

Sometime after my Oz infatuation, I imagined that I was a news reporter. I’d take my reporter’s notebook out to the yard and interview my dog. I had a Polaroid camera too and took accompanying photos for my article on how Wags spent her day. In the evening, after my mother returned from work, I’d read to her the breaking news.

For much of my adult life, there has never seemed to be enough time to read all that I wanted to read or to explore all the notions I wanted to write about. There were children to raise and men to care for. There were homes to clean and businesses to run.

Now that I’ve become a single woman, my days and nights are delicious. I have sole ownership of me. The dishes do not need to be done immediately. I leave dirty laundry in the hamper for days. I spend afternoons wrapped in a sweater sitting on the porch reading books and newspapers for hours while the sun moves around the sky marking the time spent engrossed in some other world or learning some new topic. I daydream about stories to write and goals to accomplish. At night, I fall into deep uninterrupted sleep. I’m becoming myself again.

Funny how things turn out, isn’t it? I found that before I took the time to register to vote or renew my driver’s license, I sought out a library card. Here I am many decades later doing exactly what I did when I was ten years old – focused much less on dogs and bugs, but once again pursuing my interests, daydreaming afternoons away, and writing stories I wish to share with others.

Lisa Mikulski is an international writer/photographer based in Boston, MA. Available for print or online publications. Editorial, features, content development, and creative. Contact me to discuss your story.

The post How I became a writer (and the single life) appeared first on Lisa Mikulski - Writer.

As I began rebuilding my writing career here in the States, there were a number of things I needed to do in order to better position myself for success. New writers, and even experienced ones, benefit from updating their skills, learning new strategy, and revamping their branding. For me I had been marketing to and writing for European publications for nearly five years. It was time to reintroduce myself to the American market.

Along with tweaking a few pages on my website and refreshing my resume, I spent considerable time researching freelance writing rates, best practices, and ways to polish my professional brand. Here are some great articles and resources for writers that I have unearthed so that you don’t have to.

Updating your writing website:

Putting Together A Freelance Portfolio – Freelance Writing
“Although these tips are optimized for writers, they are applicable for almost any type of freelancer whether your field is SEO, graphic design, or even architecture.”

How to use your author website to get readers to care about you as a writer – Web Design Relief
Encourages us “to create a narrative that hooks the reader, raises curiosity, elicits empathy, and leaves the reader satisfied. But have you ever considered how these fundamentals of storytelling can be harnessed to improve your author website?”

Five ways to attract clients with your writer’s website – Elna Cain
This is a little pearl that I discovered while surfing the internet for best practices on writer’s websites. Even as an experienced writer, I benefited from Elna Cain’s wisdom. Check her out.

How to get visitors to spend more time on your site – Web Design Relief writes that the average bounce rate for an author website is about 56%. Here’s how to get readers to hang around.

Business Practices for Writers:

Go Freelance – Mediabistro
Journalism advice, Business practices. An outstanding resource

A Freelancer’s Letter of Introduction – The Balance
How to craft a solid letter of introduction and how it differs from a the pitch or query letter.

What every freelancer should know – Business News Daily
Some good suggestions on building a community, joining a writer’s union, and keeping the pipeline full.

Three examples of Writing Pitches That Sold – The Write Life
Lisa Rowan provides helpful suggestions on how to craft the perfect pitch.

Getting Paid to Write Personal Essays – Make a Living Writing
For those of us who have had unique experiences or perspectives. Here are 16 publications that pay for personal essays.

Freelance Writing. I’ve been getting newsletters from Freelance Writing forever. Articles, tutorials, resources and job listings keep you on top of your game. Some of my favorite articles include a 12 Point Checklist for Writing Feature Articles  and How to set Your Freelance Rates.

The State of Freelance Writing 2017 – Freelance Writing
FreelanceWriting.com ran a survey from April 10th to May 9th, titled “The State of Freelance Writing, 2017.” The results revealed a tremendous amount about the state of freelance writing and what being a freelance writer is like, especially in terms of earnings and lifestyle.

Writing with Style:

The Write Practice. I’ve been getting Joe Bunting’s newsletters for some time now. He and his team will guide you in developing your writing style, your voice, and your identity as a writer.

How Creative Subheadings Can Make or Break Your Content – The Write Life
Beyond the headline, getting your readers hooked.

How Creative Subheadings Can Make or Break Your Content

Research:

The 2018 Writer’s Market. The source to guide you with thousands of publishing opportunities–including listings for book publishers, consumer and trade magazines, contests and awards, and literary agents. These listings feature contact and submission information so you can get started right away.

The Journalist’s Resource is a gold mine of reliable research as well as inspiration for your next freelance article. A project of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center and the Carnegie-Knight Initiative, Journalist’s Resource is an open-access site that curates scholarly studies and reports.

Help a Reporter Out. HARO provides journalists with a robust database of sources for upcoming stories and daily opportunities for sources to secure valuable media coverage.

You can also follow me at Flipboard where I regularly update my magazine The Writer’s Corner with articles and resources for a writer’s life.

Lisa Mikulski is an international writer/photographer based in Boston, MA. Available for print or online publications. Editorial, features, content development, and creative. Contact me to discuss your story.

The post Resources for writers appeared first on Lisa Mikulski - Writer.

I’m so excited to share with you my cover story, The Wonder of What We Stand to Lose, for the winter issue of Venü Magazine 2017/18.

In this issue, I cover the work of pastel artist Zaria Forman.  Zaria creates large-scale drawings inspired by her trips to the Arctic and Antarctic aboard the National Geographic Explorer and NASA’s Operation IceBridge. Zaria’s story is not only about creating beautiful work, but it also shares her personal story and her mission to spread awareness on the very real concerns of global warming.

Venü Magazine Cover Story by Lisa Mikulski

Here is an excerpt from the story:

Changing and shifting, the exact subject matter of Zaria Forman’s art can never be captured again. Unlike paintings or photos of landscapes or landmarks – those places where an artist can return again and again – the icebergs of the Arctic and Antarctic are melting and the waters of the Maldives are raising. By the time Forman has completed a drawing, the natural landscape that once existed has diminished and transformed.

Forman has made it her life’s mission to provide us with stunning large-scale artworks of icebergs, glaciers, and the sapphire blues of thousand-year-old ancient ice. In addition to providing us with these highly detailed and majestic views – she creates her work using only her fingers – the work serves to call attention to the urgency that climate change is having upon some of the world’s most vulnerable regions.

Traveling with NASA and National Geographic Explorer, she has passionately sought to capture the story of what we stand to lose. However, rather than bringing to us the tragedy of what is unfolding in these areas, Forman brings the beauty of what she has seen.

“There is, of course, all kinds of bad news out there about climate change. There’s the fact that the past three years have been the hottest on record, extreme weather is wreaking havoc all over the world, the polar bear population in the Arctic is in rapid decline, and now we’re faced with an administration that ignores these problems – contributing to environmental decline with their denial of it,” says Forman.

“My drawings explore moments of transition, turbulence, and tranquility in the landscape, allowing viewers to connect emotionally with places they may never have the chance to visit. I choose to convey the beauty of these vulnerable regions – as opposed to their devastation – with the hope of inspiring viewers to help preserve them.”

Please read Zaria’s entire story here at Issuu, and let me know your thoughts. The feature, The Wonder of What We Stand to Lose, starts on page 50. You can read it in its entirety or download the complete winter issue. Of course, Venü is also available on newsstands in New England, Long Island, and at this year’s Art Basel Miami. I’m also happy to share that Venü Magazine will soon be making its way into the Boston area.

Lisa Mikulski is an international writer/photographer based in Boston, MA with a focus on art, culture and lifestyle. Available for print or online publications. Editorial, features, content development, and creative. Contact me to discuss your story.

The post The Wonder of What We Stand to Lose appeared first on Lisa Mikulski - Writer.

While we travel to arrive at a destination, it has always been the journey which spoke to my heart. A long car drive home at night, quiet and uninterrupted, or the excitement that comes with lift-off. There is the ambiance that accompanies the sound of a train along the tracks, and the companionship of a book and a bouquet illuminated by the compartment overhead light. These comings and goings are the expectant beginnings and reflective ends of an adventure. The act of travel.

Years ago, I took the train to New York City quite frequently. During one such trip I decided to indulge myself for the ride home and purchased something noteworthy and something beautiful. A treasured book and a bouquet. When I arrived home, they sat together on my desk as a reminder of that most recent trip. Later the book took up residence on a shelf, its pages stuffed with ticket stubs, receipts, and postcards. I loved this whole idea of a book and a bouquet so much that they became my ongoing companions on Amtrak.

I think the reason why this little ritual became important to me was because it symbolized a personal independence and always a trip that included much fun, events that were important to me, and the celebration of an adventure worth taking. As a friend recently pointed out to me when I was describing this whole notion of a book and a bouquet, the act of traveling home with these objects was like providing myself with a hug.

I recently discovered a number of Eyewitness Travel books in a box which had been kept in my storage unit. Unlike the fiction I bought on my way home from New York, these books were about the places I wanted to travel to – Rome, Iceland, Warsaw, and Prague. Seattle and Santa Fe. I put the entire box out on the porch destined for the dump because I learned over the last few years that not all journeys are fun. I had done quite enough traveling, thank you very much, not only from geographic location to geographic location, but also in my own mind as I attempted to piece together my recovery from trauma.

Joseph Campbell wrote of the hero’s journey. In what has now become a template for character development and narrative for great storytelling, the hero is presented with an adventure – it is always apparent that this adventure is a difficult one, one that our hero is reluctant to pursue. However, through a series of events (usually none of which are good), the hero finds herself on a path that rips away all her prior beliefs, followed by an existential crisis, then self awareness and improvement. We like reading about the hero because just like the rest of us, she makes mistakes, learns difficult lessons, and returns home all the better and wiser. We can relate and there is always hope.

It occurs to me that the paperbacks I purchased in Grand Central were stories of journeys that I embarked on while actually journeying home. Each experience into the city changing who I was, each paperback adding to the fabric of my life, building the tapestry that makes me me. Those trips were sweet and brief.

There are other journeys, like those of Campbell’s protagonist, which are arduous and heartbreaking. They can go on for months or years. What do we learn from such experiences and how do we cull those important lessons?

In August 2017, we went to Tennessee to see the total eclipse of the sun. And when I got back home, I remembered that box of books on my porch. As I consider my future, I want to continue to embrace the journey. I retrieved the box of Eyewitness Travel guides and decided there will be more books and bouquets in my life.

Lisa Mikulski is an international writer/photographer based in Boston, MA with a focus on art, culture and lifestyle. Available for print or online publications. Editorial, features, content development, and creative. Contact me to discuss your story.

The post A book and a bouquet appeared first on Lisa Mikulski - Writer.

Venü Magazine is coming to Boston!

2018 marks the 8th year VENÜ has been indulging affluent readers with cutting-edge editorials and captivating visuals dedicated to the world of luxury. Our writers and staff cover stories that inspire and inform our readers – from the most alluring artwork in the world, to delicious dishes by famous chefs (who share their culinary secrets and sensational stories), to impressive yachts, and posh locations at some of the world’s hottest travel destinations.

Venü is coming to Boston. We look forward to showcasing the best in Boston as we seek to capture some of the city’s finest galleries, restaurants, and hot spots. We await to meet new readers, artists, restaurateurs, gallery owners, and advertisers as we stroll through SoWa and partner as a media sponsor at Boston Design Week 2018 and AD20/21 HOME, April 4-15, 2018.

Publisher Tracey Thomas explains Venü’s mission, “Our goal is simple; to produce a fresh, original, and enduring publication that believes in the intelligence and diversity of its readers and rises to the challenges of surprising them visually and editorially. Venü is designed to appeal to a certain mind-set rather than a specific demographic and this intention radically sets it apart from the abundance of regional magazines available today.”

Digitally, Venü is emailed to our Ü-LIST Subscribers (first) and then through our Twitter, Instagram and Facebook pages before the magazine even hits the streets. All links are hot, directly sending readers to websites of interest from stories and to our advertisers. We have an avid following and many of our readers tell us they keep past issues of Venü as collectibles.

“Being able to access Venü online is wonderful for those readers who aren’t in the immediate distribution areas in New England and South Florida – I’ve had my most recent story distributed online all the way to Sweden – but being able to hold this beautiful magazine, with its brushed satin cover, is so luxurious. It’s a pleasure to hold and read,” said Lisa Mikulski, Editorial and Marketing for Venü.

In the past, Venü’s stunning cover stories have featured the following artists/personalities: John “Crash” Matos, Pamela Anderson, David LaChapelle, George Condo, Robert Cottingham, The Antarctic Biennale, Zaria Forman, Mr. Brainwash, Susan Rockefeller, Richard Avedon, Raphael Mazzucco, Howard Schatz, Swoon and many more…

Venü’s distribution, both printed + digital, strategically targets an affluent audience throughout Connecticut, Metro New York City (including Westchester, Long Island, and Hamptons), Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and South Florida (Miami to Palm Beach and Sarasota to Naples).

Venü is both site-based and venue-specific. Site-based distribution through luxury hotels, residential buildings, private jet terminals, museums, galleries, yacht clubs, country and golf clubs, showrooms, and boutiques. Venue-specific through our partnerships with the top art fairs, design shows, yacht shows, wine+gourmet food events, charity fundraising events, and our own Venü pop-up events.

Our readers and advertisers enjoy expanded distribution through the events we attend and sponsor nationwide – some of these events have included venues in NYC, the Hamptons, Miami, Palm Beach, Chicago, Los Angeles, Fort Lauderdale, Sarasota, Naples, Aspen, Palm Springs, and Saratoga Springs.

Venü is based in Fairfield, Connecticut. We can’t wait to get started in Boston.

Find us online at: venumagazine.com and also Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Download our media kit.

Subscribe to receive Venü’s beautiful print edition.

To learn more about Venü in Boston contact :
Lisa Mikulski
Editorial & Marketing – Venü Magazine, Boston

The post Venü Magazine comes to Boston appeared first on Lisa Mikulski - Writer.

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve entered a post here. I’m not going to apologize for this because I believe my readers understand that there are times one needs to regroup and reflect on one’s path. The path is as important to me as the end destination but often the path is arduous and can be all consuming. The end is just the end. It doesn’t require a lot of work.

This isn’t to say that I haven’t been writing privately and I’ve written for a couple of different publications – namely Venü Magazine and Artscope Magazine – which has been deeply satisfying. But before sharing posts here with you, I feel a certain responsibility to be sure of the content I’m writing, the authenticity of my voice, and the validity of what I am sharing. These are self assigned essays, and posts which appear here are often something between the private thoughts I jot in my journal and the offerings I may provide for any editor of public consumption. It’s a tricky terrain.

It is said that a significant part of recovery from trauma includes embracing your thoughts and emotions – to really feel them as opposed to pushing them aside and soldiering on. There is a need to find answers to certain questions but there is also wisdom in being able to sit and accept the questions – many of which may go unanswered. For now. Forever. 

As a result of all this contemplation, my office space – the place where my journey is often examined – had begun to smell of cigarettes and malice. The cutting away of the narcissist’s tentacles, now left decaying on the office floor, created a situation where the windows required opening. Fresh air brings new insights, and with the crisp frost of a March blizzard, it occurred to me that there were truly only three things I wished to focus on. Writing. Photography. Exercise.

Writing, by its nature, requires a number of subsets of focus – reading, research, learning, self inquiry. But for the sake of not overwhelming myself, I’m sticking with the idea of the three focus points. Writing is a horrible vocation but it is inscribed upon my DNA and it is my intention to do it to the very best of my ability. Let’s see where that takes us.

I have also come to understand that what was, in the past several months, a recovery, has transformed itself and has become instead a different kind of journey. The focus of my eye has turned toward new goals and a revitalized sense of empowerment. I realize that I am much stronger than even I assumed. I also came to know that I wanted to share my story, embrace my authenticity, and that my words may help others or provide some kind of inspiration. I’ve worked hard over the last fourteen months and as my son recently lectured to me, “Why are you only sharing these insights with me? You should be sharing them with the world”.

But, there was the feeling of exposing myself here and that this exposure would crush whatever career path I had been following and open me up to judgement and ridicule. My last blog, 2sweden4love, despite being untouched for over a year, still brings me business opportunities and connections. I think the reason it does so is because not only did I market the hell out of it, but mainly because I spoke my truth. I spoke my truth despite what anyone might fire back at me as “cultural criticism” in a country where I resided as a guest.

Experience can be one person’s torment and another person’s challenge. While I have been an arts writer for many years, I have become increasingly interested in how our experiences shape who we are, how we react, and how those experiences affect our mind.

Spring is upon us. It’s time to open all the windows.

Lisa Mikulski is an international writer and photographer based in Boston, MA. Available for print or online publications. Editorial, features, content development, and creative. Contact me and let’s write your story.

The post Cigarettes and Malice appeared first on Lisa Mikulski - Writer.