Yay! I Was Nominated for a Liebster Award

Last week I heard the great news that Sookton’s Space was nominated for a Liebster Award, an online award given from blogger to blogger to increase exposure and followers to new blogs.

My friend and fellow yogi, Monica Stone over at The Yogi Movement, was kind enough to nominate me and I am thrilled! Thank you Monica.

Here are the Liebster Award rules:

Here are the ten questions that Monica sent me along with my answers: 

Why did you originally start your blog, and has the intention or mission changed and shifted? If so, how?

I first started Sookton’s Space because I was tired of journaling. I have kept a journal since I was 12 years old and as I got older, I wrote in the journal less and less, until I found that I was writing in it only once a year. I really didn’t think that anyone would read my blog. It was a personal space to reflect on the world. But as time went on, I noticed people were reading it! It was flattering and fun, so I changed the mission of my blog: to be an inspirational place, a sanctuary, a place to lift ourselves higher and help others along the way.

What was your favorite childhood movie (A movie that you love mostly because of nostalgia)?

I really don’t know how many times I forced my mother and father to watch The Sound of Music when I was child. That spectacular opening with Julie Andrews spinning around on the top of the mountain with fields of plush grass around her, it’s just breath-taking even to watch it now.

I think I love the message behind The Sound of Music — never give up on your music, always sing your song. The messages that you should stick together as a family, and that happiness can be found in little things like raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, stay with me to this day.

If you could meet anyone dead or alive, who would it be and why?

I think it would have to be Bob Marley. He seemed like someone so wise beyond his years, so insightful, so ethereal, a real revolutionary. Bob and Princess Diana are two people who I feel were taken so quickly from our earth, when they still had yet so much to give. There are a few people who come here for a short while to stir up change, to make us think, to make us come together and look at the way we treat people. If I could have dinner with Bob, Diana, and Gandhi I would be on cloud 9. It would be absolute bliss.

When feeling angry or frustrated, how do you calm down?

When I get in a funk, I just go on a walk or meditate, or practice yoga. I have to get myself out of my body. I think mostly frustration just comes from earthly problems: money, jobs, relationships, other people’s drama. But if you can get out of your body for a minute, just release and let go and connect with your spirit, you will realize that the problem is not that great, that there are much more important things to worry about.

What is your favorite quote, saying, or mantra?

My current mantra is “Let go and let God.” I heard it at a conference I attended a few weeks ago. I tend to have issues with control- wanting to know what the future holds, anxiety over the unknown, fear, fear, fear. But then I realize, I can’t control it, so why worry? Just let go and let God. It will all work out in a perfect way.

Are you an introvert or extrovert?

I’m extroverted in an introverted way. When I’m nervous, I talk too much, thus feeling like a fool. I make up for the nerves by just gabbing and gabbing. I think everyone has a touch of introvert. We all have our anxieties and insecurities. In fact, some of the biggest extroverts I know are secretly incredibly insecure. As with everything, it’s good to take the middle path. Be a little bit of both!

If money was no object, and you had to choose one charity to donate to for the rest of your life, what would it be?

That would be Eat So They Can, a New Zealand charity that is now global, that focuses on feeding, clothing, and educating children all over the world. In this day and age, global hunger is ridiculous! How can world leaders just sit by and watch this continue? Every child deserves food, every child deserves shelter. We have money for bombs, weapons, and wars but not enough to feed each other? Something has to give.

Please, if you can, sign up to host your own Eat So They Can dinner in October. Once a year, people around the world come together to host dinner parties and raise money to feed people in need. When you eat, they eat too. It’s a brilliant concept and one I believe in and freely endorse. What I love most about them is they send you a package letting you know where your funds went. I like to see that my money was actually put to use and helped someone.

Going back 10 years, how is your life different than you envisioned it?

I used to spend so much time worrying, struggling, bitching, complaining, just thinking that everyone and everything was against me. But once I saw that my happiness was only controlled by ME, everything in my life started to change. Doors have started to open up. When I think back to when I was 20 years old, I thought by 30 I would have it all figured it out. But here I am at 31 with not even a quarter of it figured out, but HAPPY as can be. Once you realize that no one controls your happiness, and that life is not a struggle, and that everything you are seeking is within you, the journey is just is so much easier to navigate.

If you could plan a two week long road trip, what would it consist of? Where would it start and end? What sites would you see?

It would be a spiritual voyage! I would start in India (to see the Taj Mahal) and move through the mountains to Pakistan and my family’s land: Kashmir. When I started researching the history of Kashmir, I was fascinated to find that they were once all Buddhist, practicing yoga on the hills. No wonder when I practice yoga, eat vegetarian, and follow a Buddhist path, I feel the most at home!

Next I would travel up to Tibet and China, then move down through the islands, to Singapore and landing in French Polynesia. I would end my journey in New Zealand and Australia. When I visited Australasia when I was 21, I felt that the place was magical and spiritual. Such beautiful countries with such a strong energy! I have to go there again to experience it for myself.

Buddha Statue in Kashmir (click for source)

If you could meet up with yourself at 14 years old, what is one piece of advice you would tell your 14 year old self?

Learn. To. Say. No. Why do you always have to please people? Don’t harm yourself just to make sure everyone else is alright. I cannot stress this enough: just say no! People will respect you more for it in the long run.

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Thank you Monica! That was fun. Here are my 10 bloggers that I am nominating for a Liebster Award:

1. Allie and Linda of Olive Vintage
2. Latoya Watson of Natural Hair Rules
3. Christy Birmingham of Poetic Parfait 
4. Sonja Barun of Rolling Stone Gathering Moss
5. Nicole Marie of Yay, Nomz!
6. Risa Page of Really Risa
7. Nikki Novo of Nikki Novo
8. Alyssa of Tipsy Gypsea
9. Jessica Leffler of Food Journey
10. Jeff Moore of My Everyday Power

Here are my ten questions for you:

1. Why did you start your blog? What have you learned about blogging?

2. What advise would you give someone who is just starting a blog?

3. What is your favorite quote, saying, or mantra?

4. What is something you have struggled with and then overcame?

5. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

6. If you could meet one person, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

7. What was your dream career when you were a child? How does it compare to what you are doing now?

8. If you could write a letter to your 16 year old self, what would it say?

9. Who has been a mentor to you and really changed your life? How?

10. What is your favorite, go-to recipe that you would cook if you were at home alone on a Friday night and you had endless ingredients?