AMA with AMA last week of July

Dear Kula Diaries friends —

It’s the last week of July, so I thought I’d round out a fun month with one more AMA — Ask me Anything! This is your chance to ask me ANYTHING — and yes, anything goes! If you’d like to submit a question, comment or a prompt or anything else for an upcoming AMA column (or just write me a message), you can do that right here:

In early July I announced that I was ‘relaxing’ my self-imposed requirement of writing AMA columns every single week. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed with a pretty intense writing schedule and also… you know… the whole ‘running a company’ thing. Kula Cloth is currently at the point where I am still very much involved in the day-to-day operations… and spending my weekends writing was giving me almost zero personal time to do some of the other things that matter to me.

Over the past few weeks, the added space in my life has blossomed into so much creativity and fun — and I’m excited to continue to share that with all of you. I’ve renewed my personal desire to finally finish my massively overdue poetry book that Amanda and I have been working on for years… and I’ve also been inspired to continue making progress on two other books I’ve been dabbling in for a long time (one book of funny poems about hiking… and another more personal-development-esque book for outdoor-minded folks).

Writing The Kula Diaries genuinely matters to me — but there must be a balance. And so, I let go of my self-imposed requirement… and, remarkably, some beautiful newness bloomed in the empty space that was created. I’ve had so much fun over the past few weeks putting together Maria’s special story about her podcast episode… and selecting pieces for The Trail Register. As a reminder, the next Trail Register prompt is Backcounty Toilets! If you want to sign the trail register and get a fun gift in the mail from me, you can do that right here:

This week, I’m combining two AMA questions into one… and I’m pretty sure I’m going to take this one out into a long tangent from which we might never return (well, maybe). I appreciate all of you being here so much — let’s get to the question!

Dear AMA,

Forget Bracelets, Watch Layering Is the Chicest Trend for Summer 2024: Will you go from living in the NOW to living in the NOW NOW?

and

WHAT IS THE LONG STORY BEHIND POM PIZZA?

A few weeks ago, I shared some photos of the NOW Watches that I started making. These watches were born from a silly conversation that Aaron and I had while contemplating what to do with a broken watch. He was trying to replace the battery in one of my watches, and in the midst of that repair, he accidentally broke the watch — rendering it unrepairable. The watch laid on our kitchen table for awhile, because we both felt bad throwing it away.

“What should I do with that watch?”, I asked Aaron one day.

“Maybe you should just write the word NOW on it and call it good.”, he said jokingly.

Suddenly, an idea struck me like a little lightning bolt — I knew exactly how I could turn this broken watch into a NOW watch.

As a kid, my best friend and I had entered a ‘dream house’ competition for a local real estate company. For the competition, we were required to build our dream house and bring it… in person… to a local office for judging. We placed third at the local office, which meant that we were invited to a big hotel for the final competition. I wish I had photos of our dream house, but sadly, this was in the day before smart phones. Our house was structured like a traditional colonial-style suburban home… except that we had turned each of the rooms into every kid’s dream. There was a game room… a roller skating room… a candy room… a movie theater… and pretty much anything else that a kid could want. I mean, why on earth would we waste precious space on things like a kitchen or a bathroom? We also used fake plants and built an atrium that featured a plastic cake topper as a glass dome. In the center of the atrium was a clear acrylic pond with tiny clay fish that we had made. On the day of the local competition, the house went in my best friend’s family’s car to the event… and the cake topper melted off the house just hours before the competition. Frantically, she repaired it just in time for the judging.

I represented our small team at the final competition in the hotel banquet room, and I remember looking around the room at all of the other ‘dream homes’ — many of which appeared to be Frank Lloyd Wright architectural masterpieces that were, very likely, not made by other 10 year-olds. I looked inside our little dream house — we had focused more on what was in the house… not on the outside design. Because, really, what kid actually cared about the outside design of the house?

We didn’t win — but I did learn how to use acrylic to make a clear pond. Which is exactly what popped into my mind as I contemplated the possibility of making a NOW watch. After some experimentation with disassembling watches (easier said than done!), procuring miniature alphabet charms for the letters N, O, and W… and after pouring multiple layers of acrylic… my very first NOW Watch came to life.

Ok, hold that thought… and I’ll explain the origins of POM Pizza, which is just about as confusing of a name as I could have possibly picked for a random website.

Many years ago, I believed that there was a certain way that things had to be done … because that’s what everybody tells you, right? You buy a house… and then you slowly pay off your mortgage… or, you start a business, and it takes a long time to be successful, etc… Well, a few years ago, I started to question all of these beliefs — I discovered that if I didn’t tell myself what was going to happen… that I was suddenly open to the infinite ways in which something COULD happen. One of my personal goals has always been to pay off our mortgage on our house — far ahead of the 30 year plan that the bank gave us. It’s always seemed like a fun process — and thinking about writing out that final check to the bank is a very exciting feeling — it’s a feeling of freedom, fun and ease. So, I told Aaron that I was going to pay of our mortgage really quickly — but that I didn’t know how I was going to do it!

I told him that I was going to start a website called POM.COM and that I’d figure it out after that. POM, in this case, was an acronym for ‘Pay Off Mortgage’. As a joke, I tried to buy POM.COM, but it was unavailable. However, there was a website named POM.PIZZA available — and I simply could not pass up a domain name that was hosted at a .PIZZA! I used Canva to make a little logo, and I purchased the website a few years ago — and then, it just sat there for awhile. Honestly, I had no idea what to do with it… so it waited.

Over the past year and few months, I’ve put more energy into designing fun T-shirts (one of my childhood dreams) and into making my NOW watches. I didn’t feel like they ‘belonged’ on the Kula Cloth website, since they are definitely a completely different product — so, I decided that the POM.PIZZA website would be their new home. As I was building out the website, I also decided that generosity needed to be a key component of this little project. I am a huge practitioner of intentional generosity — and I genuinely believe that contributing to others must be at the core of what you do. So, I did some math and figured out that for every 300 orders I receive on the POM Pizza website … I’ll choose a random winner from my customers… and mail somebody a check for $2300 — which is (according to the US Census Bureau), the median price for a mortgage payment.

Probably my favorite shirt I’ve designed in a long time - haha!

I’ve never done anything like this before — and while I haven’t hit the 300 order mark yet, I’m genuinely looking forward to the day when I do. I used to think that getting 300 orders for something was impossible or ‘far-fetched’ — but, I’ve learned that … particularly when you lead with your heart and with kindness and generosity… nothing is impossible.

NOW….

Back to the watches. And, more specifically, the TRIPLE NOW WATCH… which I aptly decided to model for this photo:

By the way, when I told my husband to take that photo, he looked at the watches, and said, “Don’t you think that seems a little pushy?” Ha! I guess that NOW NOW NOW might seem a bit pushy (out of context).

I don’t know too much about fashion, but I do know that if more people were wearing NOW Watches… or, even if more people had an understanding of THE NOW… so much of our world would be different. In fact, you don’t need a watch in order to find the now… you just need to know that it exists. Unbelievably, most people do not — because while it is never not right now… they are never there. They are somewhere else — distracted by the seductive temptress of their mind, which pulls them in a million different directions — all of which lead away from this moment.

So, what is the NOW? Well, it’s the most simple and the most complicated thing that you’ll ever contemplate. It’s the only moment in life that there ever is… because it’s never not right now. It eliminates the need for suffering about the past and the future, because it reduces everything that matters to one, tiny pin-prick of a point in existence. See if you can find it for a second: close your eyes and just be HERE… right now… without thinking. See if you can focus without focusing on exactly what is. No thoughts to label things… no need to figure anything out… no need to worry about what happened in the past or what’s going to happen in the future. Just right here, right now. It’s the point of ultimate power for each of us, and yet most of us do not spend any time in the now. Rather, we are living completely ‘in our heads’ — worrying about what’s next or how to figure something out… or creating conversations and drama around past situations that haven’t happened. Living in our minds completely — being totally and utterly identified with the thoughts that exist within our heads — is the cause of 99999999.9999999% of the world’s suffering. It has been the cause of wars, of hate, of violence and of any atrocity. Because, truly, if somebody were connected to this moment — instead of vilifying somebody that wasn’t even in their presence… would they do anything to hurt that person? How can you be threatened by somebody who is not here? In this moment, the only thing that exists is kindness… love… and acceptance of others. There is no place for thought about what could happen or what happened. There is only right now — and right now, is simply love.

I don’t always stay present in my life — in fact, I’m often not present. I’m often annoyed with other people and I sometimes find myself complaining about them and/or creating stories about them in my head. But, I’m getting OK at stopping myself when I notice that I’m slipping into those old patterns. And, really, that’s all that is asked of each of us: to notice, and to re-route. We don’t need to be perfect — but we can take the time to notice when we are lost in our minds, and we can re-direct our thoughts towards what is here right now — towards something that is real.

Another day… another ridiculous shower curtain to give away!

Wearing my little NOW Watch has actually helped me quite a bit, because I often forget to be present, and I will be moving through my day — completely on auto-pilot. “What time is it?”, I’ll think to myself in a bit of a frenzied busy panic — and I’ll look at my watch and laugh. Oh… that’s right… it’s always now. I’ll take a deep breath — connect back to what matters — and somehow, things will feel a tiny bit easier. It’s a heavy burden to carry around those complaints and stories and worries. After years of feeling overwhelmed, it feels good to lighten the load and to discover a new sense of freedom and peace that exists on the other side of all those thoughts. I am not less of myself without clinging to those things — in fact, as I let go of the story, I become more of who I truly am. The thoughts that we think will save us… are, in fact, the clouds that obscure the path. As we clear the fog, we see that the light will cut through and open our eyes to a place that has always been right here, right now.

Here’s a great meditation to get you started…

I can’t make a map for anybody else to the now… because it’s a place that we all have to discover on our own. It doesn’t start by looking for it, however, because it’s already here. It starts by becoming quiet. It starts by closing our eyes and looking within our own hearts. It starts by noticing the noise in our mind — and also noticing that we are not the noise. There is something beyond that noise — the true nature and the deep love that exists within us, and connects us to all beings.

Friends — I hope that this week — or even just for today, you can take a tiny amount of time to connect with this moment. It doesn’t have to be a long meditation in a spa-like setting. It can often be as simple as a few breaths. The peace that you invite into your life in those moments has the power to change the world through the love that you will radiate into every single thing that you do. We are each better humans on this planet when we can connect to the reality of what is… instead of the illusion of what isn’t. Act from your heart, not from your mind — and see what happens next.

I’m sending you all so much love today, and all days. I appreciate you beyond words!