a girl in the world

finding beauty, pleasure and grace on the road less traveled

Wednesday Wisdom: Choices, erotic intelligence and confidence

Here’s a round-up  of some of my favorite articles from this week.

Denise Gamboawww.agirlintheworld.com Denise Gamboa, denisegamboa, agirlintheworld.com

On making hard choices
This talk could literally change your life. Which career should I pursue? Where should I live? Big decisions like these are agonizingly difficult. But perhaps they just might give us the power and clarity to define who we are and who we want to be. My favorite line “Drifters allow the world to dictate who they are”. May we all find the courage to be captains of our own lives.

Erotic Intelligence: The secret to desire in a long-term relationship
This talk by Esther Perel is both insightful and eloquent. How do we balance our need for security with our need for surprise? And how do we keep alive a healthy, playful dose of desire and sensuality in our relationships? The wisdom is liberating.

9 Qualities of Remarkably Confident People
Confidence, for me, comes in waves but I think it’s a state of mind and a state of mind that can be practiced. Listen. Ask for help. Don’t be afraid to look silly. Perhaps counterintuitive but healthy, especially the part about not seeking approval from everyone.

Big Ben The Elephant

I’m currently on sabbatical and indulging in a personal Renaissance.  I feel like a kid in a candy store with the luxury of time to read, write and paint like a mad-woman. It’s as if a decade’s worth of child’s play has been unleashed and the five-year old me is back with a vengeance. I haven’t had this much fun nor felt so myself in a very long time.

I’ve been working on several art projects and am particularly excited to share this piece called Big Ben.  I painted him back in August during a pretty dark time in my life when “making” was all I could do to keep it together.  I’ve had a long, dramatic love affair with London and it has been muse to many creative projects, both written and photographic. It’s the city where I first came into my own, outside the confines of expectations and old roles.  In London I met lifetime friends, fell in love, got my heart broken, battled loneliness and pretty much pushed my boundaries in all ways possible.

Big Ben is a celebration of the places and memories that made my life “away” so special.  Gordon’s Wine Bar, the falcon family that took roost at the Tate during the summer of 2010, my discovery of Rothko’s Seagram murals, a string quartet on the Jubilee Bridge, and the panoramic view from Primrose Hill on a blue sky summer’s day.  Big Ben is joy and nostalgia and therapy for the part of me that won’t ever be able to let go of one of the best cities on earth.


Ink and watercolor.

Want one?  Click here.

The Wisdom of Cows

This  is a new favorite from Alain de Botton’s The School of Life series.  Cows are actually one of my favorite animals. I think they have the most beautiful eyes.  Here’s to some Thursday afternoon perspective.

Hi, I'm Denise. I'm a writer, artist and photographer. This is where I share what I'm seeing, learning and making.
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