help me create some beauty

We're back from our trip, and while there's a part of me that still lingers in Paris, craving kirs in charming sidewalk cafés, ​for the most part I'm really thrilled to be back.  Before we'd left, I'd worried that 2 weeks away would be too long to be disconnected from my daily routine; now that I'm back, I know that 14 days is perfect:  it's the exact amount of time I apparently require to return to work energized, raring to go, and ready to tackle new projects.

As it happens, in the immediate future, I have a considerable project to tackle, which brings me to some exciting news:  over the next few weeks, I'll be working with the amazing talent over at CafeMom Studios (the folks behind videos ranging from the honest and emotional It's Cancer, Baby to the hilarious I'll Take That Dare) to produce a web series that will "air" this coming fall!​

The backstory:​

Over the last few years, I've become​ increasingly dismayed at the way media seems so focused on provoking polarization on all issues, while pressing the persistent message that the world is a dark, damaged place, and life in it is therefore a miserable existence.  This flies directly in the face of what I believe:  that despite difficulties and challenges, we each have moments of beauty in our lives if only we stop and look; more importantly, we are all, each of us, extraordinary.  It pains me that there is so little media out there that explores this side of the story in any depth.

Launching a web series that thoughtfully tackles these issues, therefore, has been one of my personal goals for 2012​, but the truth is that I didn't know where to begin.  So you can just imagine how thrilled I was when CafeMom serendipitously approached me to work with them to develop a webseries, with purposes in line with my own.  We're still in the very early development stages of the series, but thus far we appear to share the same goals, providing inspirational content that will illustrate that the gifts we each have are extraordinary, and provide us with the power to change the world -- or at the very least, our own worlds.

To that end, because this series is ultimately for you, while we're pulling this all together, I'd love to get your input: what specific types of uplifting or inspirational content do you wish the media paid more attention to​?  What sorts of tips do you wish you had to realize your own personal potential?  As you think about your answers to these questions, you might consider:

1. Are there any obstacles you find yourself coming up against that make it tough to have consistent practice of gratitude?  What help would you like in making the practice come more easily?​

2.  What life transitions have you found particularly challenging?  Is there any specific help you wish you had to help move through them?​

3.  What positive habits would you like ​develop, if any?

4.  What is keeping you from feeling fully awesome?​  What kinds of stories would inspire you to make it happen?

I'd be so grateful if you shared your thoughts with me, either in the comments below (if you'd like to leave your comment anonymously, simply leave your comment as a "Guest" and make up an alias before you hit submit)​, or, of course, if you'd prefer, feel free to email your thoughts privately to me at karen@chookooloonks.com.

Thanks, as ever, for your support and encouragement, friends.  Over the next few weeks I'll have my nose to the grindstone as all of this comes to fruition.  I hope to do you proud.​