tres chic
Into the Mystic
Do you ever have those moments in life where it feels like your karmic balance has reached its peak, and wonderful people, experiences, and happenstances begin flowing in? That’s the best way I can describe these last few weeks, really since right around my birthday, which is especially poignant and profound, considering the passing of the baton from one year to the next is often cause for strife or worrisome self-reflection. But no, not this year. I’m feeling uplifted and energized, awoken and alive, as though wildfires have been stirred from the quiet ashes that had been slumbering and smoldering inside. It’s all sounds very poetic and romanticized, I know, but sometimes those are the only words that speak to my heart. Perhaps better borrowed from the lush lyrics of Van Morrison, I feel like the world has on a mission to “rock [my] gypsy soul”, and now I’m on the most magnificent flow I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing for a long, long time. ♡
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“Hark now, hear the sailors cry
Smell the sea, and feel the sky
Let your soul and spirit fly
Into the mystic …”
Look
Maitreya Body – Lara v3.5
Genesis Lab Head & Skin – Melissa
Damien Fate Eyelashes – FATELashes v2.0
Inkheart Eyes – Astral Eyes (Garden) for A Midsummer Night’s Dream Hunt, through July 21st *
Elua Hair – Daria (Browns HUD)
Nanika Tattoo – Anika (in White for Maitreya, Belleza, Slink, Omega & System Layers) New Release @ On9, through June 28th *
Style & Pose
SlackGirl Jewelry – Farah Earrings New Release @ On9, through June 28th *
Mimikri Swimsuit – Joli Leather Bikini (Nude) New Release @ On9, through June 28th *
AlaskaMetro<3 Anklets – Jess Fringed Anklets (Metallics Pack) New Release @ On9, through June 28th *
Label Motion Pose – Iggy Pose 4 New Release @ Tres Chic, through July 5th *
Destination & Inspiration
✈ Sights: The Trace Too
🎧 Sounds: Van Morrison – Into the Mystic
I also want to take a moment to thank the amazing people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting in Second Life since I returned in late April. Some were friendships rekindled and renewed from last year, while others are newly formed, and all are so incredibly dear to me. I mentioned to a friend that I had been making an especial effort to get out and enjoy the grid, and she noted with some regret that she needfully finds herself spending so much time in her skybubble taking photographs and writing, sorting inventory and getting organized, in order to stay atop her blogging commitments. I know this tendency so well that the words felt as though they had been pulled from my own experience.
But for my own enjoyment and well-being, and after such an encouraging response to what I wrote weeks ago about the anxieties of making new connections, I’ve come to the realization that for me to genuinely and sincerely express appreciation for the virtual world, I need to get out there and experience it. It may mean blogging with slightly less frequency, or getting a bit further behind on keeping up with Flickr, but after such an extraordinary month and a half back in Second Life, I don’t want to risk those impassioned inner fires burning out once more. Even if that means something so simple as being folded in a relaxing pose on a kindred spirit’s boat, my heart bestirred by the sound of the waves and the gaze upon a beautiful vista, it still makes me feel feel as though I were soaring.
“And when that foghorn blows,
I will be coming home …”
Gold in the Air of Summer
Years ago, I was in an unhappy relationship that was proving to be tricky to disentangle from, as we owned a small business together. In an effort to make things smoother between us, I did a lot of reading about how personality types differ, and how they can best mesh and mingle together. While the relationship ultimately ended, I have appreciation for that time in my life, as that was when I came to understand and embrace that I fall deeply into the wells of the Empath and the Sensualist. They both sound kinda sexy and alluring, but each has its interesting challenges.
An Empath experiences emotional events deeply, has a tendency toward melancholy when they’re not “feeling all the feels”, and can easily take on the mood of those around them. Sensualists are so into the things that provoke the senses – rich colors and appealing sights; evocative music; heady scents and tastes – that boredom comes easily when they’re not in some way aroused. This often leads to financial trouble (and probably some issues with addiction), as they feel compelled to continually chase and fuel their desire for stimulation.
Recently, someone asked me why I’m always so cheerful, and while I think they were playfully teasing, it gave me some food for thought. I think the Empath in me just tries to project the mood and feelings towards others like I would enjoy having reflected back at me; sort of a secular “do unto others” vibe. And when it comes to a place like Second Life which exists so much in the virtual, anything that’s particularly visually stimulating, like Flickr photography and style blogs, serves as the best possible stirring of the senses that I could hope for when the RL me can’t be physically inside the SL world. So when I’m browsing Flickr or immersed in Second Life in some way, happiness is often – as I’ve seen it beautifully and poetically written – “inhabiting my every molecule”. Or, at least, it’s valiantly trying its best to!
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However, this morning I was feeling a bit blue, but I very much wanted to get another blog post done, so I cheered myself with every possible sensual experience I could think of. (Well, not every possible experience. Insert an appropriately sly, winky emoji here!) But I poured myself a hot cuppa, put on a beloved Spotify playlist, picked out some of my favorite new releases from the debut Luxe Box and the current round of Tres Chic, and found myself a beautifully cozy perch in the always mood lifting The Trace Too region to watch the waves. The warmest, most inviting windlight I could find (with my compliments and sincere thanks to Torley), was that extra boost I needed to feel a true rising in my thoughts and levity in my heart.
Look
Body // Lara Mesh Body v3.5 by Maitreya
Head & Skin // Melissa by Genesis Lab
Ears // Steking Ears Season 5 by Mandala
Hair // Luxe Box May (Size A) by Magika for Luxe Box May 2016
Style
Top // Dakota Blouse (Lace Maitreya) by Stories&Co by Flowey for Luxe Box May 2016
Shorts // Liza (Maitreya Fatpack) by EVANI for Tres Chic, through June 10th
Shoes // Vitality Sandals (Black for Maitreya Flat) by REIGN
Destination & Inspiration
Location // The Trace Too
Song Spark // Kings Of Convenience – Gold in the Air of Summer
Sometimes, the best possible balm for a trying day or a blue mood is to find the things that stir and compel you, turn them up to 11, fill your mind and view with their unique light, and then bask in the warming glow. ♡
“I think I brought everything we need,
so don’t look back,
don’t think of the other places that you should have been;
it’s a good thing that you came along with me.
You’ll shine like gold in the air of summer …”
Happily, Ever Afterr in Second Life 