OPTIMISTIC VOICES
You're out of the woods, you're out of the dark, you're out of the night. Step into the sun, step into the light. Keep straight ahead for the most glorious place on the face of the earth or the sky. Hold onto your breath, hold onto your heart, hold onto your hope. March up to the gate and bid it open...
Showing posts with label Joseph Campbell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joseph Campbell. Show all posts
Quite simply, yoga changed my life. In February 2017 I started taking, and truly committed to, Monday night classes at my UU church. In six months, I saw/felt major improvement in my strength, flexibility, and mindfulness. I was more in touch with my body than I'd been in years, and my spirit was more peaceful. I learned coping mechanisms for dealing with stress, as well as increased self-confidence in my physical abilities. Because of the increased self-confidence, I segued to our LA Fitness, twice a week.
Before that, I always thought of yoga classes as a room full of skinny, blond, scantily-clad young women. I could *never* have envisioned myself there. Now, not only did I see myself there, I followed through and put myself there (Note to Self: many of them are full-figured, dark- or gray-haired, and wear T-shirts... 😉 )
The gym instructor made me feel that I could do *most* of what she taught, but also offered challenges I could see myself achieving on down the road. None of it would have been possible without Victoria's patient and loving tutelage. She trained me up to fly away (roots and wings), and my gratitude is eternal.
I continued classes at the gym until the pandemic, and now I have a home practice, either Yoga with Adriene via YouTube or on my own with a series of poses I've put together. It's a great way to start the day (or mid-afternoon or evening), stretching, breathing, escaping yet at the same time attuning. So many challenges, but so much growth as well. I am amazed when my body will do things I never envisioned. What a great journey indeed.
However, I still have problems with tree pose, but we all know that balance, on many levels, has never been my strong suit... 😁
P.S. Veni Vidi Vici (translation: Oooooo... I'm on Music Sensory Overload... an evening snack of watermelon is the best... :-)
I'm taking a bit of a break from the weariness of the world (which will still be here tomorrow) to celebrate the joyfulness - three really amazing things have happened/are happening and I had to honor them...
First of all, I finally took the online Jeopardy test - my friend Judi told me about it at book club the other night, and there was one more evening left to try out. For as long as I can remember, I've watched the challenging game show and tested my wits against the three nightly contestants - I always remember to phrase my answer in the form of a question, even in the informality of my family room... and, considering I don't have that pesky eye-hand-coordination buzzer to contend with, I do a respectable job of appearing knowledgable. I'm not claiming to be that smart but I have a font of useless information cluttering up my brain - every once in a while it comes in handy, such that, whoever is in the room usually says with enthusiastic awe, "you really should try out to be on the show!".
So.. as soon as I got home from book club, I registered and read the rules... and logged on the following evening 20 minutes beforehand to test out my Flash player, get settled, etc. Thirty seconds before the test was scheduled to begin (8 PM Pacific, 11 PM Eastern), the familiar Jeopardy theme song began... as did my stomach butterflies - they tell you in advance to pay attention to the category, you do not have to follow the in-the-form-of-a-question format and you have 15 seconds to type in your answer, at which point you can hit Enter or allow the test to capture whatever you've managed to type thus far.
It was fun, in that weird, stressful, time-limited kinda way - some felt like no-brainers (who wrote the Oz books? - jackpot!)... a few others were above my level of comprehension (something about x, y, domain, function?!?). A few I totally blanked on, and most I tried to at least submit *something* - you quickly find out that 15 seconds feels like no time at all to process much less enter trivia, and I tried to allow my intuition to take over (don't second-guess) and not get discouraged if I didn't know something (which could have affected my answers following). They say that they will not disclose your score, one way or the other and that they will notify you if chosen - the next step would be an in-person tryout in the city of your choice (Miami, in my case). Out of 50 questions, I actually think I got more than half right - wish me luck (oh, to be able to meet Alex Trebek is one of my heart's desires!). Secondly, Boyhowdy at Cover Lay Down has been suffering from inner ear problems for a few months and, in his words, "last week, in a spate of concern about losing a week of posting to my continuing tinnitus, I asked a few of my favorite folkbloggers to donate 'a fave coversong or two, and a short write-up to accompany it'. The plan was to collect coverfolk from bloggers I trust, on the likely chance that I could not blog as my best self for a while, and have it ready to share with you as a celebration of my blogging peers and influences." - I was one of the people he asked to submit a guest blog (!). Big honor (major understatement) - part 1 can be found here... Thirdly (be still, my heart!), I will be leaving the house shortly for the Dar Williams concert at the Culture Room in Ft. Lauderdale - we've organized quite a contingent of South Florida folks and I've been promoting the show like crazy. It's at a local rock club and we may end up standing all evening - we're troopers and she's worth it (win/win!).
The divine manifestation is ubiquitous, Only our eyes are not open to it. Awe is what moves us forward.
Live from your own center. The divine lives within you. The separateness apparent in the world is secondary. Beyond the world of opposites is an unseen, but experienced, unity and identity in us all.
Today the planet is the only proper "in group." Participate joyfully in the sorrows of the world. We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy.
You must return with the bliss and integrate it. The return is seeing the radiance is everywhere. The world is a match for us. We are a match for the world. The spirit is the bouquet of nature.
Sanctify the place you are in. Follow your bliss. . . .
QUOTE: "Life must be aromatic." ~ Gwendolyn Brooks
On the occasion of the release of Dar Williams' new CD, Promised Land, this past Tuesday, I posted the following to the Dar-list the next day:
Hello, All -
Michael in Chicago/South Bend wrote:
Unfortunately for me, I won't be able to get it today because my pre-order was severely interrupted by a back order issue with that free DVD--Music Space held up the whole order. And it took me forever to get around to calling them. HOPEFULLY the Cd's are shipped out today. The Customer Service rep was very helpful (so thank you!). But still annoying. I've had issues with other promotional pre-order deals from other companies as well. Not enjoyable. Anyone else sharing my misery???
I too took advantage of the MusicSpace offer a while back... and received an e-mail yesterday informing my Visa had just been charged and they were processing my order - realizing that, from End of the Summer on, I'd *always* purchased a new Dar CD on the release date, I knew I had a streak to uphold... and stopped at Barnes & Noble on the way home!
Not sure if they had more copies elsewhere, but I got the only one in the Pop/Rock section under W - haven't yet had a chance to listen to the whole thing, but so far it's wonderful. It's really a different experience since, other than the few Dar performed at Falcon Ridge, they're all new to me - I know the lyrics are in the liner booklet (although I may have to spring for a higher magnification pair of reading glasses)... but does anyone know if they're available online?
Loving the artwork as well - looking forward to the daily/weekly/monthly process of new discovery, note by note, word by word, layer by layer... :-)
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First of all, don't worry, Nance - one of the new Dar CDs in the delayed order is for you, and I'll arrange a time to deliver as soon as it arrives!
In the meantime, each rotation on my car stereo (I'm on 6 or 7 by now) brings new insight and revelation - Dar's ability to capture intangible emotions as well as vivid stories never fails to amaze. Her voice is absolutely gorgeous on this album, very Green World-ish ethereal and dreamy - loving the two covers as well as her original material. I remain in perpetual awe of Buzzer - to quote Dar from her Out There Live commentary: brilliant, brilliant...
Since Dar only gets to South Florida every two or three years (although I'm going to do my best to get her here in the next year), I've decided I need a fix - while on vacation, I found out she'll be performing at Eddie's Attic in Atlanta Saturday, November 1... so I spoke to my sister about me flying up for the weekend. I've already reserved a table for 4 (me, Mom, Mari and her daughter Julia) for the early All Ages show - I've found a round-trip plan for $158 (unheard of) and, with the $100 voucher from Delta awarded after my cancelled flight debacle on the way up to Falcon Ridge, this trip is beyond affordable (not to mention the time with family - priceless!).
To get a bit of my history with Dar, click here for a link to the 25 blog posts which reference her (most titled with her songs) - in looking over them, I realized I don't really have a comprehensive Why I Love Dar post (how much cyberspace do we have?!?... :-) Will have to remedy that soon - my heart/brain are hopelessly/joyfully entwined with her equally challenging and uplifting songs... and I can honestly say my life changed from the moment I first heard You're Aging Well in 1995.
“With every album, I’m trying to figure out what I don’t have to say, while still giving each song its due,” Dar Williams says. Of her new album, Promised Land, Williams commented, “On this one, I was paring the stories down to their core. I wanted the songs to sound simple and down to what they were meant to be, which is hard to do. It takes a lot of knowledge to get to the point where you can say what you need to say — no more, no less.”
To peel her insightful, melodic story-songs down to their essence, as well as inject them with the energy and momentum they clearly called for, Williams enlisted Brad Wood, a Grammy-nominated producer and musician known for his work with rock singer-songwriters Liz Phair, Pete Yorn, and Ben Lee. “Dar was looking to try something different and get out of her comfort zone,” Wood says. “She had made a number of records and it seemed like a good time, career-wise, for her to make a change. I was flattered that she thought to ask me to help. Her voice is so great that you can do just about anything behind her and it’s going to sound cool!”
Personally inspired by the spindly live feel of late ’70s/early ’80s albums by the Police, Elvis Costello, and the Pretenders, Wood manages to make Williams’ elegant, worldly songs sound visceral and urgent, while preserving the integrity and emotion that have been hallmarks of her sound (along with a beautifully intimate, bell-clear voice) since Williams began playing out on the Northeast singer-songwriter circuit in the early ’90s.
“Brad understood the songs and gave them the space they needed,” Williams says. “I love that clean, straightforward sound he gets.” And so Promised Land includes several immediately engaging toe-tappers, such as “It’s Alright,” “The Easy Way,” “Buzzer,” and “Go to the Woods,” as well as Williams’ trademark thoughtful balladry, including the keenly felt “Book of Love,” “The Tide Falls Away,” and “You Are Everyone.”
There are also two covers, Fountains of Wayne’s “Troubled Times” (“I’m a sucker for a tragic protagonist conveyed through what seems like a really pleasant pop song,” Williams says) and “Midnight Radio” from the stage musical and film Hedwig and the Angry Inch, whose soundtrack Wood produced, though Williams says he had nothing to do with her choosing to record the song. “Midnight Radio” was written by composer Stephen Trask, an old friend of Williams’ from her college years. “Stephen and I go way back. He wrote a song for a student film I was in where I played a dancing potato,” she recalls with a laugh. “But we also go way back in that spiritual sense, so I always wanted to do that song.”
Throughout, Promised Land brims with the renewed vigor that Williams clearly felt working with a new producer and group of musicians, including Better Than Ezra drummer Travis McNabb, who adds a welcome bounce and spring to the proceedings, and noted multi-instrumentalist Greg Leisz, who has played with Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Wilco, and Sheryl Crow. Other guest musicians include Williams’ pals Marshall Crenshaw (guitars on “It’s Alright”), Suzanne Vega (backing vocals on “Go to the Woods”) and Gary Louris from The Jayhawks (“The Tide Falls Away”).
In the past, Williams’ songwriting has located the personal in such universal topics as politics, religion, sexuality, and family. This time, rather than tie the songs together around any particular theme, Williams presents a collection of disparate stories and characters. She writes about trying to be open to major life change on “It’s Alright,” trying to take the high road in past relationships on “The Easy Way,” the perspective that comes with age on “The Tide Falls Away,” and the Milgram obedience experiment that took place at Yale University in the ’60s on “Buzzer” (“a subject I have been obsessed with since reading about it when I was 18”). However, Williams, a wife and mother of a four-year-old son, did find what she calls “the high seas of parenthood” influencing several of the songs, which she began writing after she finished her second children’s book Lights, Camera, Amalee (published by Scholastic in July 2006).
“I’ll go through a day where the only people I’ll talk to are my husband, my son, and the person behind the counter at CVS,” she says, “but being a parent has pushed me out into my town too. It connects me to all the stuff that I care about, but on a local level, like politics, the environment, one’s town, and all the interesting personalities in it. I’m interested in those stories. I see them connecting to the big picture of how people approach life. I think that’s in the songs.”
Williams’ passion for the big picture has led to a long-held connection to social and environmental issues, which she nurtures by getting involved with various projects, including community gardening and lobbying for renewable energy in the upstate New York town where she lives. “I’m as green as you get for what I do for a living, which require, you know, things like flying,” she says. “I think about the environment all the time. The biggest deal to me right now is trying to get my town’s elementary and middle schools to look at geothermal as an option,” she says. Williams’ other passions include local-food movements and arts outreach with kids. She will often perform at benefits in small towns that are struggling to save a local theater, bookstore, or farmer’s market. “I love to get into these places and learn about their battles,” she says. “In my mind, this country is like a patchwork of towns filled with people hanging out, growing gardens, listening to music, and talking about important stuff. In a way, that’s what the album title is about. I found myself making a distinction between the Promised Land we claim and the actual promise of the land that we try to live up to. ”
Williams’ growth as a person over her 15-year career has gone hand-in-hand with her evolution as an artist. Raised in Chappaqua, NY, and educated at Wesleyan University, Williams spent 10 years living in the thriving artistic community of Northampton, MA, where she began to make the rounds on the coffeehouse circuit. An early fan of her music was Joan Baez, who took Williams out on the road and recorded several of her songs. Williams self-released her debut album, The Honesty Room in 1993, then signed with Razor & Tie Entertainment in 1995, which has been her label home ever since. She has released one live album — Out There Live (2001); six studio albums — The Honesty Room (1993), Mortal City (1996), End of the Summer (1997), The Green World (2000), The Beauty of the Rain (2003), and My Better Self (2005); and one live DVD — Live at Bearsville Theater (2007).
Through it all, Williams’ motivation as an artist is to “experience meaning without fooling myself,” she says. “There are these moments where everything feels connected, and I think my art is about trying to find the stories that make us feel connected. That’s the verve of my life. It’s what keeps things interesting.”
The grasses are light brown and ocean comes in long shimmering lines under the fleet from last night which dozes now in the early morning
Here and there horses graze On somebody's acreage
Strangely, it was not my desire
that bade me speak in church to be released but memory of the way it used to be in careless and exotic play
when characters were promises then recognitions. The world of transformation is real and not real but trusting.
Enough of the lessons? I mean didactic phrases to take you in and out of love's mysterious bonds?
Well I myself am not myself
and which power of survival I speak for is not made of houses.
It is inner luxury, of golden figures that breathe like mountains do and whose skin is made dusky by stars.
O fresh day in February Come along with me under pine whose new cones make flowers. In a mellow mood let's take anything and you're better in the peaceful flowing in the beach in the bird who flys up out of coyote bush, bob cat who crosses the road.
For who could think I could see the grace of other souls born, and reborn before in crab shells snail shells, the head of a grebe molesin, new onions up. Drawn by your clever sleigh of tortoise I listen for the melody to sing along.
QUOTE: "The black moment is the moment when the real message of transformation is going to come. At the darkest moment comes the light." ~ Joseph Campbell
QUOTE: "Marriage is not a love affair. A love affair has to do with immediate personal satisfaction. Marriage is an ordeal; it means yielding, time and again. That’s why it’s a sacrament: you give up your personal simplicity to participate. And you are not giving to the other person; you are giving to the relationship. Because you are not giving to the other person, it is not impoverishing — it is life-building, life-fostering, enriching." ~ Joseph Campbell
K and I got together today for our annual Dave Carter labyrinth walk/remembrance/seize-the-day ritual - we meet halfway (meaning we each drive about 30 minutes) to a lovely retreat center. The labyrinth is in the back of the property, fairly isolated, and our tradition is to sit on the benches for an hour or so, catching up on each other's lives - we then walk the path, mindfully, me giving her a 5-minute headstart so as not to crowd. It always seems to take me the entire journey toward the center to clear my mind, as there's just so much swirling and competing for attention. The return walk finds me cleansed and open, tabula rasa - the storm that threatened all afternoon waited until we were finished to let loose (thanks, Dave... :-)
Our tradition is to then drive into the town of Delray Beach to find an interesting restaurant, where we drink a glass of wine, share some appetizers and chat some more - we discovered a very cool Asian bistro this time, trying their shrimp/veggies tempura and their chicken dumplings (yum!).
My story of Dave Carter begins in the fall of 1998, when I began reading articles/reviews of an up-and-coming songwriter who was winning all sorts of contests and had just released a CD, with Tracy Grammer, his "partner in all things" - I found out they would be performing at a folk music conference I was attending in February 1999 and was intrigued enough to make a point to go to their showcase (actually three of them), where I promptly fell in love with Dave's smart, layered lyrics, Tracy's violin and their combined harmonies. I wasn't able to buy the CD until six months later and continued to be enthralled - saw them again at Falcon Ridge 2000 and not too long afterwards got a call from their agent, asking if I would present them in May in my just-begun house concert series.
I drove down to Main Street Cafe, where they were playing the night before my show and met Laurie, the proprietress (more on her another time) - Dave and Tracy performed in my living room the following evening and it was a magical time I'll always remember. I saw them at Falcon Ridge a few months later and the next spring they came to West Palm Beach with Joan Baez, who had become enamored with their music, even covering one of Dave's songs - Dave was very sick that night and, when I had a chance to chat with him after the show, said he'd see me in July at Falcon Ridge, as usual. He suffered a heart attack and died a few days before the 2002 festival, a month short of his 50th birthday (see my post of a few days ago) - a reliable member of the folk community posted the news, at Tracy's request, to their online discussion group that Friday afternoon... and it was difficult to believe but impossible to ignore...
My husband was out of town that weekend and I wept for hours, inconsolable - a dear friend (also a fan of their music) called and "talked me off the ledge", keeping me company on the phone for more than three hours, as we both tried to process the idea of a world without Dave Carter. The folk community was devastated - amazingly, Tracy insisted on going to Falcon Ridge, where a beautiful tribute was arranged (when their mainstage set was supposed to have taken place), with many folk artists covering their songs. Tracy said she couldn't imagine being anywhere else except in a place where they were so loved and she knew she'd feel strength and support - the entire weekend was surreal...
My post the day after Dave's death barely scratches the surface of everything he meant to me and others - he was dear, he was special and he is so much missed, even five years later...
QUOTE: "Let children walk with Nature, let them see the beautiful blendings and communions of death and life, their joyous inseparable unity, as taught in woods and meadows, plains and mountains and streams of our blessed star, and they will learn that death is stingless indeed, and as beautiful as life." ~ John Muir
Dave Carter died five years ago today - for now I'm copying and pasting information from his website... and, after getting together with K Sunday, I will follow up with personal remembrances/experiences. He is so much missed, musically and personally - major understatement...
Love From Tracy - Sunday, July 21, 2002
Dearest friends and sweet fans,
I am with you in tears and bottomless sorrow. This loss is indescribable. He was endless spring to me, he was bountiful joy and gentleness and laughter. He was my soulmate, my partner in everything wordly and otherwise. I visited with him one last time today and he glowed golden and ageless. His sister and I agreed he looked like an angel. He was absolutely beautiful.
Yesterday, shortly after he went unconscious, he came back for a lucid minute to two to tell me, "I just died... Baby, I just died..." There was a look of wonder in his eyes, and though I cried and tried to deny it to him, I knew he was right and he was on his way. He stayed with me a minute more but despite my attempts to keep him with me, I could see he was already riding that thin chiffon wave between here and gone. He loved beauty, he was hopelessly drawn to the magic and the light in all things. I figure he saw something he could not resist out of the corner of his eye and flew into it. Despite the fact that every rescue attempt was made by paramedics and hospital staff and the death pronouncement officially came at 12:08 pm Eastern Time, I believe he died in my arms in our favorite hotel, leaving me with those final words. That's the true story I am going to tell.
I am so, so very moved by your recollections. I have a thousand hugs and tears and words waiting for whoever wants or needs them. I will meet you at Falcon Ridge on Saturday, if not before. We need to keep this music alive, it was always my mission that the world hear and know the poetry and vision and wonderful mystical magic of David Carter. This path is broad and long; I hope you will stay the course with me.
In the center of our hotel window earlier tonight, by lamplight, came the shadow of a bird to my curtain. He held steady for a four flaps of the wing, maybe five, and then he pivoted away. My heart froze for an instant and then I felt some relief. I took this midnight messenger as a sign. You know that I have been desperate for a sign.
My love to you,
Tracy
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"Dave Carter, 49, folk artist touted as 'major lyrical talent' - by Scott Alarik, Globe Correspondent, 7/23/2002
Dave Carter, who with partner Tracy Grammer was one of the fastest-rising acts in folk music, died Friday in Northampton of a massive heart attack. He was 49.
He and Grammer recorded for the Western Massachusetts label Signature Sounds. Their latest compact disc, ''Drum Hat Buddha,'' was seen as a major breakthrough record, prompting the Associated Press to say of Mr. Carter, who wrote the songs for the duo, ''He writes songs that can stand with the best of contemporary singer-songwriters or sound like they were written 100 years ago.'' Many predicted Mr. Carter and Grammer would become major stars. The Los Angeles Times announced Mr. Carter as ''a major lyrical talent,'' and Great Britain's Folk Roots magazine said his songs were ''destined to become the stuff of legend.''
The duo was just becoming known outside the vibrant subculture of modern folk music. Joan Baez had recently embraced Mr. Carter's music in the same fervor with which she famously promoted the songs of Bob Dylan in the 1960s and Dar Williams in the '90s. She planned to record several of Mr. Carter's songs and to use them in a world tour, as she did nationally last spring. In a Globe profile of Mr. Carter and Grammer last fall, Baez praised Mr. Carter's ability to write intimate songs that ''are available to other people. It's a kind of genius, you know,'' she said, ''and Dylan had the biggest case of it. But I hear it in Dave's songs, too.''
Jim Olsen, president of Signature Sounds, first heard Mr. Carter and Grammer in 1999, and immediately signed them to a long-term contract. They released two CDs for Signature, ''Tanglewood Tree'' in 2000 and ''Drum Hat Buddha'' in 2001. They were scheduled to go into the studio again in December. ''What made Dave such a great songwriter in my mind,'' Olsen said yesterday from his Whately offices, ''was that he had one of the most diverse knowledge bases of any person I've ever known, studied all kinds of music. His songs were very complex and sophisticated, and yet he was also a master storyteller. He grew up listening to a lot of country and folk music, and that tradition of accessibility and storytelling worked its way into his music.''
Mr. Carter perfectly fit the old showbiz saw of the overnight sensation who was years in the making. Though he studied classical and world music (he had a master's degree in music theory from the University of Oklahoma), and was an excellent jazz pianist, he did not pick up a guitar to write a song until he was 42. He was born on Aug. 13, 1952, in Oxnard, Calif., and raised in Oklahoma and Texas. He worked as a mathematician and computer programmer until 1994, when he began to pursue songwriting seriously. By that time he had moved to Portland, Ore., where he met Grammer at an open mike event. They quickly became a duo, both professionally and romantically, and her fiddle arrangements and rich vocals greatly enhanced the easy melodicism of his songs.
Mr. Carter had the rare ability to pen songs that were at once deeply spiritual, often mystical, and yet universal in their emotional scope and melodic allure. His melodies carried an unmistakable blend of modern pop and what Baez called ''something kind of Southern-rootsy.'' It was that melding of the folksy and the urbane, the ancient and the modern, the dense poet and the welcoming troubadour, that had so many in the folk world deeming Mr. Carter a major new songwriting voice. The future seemed unlimited.
When we signed Dave and Tracy,'' said Olsen, ''the promise I made them was that they may not make the big time because what they do is so personal and sophisticated, but that they were going to have a lifelong career. That appealed to Dave very much. But the truth is,'' Olsen said, ''I always believed it would only take one cover by a major star to unveil his work to the rest of the world; and I was convinced that was going to happen. Somebody was going to open the door for them; and the thing about Dave's music is that once people heard it, they became lifelong fans.''
Mr. Carter leaves Grammer; his father and stepmother, Robert and Charlene Carter of Tulsa, Okla.; and a sister, Elise Fischer. "
"One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words." ~ Goethe
"I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day." ~
E. B. White
"Every day I walk out into the world to be dazzled, then to be reflective." ~ Mary Oliver
"I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, and all the friends I want to see." ~ John Burroughs
"So much working, reading, thinking, living to do! A lifetime is not long enough." ~ Sylvia Plath
“Every day I discover more and more beautiful things. It’s enough to drive one mad. I have such a desire to do everything, my head is bursting with it.” ~ Claude Monet>
"A woman whose mood improves with a book, a poem, a song or a cup of coffee is not defeated by anyone; even life loses with her." ~ Kahlil Gibran
Wife/mom/Lala, vegan, fanatical reader, music lover. I'm a committed-to-aging-well, unable-to-do-anything-in-25 words-or-less, ruby-slipper-wearing eternal optimist, attempting to figure out the circuitous journey I call my life: where I've been, where I am, where I'm going and who will be my traveling companions, continued or new.
In my 6+ decades on this planet, I've realized that change is not necessarily worse, just different; I've learned that saying "I don't know" has become incredibly liberating; I've intuited there is no such thing as perfection (whether it's a seashell or another person); I have become less demanding and more forgiving/flexible by the relaxation of my guidelines; and I've figured out that, even though I'll always be an Instant Gratification Leo, sometimes delaying the reward can heighten the pleasure, too.
I am more discerning to minimize the negative influences in my daily dealings (while still understanding the importance of moral obligations), and attempt to surround myself with people, activities and things that bring me joy. I want to make every glorious moment count, and I'm committed to making this world a better place, One Day At a Time... :-)
Beginnings (best first song lines ever - a work in progress... :-)
"I'm waitin' at the station, I can choose my destination, I'm a free soul, I got no chains, but it's a long time between trains" ~ Susan Werner, Time Between Trains
"Load the car and write the note, grab your bag and grab your coat, tell the ones that need to know, we are headed north" ~ The Avett Brothers, I and Love and You
"She was a level-headed dancer on the road to alcohol, and I was just a soldier on my way to Montreal" ~ John Prine, Spanish Pipedream
"When I die, let them judge me by my company of friends" ~ Danny Schmidt, Company of Friends
"Dad coaches baseball and I am on the team, Mom thinks she’s Jesus Christ the Nazarene." ~ Joe Crookston, The Nazarene
"I love North Dakota 'cause you have never been there." ~ Kris Delmhorst, North Dakota
"I am not in love, but I'm open to persuasion." ~ Joan Armatrading, Love and Affection
"I took time out to write to my old friend, I walked across that burning bridge." ~ Michelle Shocked, Anchorage
"When she was three, her Barbies always did it on the first date." ~ Barenaked Ladies, Life, in a Nutshell
"Step out the front door like a ghost into the fog where no one notices the contrast of white on white." ~ Counting Crows, Round Here
"I can't believe you, you bend your words like Uri Geller's spoons." ~ Toad the Wet Sprocket, Nanci
"I won't forget when Peter Pan came to my house, took my hand, I said I was a boy; I'm glad he didn't check." ~ Dar Williams, When I Was a Boy
"There's a Coke machine glowin' through the parking lot, call it a room with a view." ~ Todd Snider, Just Like Old Times
"There must be some kind of way out of here, said the joker to the thief." ~ Jimi Hendrix, All Along the Watchtower
"Hello, darkness, my old friend." ~ Simon and Garfunkel, The Sound of Silence
"The screen door slams, Mary's dress waves." ~ Bruce Springsteen, Thunder Road
"Common Cool, he was a proud young fool, in a kick*ss Wal-Mart tie." ~ Dave Carter, Ordinary Town
"Just before our love got lost, you said, 'I am as constant as a Northern Star', and I said, 'constantly in the darkness, where's that at? If you want me, I'll be in the bar.' " ~ Joni Mitchell, A Case of You
Eight Days a Week
What's So "Punny" 'bout Peace, Love and Understanding?
All You Need is Love
Across the Universe
Desiderata
Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
Max Ehrmann, copyright 1952
Four Strong Winds
The Four Agreements
Everything we do is based on agreements we have made - agreements with ourselves, with other people, with God, with life. But the most important agreements are the ones we make with ourselves. In these agreements we tell ourselves who we are, how to behave, what is possible, what is impossible. One single agreement is not such a problem, but we have many agreements that come from fear, deplete our energy, and diminish our self-worth."
In this powerful book that has remained on The New York Times Bestseller List for over five years, don Miguel Ruiz reveals the source of self-limiting beliefs that rob us of joy and create needless suffering. When we are ready to change these agreements, there are four deceptively simple, yet powerful agreements that we can adopt as guiding principles. The Four Agreements offer a powerful code of conduct that can rapidly transform our lives to a new experience of freedom, true happiness, and love.
1. Be Impeccable With Your Word Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.
2. Don't Take Anything Personally Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering.
3. Don't Make Assumptions Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.
4. Always Do Your Best Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.
