Happy Monday everybody!
I started off last week in the studio in Buffalo. It's always such a joy to work on new music with my dream team!
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| with Joey and Russ |
Tuesday, I saw an Angel in the sky. :) There were guys working on the house when a friend texted to ask how I was doing. I took this picture of the ladder and responded that I was "Movin' on up." Do you see the Angel face in the clouds - just to the left of the ladder?
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| raw photo - no retouches |
When Russ left for Milan, I thought I might have a minute to relax, but no. I received a confirmation for a pending Saturday show and the rush was on to get hair done, update website, learn songs and get back to the NYC area.
At the gig in the Hamptons, I was pleasantly surprised to see old friends!
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| with Wes (drums) |
And I always love working with this amazing group of singers! :)
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| with John, Chevonne, Brian |
By the time I got home, I was too tired to get out of the car. (Hey singers - does this happen to any of you too?)
So on Sunday, I didn't want to do ANYTHING. A day of rest... Aaahh... (If only this were one of the commandments or something.) ;)
Seriously though, it is SOOOOOO good for us to just sit and breathe. We all really need to do this more often. I had the Blessed opportunity to rest and reflect and let the thoughts flow freely on Sunday.
As I thought about what I might write here today and looked for a common thread that ran throughout the week, I recalled many conversations, comments and Facebook posts about love, relationships, personal boundaries and standing up for one's self. All week long these topics kept coming up. They were in the love song we worked on in the beginning of the week, in the songs I learned for the gig, in the casual conversations, in the funny stories I heard from friends and in the serious stories on the news.
I remembered someone's story about how a friend of theirs had been afraid to stand up for themselves in a work situation, and someone else's story about how they HAD spoken up for themselves and how things had changed for the better after that. I recalled a time when I had spoken up for myself. I recalled a time that I didn't, but wished I had. I remembered that oftentimes it seems easiest to ignore an issue and pretend that it's not that bad or offensive. Sometimes it's hard to face the possibility of letting go and easier to let wishful thinking blind us to the truth. I thought of someone last week who said, "It is what it ain't!" - rather than "It is what it is."
I saw these posts on Facebook:
"Sometimes on your way up
you have to stop and
let some people off"
- from Enchanted Minds
"You will never get what you truly deserve
if you remain attached
to what you're supposed to let go of"
- from Enchanted Minds
Then I saw this post:
I thought of all the positive affirmations and quotes that I see so often on social media. While we are encouraged to be positive and love each other, sometimes we forget to love ourselves first. Setting boundaries doesn't have to mean conflict. We don't need to get someone else to act in any particular way - but we DO need to be honest with ourselves about the decisions WE make about how we will or will not allow ourselves to be treated, or who we choose to be around. Loving someone does not mean allowing ourselves to compromise what we believe is right for ourselves. We can set our own limits and respect the choices of others while we take responsibility for our own.
Then Steve Harvey came on TV with Oprah, giving advice and talking about his book "Act Like a Success, Think Like a Success." (I bought it as an eBook.) He talked about how he doesn't have time for people's negativity and how "You cannot pull everyone along in your wagon of success. You have to know when it's time to cut certain people loose."
I remembered the Angel's face in the clouds and thought of "movin' on up" and wrote these words:
"I take responsibility for presenting myself to you
as someone you could take advantage of...
That's all over with now.
- My Higher Self"
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| In case you didn't see the Angel before... |
So here's what I got for this week (to remind myself):
1) Take the time to rest and breathe and let your innermost thoughts and revelations bubble up to the surface. Don't get too busy for yourself. Don't drown yourself out with busywork.
2) Keep climbing. Keep making everything better. Keep raising your own bar. Blessings await. Don't be afraid to let go of the old. Trust that the new Blessings will come. Keep going!
3) Hey! I should write a song about this stuff! ;)
Namaste,
T
