Have you ever tried complaining to your doctor about how
hard it is to eat healthy? Mine told me I had to change my thoughts.
Instead of thinking about how hard it is, "Just think of making better choices." Every day, every meal is a choice. It seemed simple enough.
That thought lingered with me throughout the week. By
thinking of how hard it is (and before you say “it’s not that hard”- please keep in mind that I'm taking care of
two dogs and a baby) I was focused on the challenge. Changing my mind is simple
enough, but not always easy. My doctor was right. While focused on the
challenge, I was sabotaging my own power. It’s not something difficult. It’s a simple
choice. Remembering that I DO have a choice is empowering. It allows me to take
the reins. With that in mind, I started making healthier food choices.
I carried the idea of changing my mind over to other things
too. All day long I make up silly songs to entertain the baby. I decided some
of the lyrics needed a change.
“Ay, ay, ay, ay… no sir I have no bananas” soon became “Ay,
ay, ay, ay… Yes I do have some bananas.” (What can I say, he thinks the word
“banana” is hilarious.) “Bananas, bananas galore... Bananas yes please I’ll have
more… Ay, ay, ay, ay… How I do love my bananas” etc. (You get the idea.)
Why would I repeat a lyric about a state of lack? Why
wouldn’t I sing from a place of bounty and reinforce THAT idea? Hello? What was
I thinking?
Of the thousands of thoughts we have in our heads all day
long, what do we keep repeating to ourselves that we could change? How can I
continue to change my song and improve my life? This week, I’ll listen closely
and #changemysong.
I've been so busy with baby and family lately. I felt a strong desire to get back to some music and singing (and not just baby songs - which I sing ALL THE TIME). I found a necklace pendant made from a "reclaimed singing bowl" and thought it would be the perfect thing to help me focus on singing and hold that intention close to my heart. I bought it and started wearing it, thinking of music every time I put it on.
I soon received calls from four different music associates that I haven't spoken to in a while! #Cool!
Then the song "Unwritten" popped into my head and wouldn't leave. It reminded me of an anonymous quote I read recently:
"On your last day on earth,
the person you became will meet the person you could have become."
- Anonymous
I started thinking of how tragic it would be if the songs that could have been - never were. So on a long drive this week, I wrote a new song. I didn't want it to go unwritten.
Thank you first to God for making all things possible...
I am absolutely filled with gratitude and love for everyone whose support and encouragement made this song, this video, and this album possible; and to all of you who click, like, tweet, post, share and leave heartwarming comments. Your kindness and love make my heart sing! My deepest thanks to all of you. It is a most amazing Blessing to be able to do what I love - and feel so good about being an artist. Here's wishing all the positive energy you give out comes back to you tenfold and that all you do, in pursuit of your heart's dream, be touched with the magic, power and strength of love...
Namaste!
T
Official Music Video: Only Way Home
"Only Way Home"
On my own in New York City
Missing home for far too long
It ain't how I thought it would be
Still I keep on pressin' on
Longing for the days gone by
Times I lay down and I cry
Thinking back on how it used to be
But I ain't gettin' nowhere
Wishin' for what's not there
Now I think I finally see
**Chorus**
Keep on taking on a new day
Don't look back upon the old way
That old place is lost
It's gone, gone, gone
Next phase, bring it on, ya got me
Steep pace, only way that I see
Boldly forward is the way back home
It's the only way to get back home
Back home, back home
It's the only way to get back home
Back home, back home
It's the only way to get back home
Everybody's got a story
But everybody's all the same
Gotta get to where we're going
But don't nobody know the way
Home is where you just can be
Friends are true and you are free
Overflowing with a sense of peace
But we ain't gettin' nowhere
Actin' like we don't care
When home is where we wanna be
**Chorus**
Somewhere along the way I swear I lost my mind
Panic-stricken in my haste I tried and tried to find
From: Nothing To Prove... Something To Say Written by: Tanya Diona (BMI) and Russell Graham (ASCAP) / Produced by Russell Graham and Tanya Diona for Red Queen Productions / Lead and background vocals: Tanya Diona / All instruments and programming: Russell Graham / Recorded by: Russell Graham at Red Queen Studios, NY and Audio Magic, Buffalo, NY / Mixed by: Russell Graham at Red Queen Studios, NY / Mastered by: Gary Tole for Chelsea Sound Labs
Special thanks:
To Russ: My best friend, love and partner in everything - we did it! :) To Vincent Buccitelli, Meg, Qina and the New York Global Marketing Solutions team: for your continual encouragement to make things better and then even better, and for your swift and reliable ability to get it done! To Jim Bush: for your keen eye, photographic talents and warm spirit. To Chris Tringali and Leon Studio One: for always doing such a great job (and landing me so many hair compliments) - you're the best. To my most amazing band of musicians, vocalists and dancers whose talents make the live shows positively magical... Kenny Hawkins, Big Mike Porter, Richii Valentino, Russell Graham, Joey Diggs, Sharon Banks, Shelly Hirsch, Jenna Beth Stockman, Meghan Hinton - love you all! To Joey Diggs (Unka Doey): for your incredible talent, tireless dedication, awesome humor and true friendship. To Robbie Konikoff: for your constant encouragement and kindness. To all my family and extended family of most incredible supporters: you truly do make my heart sing and inspire me to reach higher heights! My most sincere thanks to you all...
In one week, we will be releasing our first official music video!!! It's for the song "Only Way Home." All week, we'll be posting video snippets, photos and quotes having to do with the song, beginning with this short clip from a live show, talking about how the song / album concept was born...
This past week, as we've been preparing the promotional material, the song's concept has been at the forefront of my mind.
Home is referred to in the song as a place of peace, a place where we all strive to be. We don't always know how to get there, but with faith, if we keep pushing forward, we will find it.
So many things fit this theme over the last week. Whether it was friends traveling to their hometowns for family reunions, heartwarming conversations with loved ones, the sense of celebration and pride that filled so many hearts after the Supreme Court decision on Friday, the magic of sharing the stage with a special family of musicians, the glow in the eyes of a newly married couple, the young couple I know who purchased their first house together, or challenges overcome in the relentless pursuit of health and happiness; there seemed to be a feeling of "home" everywhere I looked. (How cool is THAT?)
The song says that the way to get home is by moving forward - as opposed to giving up or retreating into fear. It says that the way to get back home is by persevering in our dreams and hearts' desires, and pushing through in challenging or uncertain times. If we keep going, we will eventually get home to that sense of peace, that place where we truly belong, that place where happiness lives.
At "Home" on the gig - with Russ and Apollo Joe
As I post about "Only Way Home" this week, I'll continue to think about all the wonderful people, places and things that feel like home - and I'll be grateful for them. :)
Did you ever get a song stuck in your
head and wonder why?Maybe it’s just one
of those darn catchy ones that you hear over and over like a commercial and
can't shake.Maybe there’s another reason…
It’s been a hectic week filled with upheaval and uncertainty. As we were on a long drive
home, Russ played a song I thought might be uplifting, but turned out instead
to be rather sad. I immediately asked
him to play another song that I thought might have more of an inspiring
effect. It did – and then I couldn’t
stop singing it for two days:
As
I searched for a blog idea, I was hoping to find inspiration in services at
church. There, during the lecture, I was reminded that most
often we can find the answers we seek in silence and in peace; and I was also reminded how oftentimes, we are too busy and loud to just sit and listen to our inner voice. In times of turmoil, stress or change we might simply quiet ourselves, meditate, breathe and just be
still. That’s when the answers come.
Okay. I can do that…
I joined the group meditation
in the service. I closed my eyes and
felt only my breath. They were playing a relaxing instrumental song with a flute in the background.
It was as if some distant flute player was calling me toward
something – like some happy idea-thought
was waiting for me just beyond a hill I had to first climb over. As I relaxed into my breath, I felt like I was floating upward toward this happy idea-thought,
being drawn to it like some kind of balloon. (Hey! This might work!)
Then it occurred to me… I’ve
already done this! I had been singing a song
I found beautiful and comforting. I had
been repeating it like a mantra. I kept
returning to the words that I found joyous and uplifting.
Without even realizing, I had been giving myself a message. My inner voice had been singing to me. :)
Many of us know that we want
to move away from stress and toward happiness, but often we’re not sure
HOW.
How’s this? Take a few moments of quiet and listen. What are we already saying to ourselves? In times of doubt and uncertainty, I am going
to try and remember to continue moving toward the joy – to find some happy
thought or feeling and cling to it consciously. I’ll
seek something uplifting.
