Butterflies Continued...

I don't have long. The baby is taking a nap.

This lovely girl (I'm going with "girl") appeared outside the diner this week.

This one (above) was at the pediatrician's office. Hundreds more appeared in a National Geographic photo sent to my phone this morning (I'd post the link, but it seems to have disappeared). Maybe there's more to the story that I'm supposed to think about.

I've been taking some time out for myself every evening before bed to read. Just a few minutes is all I need - just enough so that I am taking some action toward my own personal objective of reading a book. Last week I actually finished the book. I can't tell you how many books I have started reading over the years and never finished. My bookshelves are full of them! This time, I finally finished. Then I started another. #gettingsomethingaccomplished :)

"God is within her. She will not fail"

- Psalm 46:5

This quote begins the book I'm reading now. The quote echoes points made at the end of the previous book about how important it is to take action, however small, toward your goals (or dreams). Reflecting about the butterflies, I'm thinking of the action of their flight. They must move, fly, spread their wings. That's what's up this week - action.

Ever notice how we put things off? Busy work crowds out things we want to do for ourselves and we never get around to doing some things that we really want to. My time is short these days with the baby. (Isn't everyone's time short for one reason or another?) To-do lists are always getting shuffled, and tasks get prioritized, often resulting in nonaccomplishment of some very important goals for myself. Adding to the obstacles, we can admit that fear of failure is a contributor to our tendency to put some goals on the back burner as well.

To transform as a butterfly, action is required. Transformation can be thought about, and we can evolve in our thinking all day long, but we must act if we want to continue the cycle. We have to spread wings to fly. I've been doing well with workouts lately. I've managed to get to the gym consistently and reached a goal of lowering my blood sugar through exercise and diet. Also, I completed a book by tackling one page at a time. Now, I think it's time to identify some more goals on the wish list and take some action toward achieving them. Any action toward the goal will be a success.

"There is no failure except in no longer trying." 

- Chris Bradford

"There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure."

- Paul Coelho

That is my continued lesson from my friends, the butterflies. :) xo

Namaste,
T

 Click here for more quotes on failure from forbes.com

If You Can...

If - 

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,

Or being hated, don't give way to hating

And yet don't look too good nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;

If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim,

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster,

And treat those two impostors just the same,
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone.
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

- Rudyard Kipling

This was almost included in last week's blog, but quite sufficiently stands on its own.

We are all capable of this kind of accomplishment. Blessed be our journey.

Namaste,
T

Have a Cookie

I really had no idea what I was getting into when I took a gig singing with Zoe's Big Band Bombshells last week.  Whew!  That was a fair amount of work - AND AN AWESOME GREAT TIME!

sound check - my view from stage

The gig was for the after party for opening night of the Broadway Show "On the Town" - a show that originally premiered on Broadway in 1944.  We played big band style songs in full costume and wigs in lower Manhattan on Thursday night after guests made their way down from the Broadway show at the Lyric Theatre.  We learned Andrews Sisters harmonies, played some big band classics, and also performed some modern pop songs with a 40's style twist.  I had an absolute BLAST!

sound check - as dancers rehearsed

I've always loved the art of "the show" - by that I mean, the careful consideration to costume, hair & makeup, harmony, song selection, set lists, song arrangements, and dance movements along with the contagious emotional energy of the performance.  This show had all of that, complete with rehearsals and plenty of practicing.  I was so impressed with all of the work that our fearless bandleader Zoe put into this performance.  Every detail seemed to be handled with the utmost degree of professional attention and loving care.  (I seriously think she might really be Wonder Woman - but that's another story.)

Me, Zoe, Zhana

The crowd seemed to really enjoy themselves, based on the dancing, the compliments, and the fact that the party was extended in length.  :)  It was such a pleasure and a privilege to be a part of it.  Zoe and Zhana were truly wonderful to work with and I hope I get the chance to do it again soon.

Zhana, Zoe, Me

click here for Broadway.com's pic of us performing

The rest of the week kind of pales in comparison to that.  There were phone calls, a doctor appointment (follow up for the poison ivy - and I'm fine), a lovely street fair where I bought some very pretty stones for myself and officially began Christmas shopping, a lot of yard work, and a church service filled with dogs.  (Apparently it was "bring your dog to church day" where they had a Blessing of the Animals.)

If there was a running theme this week, it finally became apparent after I loaded twenty-plus bags full of mulched leaves into big paper bags for disposal and decided that it was time for a cookie.

Before

After

I remembered hoping, after all the work that went into Thursday's show, that Zoe had taken a relaxing day off and enjoyed a sense of accomplishment afterward.  I remembered talking to a friend (who is interviewing for some amazing career opportunities) and hoping that, while he is so humble, he can also take pride in and celebrate all of the hard work he has done and all of his accomplishments thus far.  I remembered another friend who enjoys one day off a week from a strict workout and healthy eating regimen to dine at a favorite restaurant.  I realized that the whole after party was a celebration of the fantastic achievement of opening night on Broadway (and like a giant cookie, of sorts).

In church, you could hear thumping sounds as dogs wagged their tails against the pews.  People shared incredible stories about pets - some tear-jerking, some comical.  All of the collection money was to be given to an animal rescue organization, which had a representative there with one of their rescues, Kingston.  Kingston is a very friendly Pit Bull who wouldn't stop kissing every person and dog in sight.  It was hard to believe that just three years ago, he was so fearful of everyone and everything that he appeared aggressive beyond reason.  With love and positive reinforcement he learned to trust again, and is now free to be the genuinely happy creature he really is.  We were reminded of how loving and how forgiving pets are, and how much we can learn from them.

Bentley is a rescue - but we didn't bring him to church on Sunday

The dog two rows behind us kept crawling under the pews trying to meet new people and collect pats on the head.  I remember her owner trying to get her attention by asking, "Do you want a cookie?"  Maybe that's why, as I was admiring the practically leafless lawn later on, I decided that it was "cookie time" for me.  Do we remember to celebrate a hard week's worth of work by doing something enjoyable?  Do we have enough time, or are we always on to the next thing?  Are we always so busy that it seems there never are enough hours in the day or days in the week?  I'll try to remember that it's alright (and even healthy) to sit back for a minute and enjoy a well-deserved sense of satisfaction for a job well done.

I'm going to have a cookie.

Namaste!
T

"Take a Cookie" scene from "The Matrix"