Only Love...

"On the day of my judgement, when I stand before God 

and he asks me why did I, did I kill one of his miracles, 

what am I going to say? That it was my job?"

- Paul, The Green Mile

Humanity.

As I've watched the news and people's posts, I keep coming back to that scene in The Green Mile. People are willing to risk life and limb crossing the Canadian border in sub-zero temperatures to avoid deportation. Mothers are being torn from their families. Others are hiding in the sanctuary of churches. I keep wondering what the people "just doing their job" must be feeling.

It is time to reach deep within and stand up for ourselves - and by "ourselves" I mean our brothers and sisters. We are all one.

"My reason for pushing back on Marvin wasn't to stop the single, 

just to determine whether or not this was another one of his wild ideas... 

Motown was about music for all people - white and black, blue and green, cops and the robbers. 

I was reluctant to have our music alienate anyone. This was a big risk for his image."

- Berry Gordy

There are risks involved with taking a stand for what we believe - even when we know what is right. My prayer this week is for strength for us all, that we fearlessly stand up for what we believe in.

"I am not afraid because fear is a choice; it is not a fact. 

So today I ask you, in the true grit and spirit of a New Yorker, 

that you choose courage in the face of fear."

- Linda Sarsour

Click here for "New Yorkers rally to say "Today I am a Muslim too"

Namaste,
T

All I Need

It started off a good week. I had the courage and confidence to let go of some things that were bogging down my mind and spirit. I had a great gig in Brooklyn and met some lovely people.

Brooklyn Botanic Garden - with John and Trevor

Gig selfie - from the car

Then came the stress...

So what about when the going gets tough? What about when you just don't feel like it? (Feel like what? Feel like - anything.) Fake it 'til you make it? Just go through the motions? Keep pushing through? How? (Sometimes you need to know the "how.")

I Googled and found a variety of opinions...

Iyanla Vanzant's video on courage: "Fake It Till You Make It"

The Oprah Winfrey Network's video: "When NOT to Fake it Till You Make it"

Online article: "Are You Sometime Just Going Through the Motions? Why You Must Stop and How"

Online article: "5 Ways to Push Through Discomfort to Make Positive Change"

I guess it comes down to finding something that works for YOU. As long as we don't give up, we CAN make it somehow - by faking it, or letting go, or pushing through or finding something to help. We can ALWAYS find SOMETHING to get through. 

We ARE all we NEED to get by...

"You're All I Need to Get By" written by Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson

Namaste,

T

P.S. 

Sometimes I need - a laugh. Here's one of my favorite scenes from "The Jerk," guaranteed to make you smile.

"That's all I need!"

Well, Which is It?

Is it THIS...

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune without the words,

And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;

And sore must be the storm

That could abash the little bird

That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land, 

And on the strangest sea;

Yet, never, in extremity,

It asked a crumb of me.

- Emily Dickinson

Or THIS...

Hope - that slippery creature of temptation

Shall I let him in?

Is it I, by myself

who allows that slithering beast?

That devil is already inside of me

Waiting...

For any crack in the door

To creep, undetected

Into the deepest recesses of me

And from there

Like a cancer grow.

- T.G. 

Which perception is Truth? Are they both true?  Does it depend on mood?

I have been considering perception and its powerful influence - how we, with the power of our mind, can choose to view any circumstance with a different perspective and create our future with it.

This week, I challenge my perspective of everything.  I encourage myself to see everything from a positive viewpoint.  With faith and gratitude, I know that all is well.  There is really never anything to fear.

Hope can be a beautiful, angelic creature or we can paint it with fear.  Is there something that we are afraid to hope, for fear that it will never be?  What dream is so important?  What idea do we have to guard so fiercely?  What holds that much power over us - that we would choose to kill hope instead of even trying?

This week, I want to figure that out - and make a change.  I want to dare to hope anything!  Isn't imagining something the first step towards creating it?  I don't want to be afraid to imagine anything!  I want to welcome hope and its sweet song!

LET'S DO IT!  

#fearless #daretodream

Namaste,

T

Clean Sweep: Not Just for "Hoarders"

Packing for Idol last year...

Nothing makes me want to clean up the house more than watching an episode of “Hoarders.”  It motivates me to leap off the couch and start sorting everything in sight.  Bills will be paid, files will be put away and things will be donated and thrown out.  I can scan a room and organize spaces – seeing what can be better arranged or eliminated.  After that, it’s just a matter of following through with the work of actually doing it.

Other clutter is not so easily cleared away.  While looking for a quote on persistence last week, I came across this one from Steve Jobs:

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.  Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking.  Don’t let the noise of other people’s opinions drown out your own inner voice.  And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.  They somehow already know what you truly want to become.  Everything else is secondary.

WELL ALRIGHTY THEN!  This is worth listening to!  Here’s the thing though – it is not so easy.  I think to do this effectively requires some quiet time.  There are times when it would be tempting to make a decision – just to prove someone else’s opinion wrong.  On the other hand, there are times when someone whom we know cares about us and whose views we greatly respect – and even ask for –  gives us an opinion that confuses us because it just doesn’t seem right.  How about when we like an opinion simply because it represents an easy way to handle something when we know the right thing to do is different?  Wait… this is the “noise” he was talking about, isn’t it.

“In a moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing to do.  The worst thing you can do is nothing.”

-       Theodore Roosevelt

Let’s not get lost here.  All the self-help books seem to have a section on meditation, reflection, journaling or some other type of quiet time.  Writing the album was a great exercise in freedom for me.  In order to write it we had to sit there and listen to our inner thoughts – be aware of the things that motivated us.  Then we wrote about those things.  I loved it!  The whole process represents amazing freedom of thought.  The end quote that appears in the CD booklet encapsulates the idea:

“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique.  And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost.  The world will not have it.  It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions.  It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open.  You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work.  You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you.  Keep the channel open… No artist is pleased.  [There is] no satisfaction whatever at any time.  There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive…”

-       Martha Graham

Fine.  As I continue to clean up and clear out things, in preparation for the next chapter of my life, I’ll try to listen to myself more.  Decisions have to be made.  Let’s get a move on it.

The world awaits...

photo by Danielle Graham