A Day's Journey (In 30 Minutes)

In thirty minutes an entire day's journey can be traveled. I do it all the time on my morning run. It's amazing how even with all the quarantine-ing and changes in life, we can be so busy, so distracted by the multitude of daily tasks. That thirty minutes of alone time is often the only time I have to think - uninterrupted.

(In thirty minutes...) You can leave the house with questions and come back with answers. You can even hear God speaking if you listen. Plans can be made and ideas can be born - and they are, whether you're paying attention or not. Too frequently our choices are made from indecision, a lack of plan, or a lack of action. Too often our great ideas fade away, overwhelmed by the demand of immediate necessities.

This week I'm trying to hold on to those lessons, those ideas, those plans, and implement them back in the world of chaos that I have the privilege of leaving for about thirty minutes a day. It's often said how valuable meditation is - how much our lives would change if we could just sit silently and allow our minds to wander freely, safely. Some even say that in lieu of thirty minutes, five would suffice to start.

OK, but then what?

I propose a bridge. This bridge will allow those quiet thoughts to cross over into the daily routine that is so noisy and bumpy. Those newborn thoughts may be tousled around a bit. They may not know how to survive in this crazy world at first. I'm committing to the exercise of bringing them there anyway. They'll learn. They'll cross over into the hostile territory and become seeds there. They'll grow. I will learn how to tend to them even as new ones are born and follow suit. This little bridge will become more traveled and my time in the world of constant chaos will become more valuable as I learn to let God live there too.

#buildabridge #changetheworld

Love,
T

60 Seconds of Tranquility

Sometimes the moment itself is more important than words. Here are some snapshots from this week's walks down the lane...

Hope you all had a lovely holiday and that you find moments of tranquility - even if just for a minute. 

Love,

T

Gimme A Break

I don't need encouragement, validation, pats on the back or anything like that. I just want to tell the truth. I was weary. I'd had enough, was completely worn out and felt like my composure was slipping. There were simply too many things to do and not enough time or nearly enough sleep. I ran into a friend to whom I immediately began spewing out my exasperation. She said I needed a break. I disagreed. "What I NEED, is to get my work done." I was seriously stressed.

I headed home and started racing around like a maniac trying to get a thousand things done in the time it would normally take to do only ten things. After a while I noticed the clock (5:39pm). Evening service would start at 6pm and I had just enough time to get there. ("But all the unfinished work," my brain chided me.) I flipped a coin. (Heads, so off to church I went.)

I arrived just before 6pm and noticed that a whole series of texts mysteriously vanished from my phone as if to say, "forget all about this." (Alright.) During the meditation I thought I might fall apart. I felt tears well up in my eyes as I just sat there quietly and tried to "get in tune with my heart" as the minister instructed. My heart had HAD it. I was running on empty and my heart felt it.

Amazingly and almost instantly I realized an answer. (I didn't even know I had a question!) I was not at the mercy of circumstance. It didn't matter how little time I had or what curve balls came at me. I was not powerless. I would get through. I just knew it. I was certain.

It sounds simple enough, but that little quiet break was exactly what I needed. It really only took a few minutes. I stayed for the whole service anyway, but after five minutes or so of meditation I was good.

So I guess my friend was right. I'm glad I ran into her. I'm grateful for her instruction and for the logistical ability to take that break. It truly did wonders.

Namaste,
T

The Non-Blog...

Instead of reading/writing this blog today...

Let's spend that time in prayer or quiet meditation to send Love, Strength and Hope to all those affected by the severe weather from hurricanes Irma and Harvey. #Faith #Love

Namaste,
T

#WriteYourSong

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.

#WriteYourSong

More to come...

Namaste,
T

Change Change Change...

Has the world gone mad?

I attended a meeting in the city where a woman stood up and wanted to discuss the rights of pixels.  Yes, pixels - the little dots that comprise the picture on your television and digital images everywhere.  Apparently, people worry about the rights of those little dots.  I was almost convinced the evening would prove to be a complete waste of time, and was teetering on the fence between amusement and irritation.  It seemed I had trudged my butt all the way into the city for no apparent reason.  Thankfully, my attitude turned all the way around when a lovely and perfectly sane casting director got up to speak.  She was inspirational and motivational.  I was fortunate enough to meet her and she invited me to submit my résumé to her.   Suddenly, I was launched forward into résumé updating, photo shoot scheduling and online submission forms, etc.  I felt good leaving the city that night and had a nice sense of accomplishment.  It turned out to be a wonderful way to start the week after all.  I fully expected this blog to be about forcing yourself to just put one foot in front of the other until something makes sense, as it had done that night (Just keep going!  One step at a time...), but as the week evolved that idea changed.

It was a busy week of travel and photo shoots, but I also managed to spend some time in nature...

"Speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee."

- Job 12:8

I don't normally think of this as my favorite time of year.  It seems kind of depressing when it gets cold and dark.  The winter coats come out of the closet and the patio furniture gets put away.  I start thinking about shoveling and I get the snowblower tuned up.  Air conditioners, bikes and summer dresses are put away.  (Sigh)  I wanted to get out and take some pictures of the pretty trees before all the leaves disappear. 

Funny how nature reflects everything...

Change and growth...

The beauty of things...

The climb...

Out of the darkness and into the light...

The sometimes ominous look of things...

The fork in the road...

Crossing that bridge when we get to it...

Everything I saw inspired thought.  I thought about that fence between amusement and irritation and how easy it is to go over the brink.  I thought about falling back (just like the clocks) into old habits and how effortless it is to just write off other people when we don't understand them.  (I'd been battling irritation all week and posted this link on Thursday:  "Sometimes, the first step toward forgiveness is realizing the other person was born an idiot" -DJTOD.)  I was searching for a way to keep from sinking into the negative and to keep a bright, positive spirit - even in the face of challenge.

On Sunday, I met the most wonderful and amazing woman.  She wrote a book, "From Stage IV to Center Stage."  She was diagnosed with stage IV cancer in her throat/neck, and was given three months to live.  Twenty-two months later, she sang the National Anthem at Fenway Park.  Nine years later, there I was, sitting in church listening to her story and hearing her say, "Challenges are nothing more than doorways to transformation."

"Denise DeSimone is an ordained interfaith minister, an inspirational/motivational speaker, a singer, and is also certified in multiple alternative healing modalities.  She is a wellness coach to cancer patients.  Denise also created Pray Peace, a multimedia offering of personal and global peace."

- from the back cover of her book, "From Stage IV to Center Stage"

click here for Denise's website

I attended her workshop on sound healing and had a most wonderful experience.  Before beginning a guided meditation that utilized vibrational sound energy, we set deliberate "intentions" for the experience.  My intention was "love space" - the place of positive energy.  I don't want to be in a negative space, or think that other people are idiots, or waste ANY time being anything but joyous.  I know that we can transform any thought, any idea, any pattern.  I know we are capable of letting go of old ideas and habits, and capable of change.  I wanted to bring in the happy and the new, and weed out all sources of irritation at the core.  As Denise introduced us to sound healing, she spoke about how easy it can be to transform an irritating sound to the point that you don't even hear it.  :) :) :)

Perfect!!!!!

This week, I'll continue the meditation practices she taught us and learn more.  (I bought her book and her CD.)  I will not have to resort to thinking of anyone else in a less than favorable light just to make myself feel better.  I'll train myself to hear joyous sounds and see miracles everywhere.

"There are two ways to live: 

You can live as if nothing is a miracle; 

or you can live as if everything is a miracle."

- Albert Einstein

"We cannot love without evolving 

and we cannot evolve without love."

- Denise DeSimone

Namaste!

T

When in Doubt... Go Up

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:

You fill up my senses

Like a night in the forest

Like the mountains in springtime

Like a walk in the rain

Like a storm in the desert

Like a sleepy blue ocean

You fill up my senses – Come fill me again

Come let me love you

Let me give my life to you

Let me drown in your laughter

Let me die in your arms

Let me lay down beside you

Let me always be with you

Come let me love you – Come love me again

(Annie's Song, John Denver)

John Denver's "Annie's Song" on YouTube - click here

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.

When in doubt, I’ll go up.

Maybe I'll sing...

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