🎼 And I Wish You Joy and Happiness, But Above All This, I Wish You Love… 🎶

Hello Gentle Reader!

Happy New Year! We are one week into 2023 and I am hoping you are all doing things that you enjoy. I have been working from home this week, so I have had the chance to catch some shows while answering emails. I have been watching a lot of the charming show, We’re Here and getting such a kick out of watching Hot Ones. And I have been loving them enough to watch more than one episode at a time. I don’t normally binge anything because I get antsy and NEED to do something or grab a yarn project to work on to pull my attention away cuz I get bored. It is crazy. With so much stuff to watch and enjoy, I get bored. I don’t think I know any other actors who say they are bored with an outlet of their craft. I should shut up before I get in trouble. 🤭 I really think it is an attention thing, but that is just a guess.

But, back to the topic at hand. Whenever I work on building a character and look to find my motivations I always try to base every decision from the perspective of love. I do this because I honestly, personally, believe in life, there is nothing worth fighting for more than love. It doesn’t have to be physical love; it could be anything.

I know I have mentioned this before in a past post. I just can’t remember how far back or how often (I try not to be too repetitive, let me know if I am, ok?)

I love my life. With all its hardships and challenges and chaos, it is pretty good. The problem that I am struggling with, Kind Reader, is that I can’t look in the mirror and say that I love myself.

Don’t get me wrong, I have accepted myself in all my flawed glory, from the dried skin on the heel of my left foot to my bum knee to my slightly lazy right eye to the annoying frizzy greying hair on my head to my tendency to obsessively worry about thing to my battles with memory. I don’t mind these things about myself, but I do wish that I didn’t have the worry and memory issues. So I continue my journey on figuring out the best way to get better at adapting to them.

Please don’t think this is a New Year’s resolution post. I don’t believe in them and hold them in the same low regard as Thanksgiving. I know that people often say ‘it a time for giving thanks for what you have and your friends and family.’ Shut up. Just stop it with that nonsense. If you aren’t grateful every single day of the year for what you have and the amazing people in your life, you need to rethink that life right now, Resolutions are the same, why do you need to wait until the start of a new year to put all of this pressure on your shoulders? ‘But it is a clean slate… blah blah blah’ If you really want to do it, why wait? You have the motivation now, why wait until January 1, every day is a clean slate as is the beginning of every week, month and heck hour if you really wanna get into it. Not to judge anyone’s decisions, but those ideas that society holds up is so limiting and should be thrown out like trash. But I digress…

One of the things that I did happen to watch was the Lizzo concert for her latest album “Special.” I had the biggest smile on my face the whole time and was in the best mood after. As a fan of her music, I was just happy to be hearing the music, but to watch her and see the joy she has sharing her creations with the audience was a bonus. Not only that, there were a couple of times where you can see that moment where she is still grateful for these moments. Her music is filled with positivity and encouragement to love yourself and sometimes a it can be a little therapeutic. 😂 The inclusivity she brings to the table is a breath of fresh air and her audacious notion that being in love with yourself is the best kind of love because then your are unstoppable. This idea is beautiful. I love it. I am fascinated by it. I am intrigued by it. I want to know if she is right.

So I am going to use my curiosity and try and find the answer. I will keep you posted on what I find. Who know? Maybe I will even end up actually loving myself and to quote the singer “it’s about damn time!”

Thank you, Dear Reader, for continuing to follow along on this journey with me. I always appreciate the chance to bend your ear.

Until next time, stay safe and alert. Be kind and take care of yourself and those you care about.

❤️

And A Happy New Year… INDEED!

Welcome back, Gentle Reader!

We are six days into the new year and four days into rehearsals for A Chorus Line so HELL yeah, it IS happy.

Of course, I have the Christmas cold (the gift that keeps on giving) that was making the rounds but I am happy to report that the only thing that is hanging around is that doggone cough. Ugh! However, I shan’t let that dampen my spirit.

Since it is the new year, I keep seeing all the “New Year, New Me” campaigns. Do you participate in the whole resolution ritual, Dear Reader? I used to, but many years ago I realized that I didn’t have to wait until the year began again to change a habit that I had that wasn’t beneficial to me. With every sunrise, I could take a chance to make a change, so I have 365 chances each year. This idea hit me in the face like a director threw a wire bound conductor’s score at me. The great thing about this revelation was that it dawned on me that self reflection should happen every day.

So I try and it has helped me quite a bit. Now the one thing that I can’t get it to help with is my time management. LOL! I think the bouncing between two jobs and shows (I have so much fun doing those that I can’t call them jobs) takes up a few hours out of my day. Easily two and a half to three hours. I have tried to use day planners and smartphone apps, but they don’t seem to work for me. For shows, I just assume that I am called to be at rehearsal every day, but then the stage managers often send out emails clarifying rehearsal details. Talk about a life saver! LOL!

Anyway… at the end of August, I came across something called bullet journaling. I began to look at everything about this subject. The end of November came along and I began my journal in December. I have found that I love it! The reason why is because it is all blank pages that I design myself. So I get to be creative and draw all over that bad boy. Granted, Gentle Reader, it isn’t great drawing that I do, but I get to do all the formatting and doodling so I find it a lot of fun and didn’t realize how much time I spend “playing” with it. Getting my left and right brains to make friends has been a chore, but they are becoming acquaintances.

I have found it so useful. Now I have a better grasp on my time. It isn’t perfect, but it is better and it is a start.

So as an ever evolving super curious person, I love being able to change my habits whenever I want, without the idea that the only time I can do it is at the beginning of a new calendar.

How do you keep track of your busy life? Can you keep it all in your head? (I am totally jealous, if you can do that) Have you tried bullet journaling? Let me know in the comments below, Dear Reader.

Until next time…

I Don’t Make Resolutions…

humph

Welcome to the time of year when people swear specifics on how they are going to change.

The problem is that the failure rate for resolutions is HIGH!! Instead of making specifics, why not make them more general? Vow to be a better person. Help people. Simply doing that, I feel will go a long way to getting me to those specifics that I am looking for. For me, it is to simply be a good person. Give when and what I can, when I can. And be grateful that I can do so.

Thank you 2013 for the crazy ride.

While I bid you adieu, I would like to ask you for a favor. I know that you are close friends with 2014. Heck, for all I know you may even be BFFs. I don’t even know if you feel comfortable doing this, but here goes:

Can you please ask 2014 to be better? Not for me, but for my friends and for the many, many people that are struggling, although, to be honest, I wouldn’t mind the extra help.

Friends that have had a rough year of first not being able to find a job, but then landing what could’ve been a great gig, only to have it turn out to be less than ideal, and people that have seen all that they have worked for disappear through hospital bills or tragedy.

It’s not that you were a bad year ’13, can I call you that? I feel like you and I connected in a very moving way. It’s just that there are a lot of good people out there that just need a break. Take for instance, my BFFs Sarah and Tom. To me they are amazing people. Objectively speaking, they are well above average in creativity, intelligence, hard working, and thoughtfulness than many.

Sarah is motivating and motivated. She is funny and contemplative. Her big heart is only matched by her incredible thirst for knowledge. She is a smart cookie that people only smell that she’s baking. But some people think “Is that too much to be in a cookie? I like the simple ones best.”

Tom is brilliant. He’s a funny people person that looks at things from a different angle. He’s analytic and creative. Much like Sarah, he too has too many ingredients for people to appreciate and I worry that all that incredible potential wouldn’t be utilized to it’s fullest.

And there lies the problem. Can you ask 2014 to wave its magic wand over the world to get people to open their eyes that simple isn’t enough anymore.

Much like the nursery, it seems as though people want to get information from them only to leave and find a cheaper way to put that new found info to work. Speaking of the nursery, can you please get people to show some sort of loyalty? Other gardening companies refer their customer to come to us for problems they can’t solve but we can! Yet, for all the amazing knowledge that is in the minds of the nursery people, customers simply walk away with thank you, if we are lucky. It is bothersome to watch this happen. To see what it does to the morale of great people. It’s like watching people drain a lake of fish. Keep going back and taking and soon there will be nothing to take. I recommend if you buy your plant at the orange box, get your information from there too. If they can’t help you, maybe they shouldn’t sell it.

It’s been heartbreaking to hear of the natural disasters that have taken their toll on the human race, so can you please ask for a little less of that too? I know we are causing global warming and it’s just a side effect of our own making, but I am certain more people will get involved with making more environmentally conscious choices in the new year.

I know I am asking for the impossible, but if you could just at least ask 2014 to be… easier, shall we say? Not “better” but easier.

Thank you for every thing ’13! I will miss you, but remember you with such fondness. You have brought some amazing people into my life and that is the best part. Be well, my friend!