Sometimes the saddest notes are the ones that are never played, but always waiting. . .
preciously waiting to be heard
even if it’s for the first time
and all the memories
that it brings along with it. . .
Sometimes the greatest notes that are ever played
are never played alone. . .
JUST A MOMENT: UNLEARNING TO LEARN
What are some of the lessons that you learned, were taught, or even punished for not learning fast enough when you were a kid?
Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson to learn it in a new way that would benefit your life?
It’s not that we were taught things to harm us. We were always taught lessons to protect us from the world and yes, sometimes from ourselves.
Come on we, don’t wait for the rain so that we could go outside and play or barbecue or lay out. We don’t dance in mud puddles in our bare feet or worse, our brand new shoes. We know better because we were taught better and maybe, maybe we need to know a little bit more. Go ahead, take a walk in the rain, stomp in a mud puddle, even with people watching. Who knows, who knows, the exhilaration that kids have could just be what’s worth feeling for us, too.
S P L A S H
O N
Musicians With Their INSTRUMENT
There’s no such thing as a
ONE-SONG MUSICIAN
or a
FOUR-PERSON-ENSEMBLE with just
One Instrument
until there is. . .
and then a most awesome discovery is made:
WE ARE ALL
WALKING/TALKING ORCHESTRA’S
with waiting to play together
on one single instrument
begging to be played
Just which one of your
K E Y S
makes the greatest note. . . ?
Always the ONE
which brings the sweetest harmony
that comes from
P L A Y I N G
t o g e t h e r
(continuously)
to Another
YOU
become the magnificent instrument
that becomes the
o r c h e s t r a
that creates the
s y m p h o n y
the hurtingWorld
needs to
hear
one
note
at
a
time
(for an ever)
W EAre all in the middle of Directing
The Symphony of our lives. . .
Don’t miss a Note
Direct
DIRECT
D I R E C T
WOULD YOU RATHER ?
We all believe that we are the
C R E A T O R S
of our own W o r l d s. . .
UNTIL WE ARE NOT. . .
It was one of my favorite games
usually played in the back seat of our family car
on long or even not so long
T R I P S. . .
For the lack of a better name
we just called it
W O U L D Y O U R A T H E R
and it went like this:
WOULD YOU RATHER BE AN ELEPHANT OR A MOUSE ?
WOULD YOU RATHER BE A MOTHER OR A FATHER ?
WOULD YOU RATHER BE A RAINDROP OR A SNOWFLAKE?
WOULD YOU RATHER BE A LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD OR A GOLDILOCKS ?
WOULD YOU RATHER BE A FARM ANIMAL OR A FISH ?
WOULD YOU RATHER BE A HOT OR COLD ?
WOULD YOU RATHER WORK OR PLAY ?
WOULD YOU RATHER EAT SPINACH OR LIVER ?
WOULD YOU RATHER SING OR DANCE ?
WOULD YOU RATHER RIDE ON A TRAIN OR A PLANE ?
WOULD YOU RATHER WATCH A MOVIE OR A PLAY ?
WOULD YOU RATHER EAT ICE CREAM OR CAKE ?
WOULD YOU RATHER IT WAS CHRISTMAS OR HANUKKAH OR YOUR BIRTHDAY ?
WOULD YOU RATHER LIVE IN AN IGLOO OR A TEPEE ?
WOULD YOU RATHER BE BITTEN BY AN ALLIGATOR OR A SHARK ?
WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE GUM ON YOUR SHOES OR DOG POO ?
WOULD YOU RATHER GET ELECTROCUTED OR SHOT ?
WOULD YOU RATHER BURN TO DEATH OR DROWN ?
. . .the WOULD YOU RATHERS
are endless and you might have come up with a few yourselves
(PLEASE SHARE_______________________________________________)
AND THEN THERE’S ALWAYS:
WOULD YOU RATHER LOVE FIERCELY OR BE LOVED FIERCELY ?
WOULD YOU RATHER GET OR GIVE ?
WOULD YOU RATHER MAKE A DIFFERENCE OR BE MADE A DIFFERENCE ?
WOULD YOU RATHER BE KIND OR BE KIND’ED
WOULD YOU RATHER BE COMPASSIONATE OR COMPASSION’ED
WOULD YOU RATHER THE WORLD BE COVID OR HATE FREE
WOULD YOU RATHER BE. . .
j u s t b e
well
then
v e r b
i t
u p. . .
R A T H E R
B E
THE REALEST OF THE REALEST
YOU
THE WORLD MOST DEFINITELY
NEEDS YOU TO BE
b e c a u s e
Sometimes we don’t actually know
what we can
D O
until we
D O
what we didn’t know
we could. . .
or would you rather. . . ?
The Symphony YOU
There are a lot of
AMAZING THINGS
in Life
but probably none more than
Y O U
. . .more unique than a
s n o w f l a k e
a fingerprint
any other atom
Y O U
WE MAY NOT BE A
WALKING
TALKING ORCHESTRA
OR A BAND
BUT EACH OF US
ARE LIVING SYMPHONIES
AWAITING TO NOT
Not
so much to be
D I R E C T E D
so much as
PLAYED
and most importantly
HEARD
. . .E X P E R I E N C E D
NO ONE
has your
PLAYLIST
Pssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssst:
there’s only one thing to do with
the Gift of
Y O U:
S H A R E
I T
The Small Difference
I am on purpose writing this some 23 hours
B E F O R E
the 2019 Super Bowl
W A Y
before there’s a
WINNER
long before there’s a
LOSER. . .
What was the key to victory:
Turnovers
Execution
Coaching
Skill
Planning
Experience
. . .or a combination of any one of the above?
The weekly Monday Blog Video Clip
is over 20 years old now
with Coach Al Pacino
giving a most impassioned pre-game speech
that had his team in such a frenzy
they didn’t use door
because they were inspired/fired up enough to
run through a wall. . .
W h a t
D O E S
T H A T
for you?
A stirring talk
A significant loss
An inspiring win. . .
L O V E. . . ?
To use the analogy of Mr Pacino
of it being a game of
I N C H E S
when you apply it to the most powerful force
in and out of this World:
L O V E
. . .those very inches
allow you the magnificent power of
e n a b l i n g
A N O T H E R
to be a
R U L E R
It’s the only true way
No matter what the
S C O R E
when you
L O S E
y o u
W I N
Not because of how you play
or even not because you love
but
T H A T
y o u
L O V E
. . .It’s a small difference
that pays a huge dividend
(e v e r y t i m e)
P u t
m e
i n,
C o a c h. . .
I ‘ m
F r e s h
IN FOXED
https://youtu.be/Dd_0BIuZgHg
Are you more of a Fox or
are you more of a Mouse. . .
The C O R R E C T A N S W E R:
Y E S
We’ve been both. . .
many times
many different times
many different ways
a n d
many more times to come
in for both cases. . .
it’s never
T H I S S E A S O N
about being one or the other
it’s always knowing
you’ll be both
sometimes at the same time. . .
It’s not about being
O U T F O X E D
or a fearful little meek M O U S E
. . .so much as it’s about
being in constant
R E L A T I O N S H I P
e s p e c i a l l y
when we are one
and then the other
and mostly when
we’re caught in t he
i n b e t w e e n. . .
T A G :
Y o u ‘ r e I T!
Get your Caring Catalyst ON
and MOUSE UP
be the fierce Fox another needs
of you
(o f t e n)
B U S K E D
Are you
Are we
B U S K E R ‘ S ?
Some of the best Buskers I’ve ever seen are where I was actually looking for them:
At The Beach
Union Square in New York City
Outside of a Playhouse at Christmas
Outside of a Sporting Event
Street Corners. . .
A N Y W H E R E. . .
Street Performance
or
B U S K I N G
is an
a c t
of performing in public places
for
tips. . .g r a t u i t i e s
b u t
B U S K I N G
is really associated with
singing or playing
m u s i c
TO JUST PLAY M U S I C !
Joni Mitchell wrote a great song several years ago called,
REAL GOOD FOR FREE
“I slept last night in a good hotel
I went shopping today for jewels
The Wind rushed around in the dirty town
And the children let out from the schools
I was standing on a noisy street corner
waiting for the walking green
Across the street he stood
And he played real good
On his clarinet for free.
Now me I play for fortune
and those velvet curtain calls
I’ve got a black limousine
and two gentlemen
escorting me to the halls
and I play if you have the money
Or if you’re a friend of me
but the one-man band
by the quick lunch stand
He was playing real good, for free.
Nobody stopped to hear him
Though he played so sweet and high
They knew he had never
been on their tv
So they passed his music by
I meant to go over and ask for a song
Maybe put on a harmony. . .
I heard his refrain
As the signal changed
He was playing real good, for free.
Well. . .
I’ll ask again:
ARE
YOU
A
BUSKER. . .?
or. . .or
do you charge a price. . . ?
W a i t – – – –
that’s a much different name ,
h u h ?