This post isn’t as random as it seems. You see, a really noisy cricket managed to get in the house tonight and he was (still is, actually) chirping so loudly that I found it difficult to concentrate on my blog post.
So I decided he would be the topic of tonight’s post. I googled “crickets,” in search of an image, but wasn’t drawn to the scientific kind of photographs.
Then I remembered Jiminy Cricket and my blog post was complete! I always loved this song as a little girl…and discovered that I love it just as much today!
Such beautiful lyrics…and sung with such feeling.
When You Wish Upon a Star When you wish upon a star Makes no difference who you are Anything your heart desires Will come to you.
If your heart is in your dream No request is too extreme When you wish upon a star As dreamers do.
Fate is kind She brings to those who love The sweet fulfillment of Their secret longing.
Like a bolt out of the blue Faith steps in and sees you through When you wish upon a star Your dreams come true.
Yes, but not just any chair. A patio chair. A chair that’s meant to live outdoors. So you can go out and sit at any moment, without having to bring an indoor chair with you…aware that you’re going to have to lug it back inside afterwards. Which is often enough to squelch the impulse.
So…we borrowed a couple of green plastic patio chairs and it’s one of the smartest things I’ve done in a long time. I now go out and sit at least once a day. Usually without anything in particular to do.
This evening I sat and ate an apple. Watched the sun getting lower in the sky. Noticed the changing light as it shone through the foliage. Listened to the bees buzzing in the wisteria and wondered how they decide it’s time to stop for the day.
You get the idea.
Then this quote from many, many years ago popped into my head: Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits.
Perfect. I’ll definitely be purchasing patio chairs for keeps!
Not quite sure why, but after today’s multiple meetings; sing-along prep; the sing-along itself; videotaping the Sunday service backing track; and doing a choir Zoom session about video-recording tips — I’m just completely out of juice. 😉
I can hardly believe it myself, but today the productivity show moved outdoors…
…I took a morning walk (too many things get in the way later in the day); then — after a morning of computer tasks — cleared an accumulation of junky stuff from our patio; carried it all to the dumpster; swept the patio; and pulled a bunch of weeds.
My reward? Sitting in the warm sun while listening to crickets, birds, and breeze. Then gazing up into the wisteria and letting the bees take over productivity for a while. 😉
There is definitely something astrological happening and we are benefiting greatly.
Today was about giving our home some energy…
…Ramesha put together my “work-from-home” desk (yay!); we rearranged furniture to make room for the desk; I camouflaged the back of the bookcase that’s been waiting to be moved into its permanent spot; vacuumed the whole apartment; and started the process of reorganizing the items that will go on the new shelves.
And that was after this morning’s sing-along; a few hours of computer work; and fitting in a video chat with a friend.
Now I’m completely done for the day and ready to treat myself to popcorn for dinner. 😉
…participated in meeting after meeting; took an awesome online music marketing training; made progress in learning an exciting new sharing platform; wrote scads of emails; and updated various events.
It actually makes me wonder, did something change astrologically? This has not been my usual work flow lately.
Ah well, as they say: “don’t ask, just be thankful!” Which I definitely am, because it feels soooo good to actually get a lot done for a change!
I’ve been reflecting on how huge and exciting small things feel these days.
This morning I made it to Master’s Market at the tail end of “Healthy Senior Shopping” hours. This was the first time I actually browsed the aisles and shopped since we started self-isolating in mid-March! Small but huge.
We’ve been out of our usual hand soap refill for some time. What made it worse is that the last time (I thought) I purchased it, instead of the gel I accidentally picked up the watery liquid soap for foaming dispensers. So, after not being able to find it anywhere for weeks, the other day it was in stock at Target, so I ordered it, and it arrived yesterday. Small but huge.
A community resident did a Costco run today and was able to buy us a large container of spring mix — yay! And when I went to pick it up I was able to say hello (masked and from a distance, of course) to several friend/neighbors I hadn’t seen in almost six weeks. Small but HUGE.
Thank you, God, for blessings small but huge.😄 Amen.💕
First came this video. A tribute by dancers from the Paris Opera, it’s touching because of what they’re going through and the beauty of their art and the fact that it’s their expression of gratitude to medical professionals. But it also immediately transported me back to when I was studying in San Francisco and first developed a passion for Prokofiev… especially the music of his Romeo and Juliet ballet, which was an absolute revelation to me when I saw it (repeatedly) at SF Ballet all those many years ago.
But that got me thinking about another piece by Prokofiev that I absolutely loved and performed many times: the Flute Sonata (the video below is just the first movement; there are four total). Prokofiev had a real gift for melody and I loved playing the soaring lines of this sonata. Of course, it was also extremely demanding technically, but that’s par for the course when you’re a professional flutist.
Which got me pondering the fact that: “Oh my goodness, I used to be able to play that stuff! And play it well.” It hardly seems real any more, it’s so in my distant past.
But actually, I realized that playing flute well wasn’t entirely relegated to my past. There was a little (a very little!) part of me holding on to the fantasy that “if I were just to start practicing again” I could once again be that flutist. But you know what?
She’s long gone!
Not just because I haven’t really practiced in twenty years. And not just because I wouldn’t have the physical stamina to get back into full flute form. But because — thanks to who I am now and what my current priorities are — it doesn’t motivate me. I no longer match that reality.
And a part of me felt a little sad, because this realization meant also acknowledging that I will never in this lifetime play the Prokofiev Sonata absolutely flawlessly, without a single mistake…
Whoa! Who knew that thought/feeling/desire was even in there!
But it was. And I remembered a quote from some self-help workshop or other; something along the lines of: “You don’t want to die with your potential intact.” Which was connected in my mind with never having had an absolutely perfect performance of the Prokofiev Sonata.
Which is crazy!
I had many excellent performances of the Prokofiev; not to mention of tons of other wonderful pieces of music as well, with lots of fabulous musicians, over the years and decades. Yes, there was always the possibility of more and better. Why? Because life is infinite…and we are infinite. There’s always more; we never run out of potential. Until we merge back into God, at which point we actually once again know the truth that we’re one with infinity.
Which is an exceptionally freeing point to have reached at the conclusion of this long progression of thoughts. 😊
