Seizing the Day

"Today is the oldest you've ever been, and the youngest you'll ever be again." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

I love love love this quote.

After going to Real Estate School last summer, and joining a very good Real Estate Company here in my hometown, I discovered that I really don't want to do Real Estate.

I learned a lot in class, and one thing about this business, is that it is constantly changing. I like change. A lot. About every 5 years or so I do something to uproot or disrupt my current state (moving to Scotland and then moving back, for example).

But, keeping the focus of this blog to Living My Passion... this quote is more about saying "Yes!" to stepping out blindly on faith to finally (finally!) Sing for My Supper, so to speak. The two pictures below are almost 25 years apart ~ I graduated from college in December of  1990 - that fall we performed "Oliver!" The picture below is from 2012... still singing & performing.

1990 - Widow Corney Unwigged (Oliver! Pepperdine University)

2012 - Sweet Adeline! Singing at the Afterglow with my Quartet, "Footnotes"

The one constant in my life is singing. Performing. I've taken some breaks, sure - but I'm always singing. I started singing in chorus in 4th grade at Parkview Elementary school - and sang all through my educational years. Then I graduated from college and found Sweet Adelines, and have continued singing barbershop for almost 25 years. I took a 4-year break to do local independent theatre (musicals, of course!), then came back to a cappella singing in 1995 and haven't hardly looked back.

I even sang with Sweet Adelines overseas.

It is now 2015. Why has it taken me 25 years to realize this, for me, is more than a hobby?

A question to be answered in another post.

Use What Talents You Possess...

I love [adore, treasure, and hold quite dear] this quote from Henry Van Dyke ~

"Use what talents you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except the very best."

I can say again and again and again how good singing is for you.  I'm not saying that singing the right notes is what is good for you.  I'm not saying that singing "in tune" is what is good for you. I'm not even saying that singing a particular song is what is good for you.

Creating sound with our bodies... making some vibrations within your body... humming your own melody that you're making up as you go along... not having to worry about keeping time with a piano... or following the words on the karaoke machine... THIS... this natural and what-our-bodies-are-designed-to-do-singing is what is good for you.

It is good for your mental health.

It is excellent for your physical health.

It is amazing for your soul.

Sing Your Song. Find the child that used to sing before the child discovered judgement. Relax into the melody your heart wants you to know.

Need I Say More?