A New Year!

Wishing for one and all -- peace and blessings in the New Year.  Welcome to 2017 ... may it be a time of peaceful resolution, good will, ethics, wisdom.  May there be compassion for all living beings.

Small Talk !

Here we are on the cusp of a new year, perhaps sighing with relief that 2016 will be over; hopefully, feeling some optimism or at least neutrality at the thought of the "changing of the calendars" ritual :)  I re-discovered something this morning that  I'd like to share with you, for what it's worth. 

My day started with my planned trip to Kroger's at Northshore.  I went mid-morning so I could avoid the crush of crowds later on. Once in the store, I set about looking at my list and decided to go first to the deli counter where there was nobody in line.  I needed to buy 5 or 6 slices of chicken for Ruby, my dog (I don't eat meat, haven't since 1980 but dogs are carnivores, so I buy her chicken and give her a slice each morning to have with her dog food). When I walked up to the counter, I saw that the lady employee in the department had on a "top hat" that said "happy new year) and she also was wearing some matching very glitzy neck jewelry.  She looked festive!  I could not help but smile, actually a big grin, and told her that I liked her holiday gear. She smiled back and said "Well if I have to be here, I figured I could have fun too". I quickly agreed and then, while she was slicing the rest of Ruby's deli treat, she and a co-worker (also decked out with top hat, etc.) were talking briefly about someone with an attitude who was annoyed and they agreed "she" would get over it.  Not one to be shy among strangers, I chimed in "Sounds like you're talking about a moody boss". My lady (now done with the slicing) said "It's my dog. She got mad at me this morning because I left earlier than usual and she turned away and refused to look at me". I said "OK, then it is the boss.  My dog acts the same way if I have to leave the house more often than she thinks I should". We laughed and went into a full conversation and she asked me what part of the north I'm from. I replied "Oh, it still shows?" Yes, so I told her I'm from Connecticut but have been here 30 years and she told me that she is from Washington, DC -- was born in Nashville, but has never been back there since. We both agreed that we like it here and the only thing we miss is the ocean. The point I'm steering toward here is that when I had to turn away and leave the deli department, both of us felt sort of a sense of separation, even loss; our conversation and liberty to just speak and share and smile had really lifted the day for her and for me.  

I often talk to people in the grocery store and in other public places, parking lots, etc. I used to talk with lots of people at airports during all the years I flew everywhere. I have thought that conversing with strangers is more important to me now because of the limited opportunities I have these days to talk with people in person. But I think there is more to it than that. Even for someone like me who is capable of enjoying her own company, I think that face-to-face small talk is getting scarcer and I miss it, as we spend more and more time with our faces buried in our computers, communicating, yes, though at a different level through a different medium.  

Suppose we were to try to have more in-person, face-to-face conversation and friendly telephone calls (like in the "olden" days)? We can see the person's facial expressions and they can see ours; most importantly (to me) it will be good to hear the inflection in a person's voice. It's a thought :) So I thought I'd bring it to the table :) Small talk !    

"Early In The Morning" - my new and final CD album!

Yes! Yes!  My new CD album is finely-crafted  double album "Early In The Morning".  It contains some awesome surprises (that you will never hear elsewhere)"Pride and Joy" and "Out Of Nowhere". And beyond those, along with some favorites of assorted genres. I've prepared a typed insert for the inside back of the disc; it tells how and why each song was chosen for this project.  When I finished writing it, I had to smile at the truths it conveys. So it's definitely worth a read. All songs are representative of my biographical life (in random not chronological order). Along with my most recent original "Early In The Morning" (the morning is my most creative time) are awesome cover songs "Since I Fell For You", there are special tributes to cosmic travelers, my beautiful companions (you must hear "Dixie Lee's Song"), a precious person, and wonderful emotional and spiritual elements that have shaped, elevated, and enriched my life.

Humor interweaves there, too in songs like Pride And Joy.  Listen to the CDs to identify my awesome life enhancers! The album (with a total of 16 songs) came into being via the very artistic and capable hands of William (Sandy) Garrett of Songwriters Recording Studio in Knoxville, whose amazing talents are without limit. He did the recording and mastering of the songs and a beautiful job on the album's graphic design. His website is at www.songrecord.com. The albums are ready now!  Please contact me at (865) 659-5383 if you'd like to get one. 

A thought, a wish, a prayer ...

May we extend well-wishes of unbounded friendliness to all beings;
May all beings be free of danger and harm;
May all beings be happy and peaceful in heart and mind;
May all beings be strong in body and spirit;
And may all beings live with ease.
And as we wish these things for ourselves and others, so too do we wish them especially for those who are in need.

Thank you, Ike, for sending out this quote. Yes, may all beings be at peace. This is a wonderful wish at any time and perhaps especially now amidst all the turbulence juxtaposed to our hoped-for holiday cheer. The very thought, the very wish, the very prayer for all beings ... the people, the animals, the trees, all the living elements of Nature safely clothed in wondrous peace! Amen.