“cause it starts with you, and it starts with me, yes it starts with we”

i read don miguel ruiz’ book “The Four Agreements” a few years ago and it helped me out a lot. the agreement that hit me hardest was “don’t take ANYTHING personally”
this means compliments, arguments, chides, asides – all of it.
my mother used to say, “it’s not what i say, it’s how you take it.”
and i always had a problem with it because it inherently dissolves the responsibility of the speaker to use his or her words with intention and with an intention born of love.

are we ALWAYS happy? of course not!
are we ALWAYS considerate. no. and that’s the problem.
i believe we should always STRIVE to be our best and to be that towards others. through our words and actions. i know it’s hard to say with love “you’re getting on my nerves,” but it’s possible. it’s one thing to sit alone in a room and be disappointed in yourself. to beat yourself up* about something unpredictable that happened in life or that turned out differently than expected. but it’s yet another thing to take that disappointed attitude out on someone else, based on YOUR view of how things should have gone.

i think the conversation all stems from listening to ourselves. hearing the voices inside our own heads. thinking before we speak. visualizing the golden rule in practice: do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

it’s as if we’ve forgotten to teach this to children these days. we speak to each other carelessly and then expect them to do differently. we can do better. and so we shall…

*Note: i do not believe in self-deprecation. though we CAN control our outlook and the way we attract things to us (through words and thoughts and actions) we CANNOT control everything around us.

i got an avid pro recording studio!!!

i feel like the world has opened herself up to me and i’m in the mode of learning right now. i have so many goals and so many things to accomplish, and so many people to be thankful for – for their encouragement, kind words, constant push, presence…
THANK YOU

and now, I feel even more amped to move forward and forward, cause i got an avid proooo
i actually got it with my citibank thank you points! who knew i could actually reap rewards from such a force??!

first off, i feel like i can do anything i want now. of course i can admit i did do some of this with garageband, but i guess i feel more legit now. (no offense apple! i love you!)
but i have been recording references at home for days now and i’m excited to get time in with the band (and to keep growing it – who’s on keys…??)

i’ve been carrying it wherever i go…along with my microphone, mic cord, compact hard drive…. this stuff is HEAVY and my shoulders hurt
BUT it’s so worth it!

i’m feeling so good about the sounds happening in my head – i really and truly cannot wait to share it all with whoever is in he audience in the coming months!
harlem (and TORONTO!!!) here i come

get yo’selves ready – this is fair enough warning…

i wish you laughter

something you’ll learn about me – whether we meet now or later, or never (though of course we will!) – is i LOVE to laugh! the people i’m closest to make me laugh. of course there are still a few stragglers who make me think… thinking is fun too sometimes. but if we can insert some laughter in there, it’ll be a double whammy

my brother makes me laugh, most often at the dumbest stuff ever, but i love him so much more for it. my sister and i spend wonderful times sitting in front of the dummy box watching uber-stupid reality shows and we laugh so much we end up crying! my old roomie (and good friend from kindergarten) is one of the people who helped usher me from my more serious college self into my more lighthearted laugh-all-bit-more self.

i’m just going to list a few things here, and i hope they’ll bring you to past memories of laughter and joy in your life. if not, maybe you’ll check them out in your spare time. or maybe you’ll think me a fool. either way, this is just to say, laughter is often a GREAT remedy. it’ll turn your funk upside down, and (get this) you’ll lose calories in the process!

talladega nights
all things (but a few) will farrell
OLD saturday night live (e.g. “you like-ah de sauce” or “delta delta delta! can i helpya helpya helpya??”)
anchorman
*i know this seems like a lot of will farrell, but just enjoy it*
al bundee
sue sylvester’s script for glee!
little miss sunshine
the bondocks
katt williams
“eddie! i want half!”

…this is just a starting off list. feel free to add your own items to the list or start a whole new one.
if you remember nothing else, remember this: love breeds love. truth breeds truth. and laughter breeds all this and more laughter too

happy 2012 (3 weeks later)