Greatest Love of All

This morning I awoke with a song in my head and…you guessed it! It was the Greatest Love of All by Whitney Houston. I could hear her singing in my mind and as I got the puppy out and about, I found myself softly singing the song to Buster.

It’s been a long journey to my 50’s as I’m sure it has for yours. But the one thing I have learned is what this song talks about – loving ourselves. It’s taken me a long time to learn to love me, especially after those whom I thought loved me, didn’t. The healing journey through breast cancer and through life’s challenges has been hard won. But I have healed and now, I help others, which in turn, helps me.

When we sit with someone who needs a caring listener, who has an open mind and kindness flows between us, we begin to heal. When we’re the ones who are helping someone else, all of that beautiful healing energy flows between us and helps us to elevate our loving vibrations! So we begin to love ourselves slowly but surely.

I love connecting and inspiring people and you’ve all been so kind and supportive to me. I hope that 2022 flows freely with kindness,love and caring to everyone so that we can all sing along with Whitney and mean it.

Shine On!

xo

Here are the lyrics…in case you want to sing along and really think about them!

I believe the children are our future
Teach them well and let them lead the way
Show them all the beauty they possess inside
Give them a sense of pride to make it easier
Let the children’s laughter remind us how we used to be

Everybody’s searching for a hero
People need someone to look up to
I never found anyone who fulfill my needs
A lonely place to be
And so I learned to depend on me

I decided long ago
Never to walk in anyone’s shadow
If I fail, if I succeed
At least I’ll live as I believe
No matter what they take from me
They can’t take away my dignity

Because the greatest love of all
Is happening to me
I found the greatest love of all
Inside of me

The greatest love of all
Is easy to achieve
Learning to love yourself
It is the greatest love of all

I believe the children are our future
Teach them well and let them lead the way
Show them all the beauty they possess inside
Give them a sense of pride to make it easier
Let the children’s laughter remind us how we used to be

I decided long ago
Never to walk in anyone’s shadow
If I fail, if I succeed
At least I’ll live as I believe
No matter what they take from me
They can’t take away my dignity

Because the greatest love of all
Is happening to me
I found the greatest love of all
Inside of me

The greatest love of all
Is easy to achieve
Learning to love yourself
Is the greatest love of all

And if, by chance, that special place
That you’ve been dreaming of
Leads you to a lonely place
Find your strength in love

Source: Musixmatch Songwriters: Linda Creed / Michael Masser

My Hometown

I’m a Jersey Girl in case you didn’t know.  At one point in my life, Bruce Springsteen and his family were actually living in my hometown.  I’ve met him and talked with him over the years.  I’ve seen him play locally numerous times and I was even at a spontaneous birthday party he had at a local restaurant where he gave an impromptu mini concert with his band and danced with his Mom on the dance floor.  That was such a memorable night!

What I find special about Bruce is how he weaves his stories through his music in a way that touches so many of us.  Around town, he didn’t display his celebrity status.  He was just Bruce, without pretensions which is such a lovely way to be.

So when he played at the Tony Awards, the man playing the piano was so real to me.  While I didn’t grow up in his hometown, the nostalgia in which he paints it was real to me as I know his town too.

If you care to take a listen, maybe this clip will remind you of the beauty of your hometown as you take a walk down your memory lane along the streets of your childhood.

Shine On!

xo

 

Where Words Fail

Where words fail, music speaks.

~ Hans Christian Anderson

What’s your favorite music to listen to or are you like me and enjoy all different types of music?  I have varied tastes in music from today’s music, to that of my youth, to the music that our parents listened to, to classical piano music, to country, to gospel, to traditional church hymns, all the way to Broadway show-tunes.  The two types of music I haven’t ever really enjoyed are rap and opera, but perhaps they will reveal themselves to me one day.

I find that music soothes me in many different situations as I believe music has a vibration of its own to aid our heartlight through healing, lifting, inspiring, energizing and stilling us in contemplative melancholy to flow throughout our lifetimes.  While I enjoy the sound of silence and of snow falling, I often use music during the day to help me.

I am grateful that I can hear and feel the vibrations in my soul.  I love to explore the feelings I get when I hear different types of music.  Don’t you?  While I am not a good singer, I do enjoy belting out a good song every once in awhile, especially in the car on a long highway when I’m alone.  It just feels good.  Do you know what I mean?

Certain songs can bring me back to special memories and I do feel that when I put my songs on shuffle, I’m given messages through God and the Universe.  For example, when Unforgettable, sung by Natalie Cole and her dad, Nat King Cole comes on, I know that is a message from my Dad to me, as that was the song we danced to at my wedding.  Perhaps it’s simply coincidence or a random synchronicity, but I prefer to believe otherwise.

Do you feel something similar?

Do you have any favorites that you hold dear to heart?  Please share!

Shine On!

xo

This one’s for you Dad….I can never forget you. ♥

Cheers!

We have a restaurant that is similar to Cheers in our life.  For years, it has been a staple for us to go to for birthday occasions, for nights when cooking just felt like too much effort or when we just wanted to get together with friends at the bar for a drink.

There’s something special about a place where everybody knows your name – or at least some people do!  I think we all feel that way when we share experiences.  I know for me, I feel very grateful that when I go there, whether as a family or with friends.  I feel like someone’s watching out for me.  Someone whom I trust.

It’s a locals place – our neighborhood Cheers.  It’s not a franchise chain restaurant, but one that has stood the test of time for many years, even though the owners have changed, and even improved it!  I have so many delightful memories in that place and whew – if the walls could talk – they’d surely sing of a myriad of nights spent there for all different reasons.

The food is consistently good.  The help are personable and many have been working there for years so we know them well – and they know us!  My favorite bartender of all time is nicknamed Pal and we’ve known each other over twenty years.  He’s the manager now of our local Cheers, but I remember when he first got married and had kids and he remembers when I did too!  Isn’t it nice to just have a lovely friend?  I just wanted to see if any of you have a Cheers place in your neighborhood?

In case you forgot the theme song, here it is below!  Enjoy!

Shine On!

xo

Jingle All The Way To Giggle Town

Black Friday shopping isn’t my thing, but I’m getting in the mood for Christmas already.  I can’t help myself.  I find that people smile more when the holiday season arrives and people are nicer (for the most part) as I steer clear of the grinches when I can!

If you need a little break from the turkey fog, take a moment to watch the video below.  Animals singing makes me laugh!  The cleverness of the person who put this video together deserves a standing ovation from me because my face hurts from smiling and laughing.

So, here’s your Friday pick me up, sing along with the Animals of YouTube!

Shine On!

xo

 

Tapestry of You

**Photo saved from Pinterest @owlhunt.com

We are layered beings, full of textures, emotions, experiences and hues that span the rainbow.  At any given moment, we are not just black and white, but every color in between as life swirls through us.

We are musical too – sometimes at an allegro speed, we pulse through the chords of life, rushing, fleeing, jumping through hoops enthusiastically.  At others, we are legato, smoothly playing without interruption, calm and happy.  Or at others, we are lento, slowly moving through life.

Our heartlights shine on throughout our life journey – blinking rhythmically in tandem with our musicality and hues, sometimes pulsing urgently like a beacon in need of help, at others, simply dimmed when we are weakened and sad.  But still, always, the effervescent heartlight remains glowing deep within us in a mass of light and love.

Humanity flows through us as we connect soul to soul with others.  Shedding the superficiality and growing deeply within us and filling the chasm that disappointments often rift in our minds.  We become more loving towards others and ourselves.  We rebuild the broken pieces of our lives with gold as the Japanese do when they  practice Kintsugi.  I find it a beautiful, healing notion of how to culminate our life experiences as we continually strive to live on Earth and recognize our divinity – our soul beauty!

Translated to “golden joinery,” Kintsugi (or Kintsukuroi, which means “golden repair”) is the centuries-old Japanese art of fixing broken pottery with a special lacquer dusted with powdered gold, silver, or platinum. Beautiful seams of gold glint in the cracks of ceramic ware, giving a unique appearance to the piece.

This repair method celebrates each artifact’s unique history by emphasizing its fractures and breaks instead of hiding or disguising them. Kintsugi often makes the repaired piece even more beautiful than the original, revitalizing it with new life.

It’s the Tapestry of You, unique and beautiful you which I celebrate and salute today.  Please join me in celebrating each of our golden souls each and every day!

Shine On!

xo

P.S.  My heartfelt gratitude to Joanna from whom I was inspired to write this post today. Please visit Joanna’s post here – The Patchwork Soul.

 

Help for Middle-Schoolers

I’ve mentioned many times over the last few days that there is help at school for parents and for students.  A friend of mine wrote a book that I want to share since I unexpectedly began a series on the beginning of school for teachers, parents and students.

Because I always want to help, here’s my tip for you!  This book is a keeper and I’m not just saying that!  If you have Middle-schoolers, this is a great book for you!

From tears and fears to cheers—the adult guide for middle-schoolers… Twenty of the most common issues that drive emotional middle-school students to the school counselor’s door are told in story form based on real-life confidential meetings, phone calls, and interventions. Stories include practical life lessons and inspiring solutions for such problems as anger management, eating disorders, peer pressure, bullying, divorcing parents, failure spirals, broken friendships, gossip, sexual harassment, and test and performance anxiety. The stories also provide insight for challenges with parents, teachers, or siblings, and they help students deal with being new at school, death and major change in the family, and friends who are desperate or hurting themselves. Each of the chapters details the process of taking these educationally disruptive issues from emergence to resolution in a format perfect for use by school counselors, teachers, and parents. Additionally, each chapter offers discussion and reflection questions at the end to help promote insight through discussions with individuals, groups, or in classrooms. This full range of school counselor programs, professional resources, and responsibilities is the perfect read for the school counselor wanting new tools and strategies, or for the graduate student wanting an understanding and guide for the career they have chosen. And for the parent or teacher, this book will help them support the social and emotional growth of their middle-school children with an understanding of their emotional needs.

Click here to see the video of her book!

Click here to buy a copy for yourself!

Join Behind the Counselor’s Door on Facebook!

Shine On!

xo

Sharing Experiences

Blogging is sharing experiences via writing as you well know if you’re a blogger.  We read blogs to share our experiences and to connect along the way.  Sometimes there’s a tidbit in someone’s blog which ignites a part of us in a good way.  I’ve learned so much from reading your blogs – new vocabulary, new books, and assimilated new ideas into my life.  I’ve connected through shared similar life experiences and found friendships, whether brief or long-term.  I’ve enjoyed expanding my thinking, my music repertoire and my enjoyment of reading with you as well.  I’ve felt when you’ve had challenges and grief in your lives and I have felt your support and caring when the same has happened in mine.

Writing with openness requires great vulnerability.  I don’t believe that when we open up to the world we are being weak.  I think it takes great strength to show ourselves in emotional truth for we never know how it will be perceived.  I feel grateful that I’ve found truth in the Universal code of kindness that if you don’t have something nice to say, you keep it to yourself because if it’s not helpful, then it’s hurtful and the majority doesn’t intend to hurt anyone else.

There may always be those who misunderstand me for which I’m sad, but I’ve accepted them.   Their fear-based beliefs keep them from opening up and experiencing life in different ways.  Fear can do strange things to people’s minds and being fear-based brings much anxiety to the most stable of individuals.  It is only when we release fear that we can embrace the plethora of goodness in life.  Sure, there are times when we are hurt, when misunderstandings occur and when people just don’t act with kindness.  That happens everywhere.  We must accept that we are all on our own journeys and that they intersect at different times.  We may walk on the path of life with someone for awhile and then part ways.  Or we may stay, sharing the path on and off for a lifetime.  What I know for sure is that each time our paths cross, whether it’s in a good situation or a teaching moment, we come away with a richer life experience for having crossed paths.

And isn’t that what life school is all about?  Learning, growing and experiencing all different types of situations and people?  Taking what comes to us a calm way and finding the good in the encounter – even when at the time it seems not so good?  When we are healed or when we can view it as an observer, we realize that the encounter has helped us to learn more about ourselves, to understand people in general and to enjoy the tapestry of experiences that is this life.  We are grateful for the peace and the  learning opportunity that we may have missed we if hadn’t crossed paths in this lifetime.

So I thank you for reading my blog and for opening up and letting us be with you through your blogs.  It is my honor to connect with you always.

Thanks for being you!

Shine On!

xo

Always Stay Humble and Kind

Happy Monday to you!  Let’s begin the week with a soothing song!  Whenever I hear this song, I feel such comfort so I’m sharing it with you.  Have you heard it?  I love the lyrics and Tim’s voice.  Please enjoy!  I hope you have a lovely week ahead of you – enjoy today – and always stay humble and kind!

“Humble And Kind”
(written by Lori McKenna)

You know there’s a light that glows by the front door
Don’t forget the key’s under the mat
When childhood stars shine,
Always stay humble and kind

Go to church ’cause your mamma says to
Visit grandpa every chance that you can
It won’t be wasted time
Always stay humble and kind

Hold the door, say “please,” say “thank you”
Don’t steal, don’t cheat, and don’t lie
I know you got mountains to climb
But always stay humble and kind
When the dreams you’re dreamin’ come to you
When the work you put in is realized
Let yourself feel the pride
But always stay humble and kind

Don’t expect a free ride from no one
Don’t hold a grudge or a chip and here’s why:
Bitterness keeps you from flyin’
Always stay humble and kind

Know the difference between sleeping with someone
And sleeping with someone you love
“I love you” ain’t no pick-up line
So always stay humble and kind

Hold the door, say “please,” say “thank you”
Don’t steal, don’t cheat, and don’t lie
I know you got mountains to climb
But always stay humble and kind
When those dreams you’re dreamin’ come to you
When the work you put in is realized
Let yourself feel the pride
But always stay humble and kind

When it’s hot, eat a root beer popsicle
Shut off the AC and roll the windows down
Let that summer sun shine
Always stay humble and kind

Don’t take for granted the love this life gives you
When you get where you’re going don’t forget turn back around
And help the next one in line
Always stay humble and kind

And here’s Tim singing his song!

Shine On!

xo

 

Music! Music! Music!

Daily Prompt ~ What role does music play in your life?

I’ve always loved music ~ ever since I was little ~ in fact, the first popular song I learned was American Pie by Don McLean and it was the first record that my parents bought for me.  I played it over and over and still, many years later, I can still sing the lyrics!  I still adore singing although my voice isn’t talented enough for more than a church choir!  Well there was that 6th grade duet with my best friend ~ we sang “I can’t smile without you” in front of the parents and entire school at a Spring Concert.  But that doesn’t stop me from singing in the car, in the shower or anywhere else!  I’ve always been a fan of music as I think it serves so many purposes.  In fact, when I searched for the word music in my blog, a bunch of posts popped up and I realized that I do speak of music often.  I guess in the blog-o-sphere we write about what we like!

Music is a soothing balm to my soul, it’s a revved up optimistic powerhouse that jolts me forward when I need a little push in order to scale mountains of challenges.  It’s the soft, tenderness of being loved by another and of loving another soul with your whole heart.  Music soothes my soul like a huge angelic hug when I need it.  It is the merriment which puts a spring in my step when the doldrums arrive.  It is the rainbow of colors which allows me to enjoy all different types of music according to my mood.  Check out my ipod and you’ll find all sorts of music ~ country, classical, rock and roll, classic rock, ballads, latin, musicals, pop, blues, children’s, piano accompaniment, 1900’s to the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and up to today’s music ~ I could go on and on!  The one type which I’m not fond of is Opera…but if it’s what you have playing and I’m with you, then I can listen to it and enjoy it…but it’s not my first pick!

I took guitar lessons as a kid (classical) but it didn’t last…then I took piano lessons and that did!  I could play and get lost in singing to the music so easily…it was just practicing which I didn’t enjoy!  But then, you have to practice in order to play ~ silly me!

Music to me is like breathing…it’s a part of my everyday and something that I enjoy!

So now let me ask you ~ what role does music play in your life?

Shine On and Sing Along!

xo

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