Happy
Valentine’s Day! You’ll be glad to know that I am wearing my dangly heart
earrings made for me by my multi-talented, Emmy-winning friend, Debi Cochran.
As a matter of fact, I’m in such high spirits that I am foregoing my
traditional all black attire today in favor of, well, possibly incorporating
some other color like purple or red with the
black. (Baby steps, you know.)
It’s
been a heck of a week, boys and girls. It began last Sunday with a Valentine’s
Love Fest concert that my buddy Garry Novikoff put together. I’m still figuring
out how to post a video clip of it, so stay tuned in the next few days for
that, because it will be your sneak peek at the title track of my upcoming CD In Color, and who doesn’t love sneak
peeks? No one, that’s who!
So
we’ve been having an interesting winter here on the East coast. Snow and ice,
and snow and ice, and then some snow and ice. And as the temperatures turned frigid
this week, our tree roots decided it was the perfect time to block drainage and
send everything back into our house and all over the place, flooding it.
Well,
you know me – Suzie Sunshine, trying to look on the bright side, even of dirty
flood water. “What’s the lesson in this?” is always my question. Or “What’s the
blessing in this?”
I’ll
tell you right off the bat, two practical things – get rid of everything you
can while it’s your own choice, and don’t leave anything you value greatly on
low ground. Obvious things, I know, but still, they needed to be said.
We
amass stuff in this country, and it seems like the smaller our dwelling, the
more stuff we like to pack into it. But the truth is what we are attached to is
a feeling, a memory, a moment in time. And those things we carry with us
wherever we go. I’m not saying we don’t want to or shouldn’t keep physical mementos,
but we don’t really need to save the piece of lint that was on the sweater that
was under the jacket we wore when he kissed us. The kiss is still with us.
So
as I watched a lot of waterlogged carpeting, furniture and assorted items going
out the door, I began to think that the universe had a funny way of moving my
life forward. But I asked for that, truthfully. I want to let go of anything
that no longer serves me. I just didn’t realize it would a) be a lot all at
once, and b) include chairs.
This
is a strange time in my life and the lives of many that I know. It is one of
transition, of growth, of moving forward into the unknown in ways we never have
before. It requires both courage and faith, and it demands our trust in our own
inner knowing and well being.
Valentine’s
Day is a day where we can celebrate love – in all its various forms. It is a
chance to acknowledge that no matter where our lives take us, or fate, or circumstance,
or relationship, what is of value and eternal is love. It cannot be destroyed
by floods, or distance, or changing times.
So
as you partake of your chocolates, I wish you the sweetness of a happy heart
filled with love, precious memories, and the promise of even greater joy ahead
than you’ve known in the past.
A
special note as I close out this very bizarre Valentine’s blog: Today is my
friend and producer Tanya Leah’s birthday. I have written about her many times
and at great length, but I cannot pass up another opportunity to say what a
gift she is. Aside from being an insanely talented genius, she is a generous,
loving, light-filled soul who makes this world a whole lot brighter because
she’s here. Happy Birthday, my friend!!
And
Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you! Thanks for stopping by. And please tell
your friends.
xoxoxo
Ilene
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