Yes, I Give Myself Pep Talks, Well, Kind Of

Have you ever had one of those days when you feel as if nothing is going right and no matter what you do, you can't seem to get rid of the little grey cloud above your head? Well, I know I have those days and I have found that just doing something little for myself, no matter how small it may be, can make it better. Instead of counting on others and outside forces to make the day a bit sunnier or less stressful, I have found a way to give myself a little pep talk, a reminder that I can handle anything. 

On one of these most challenging days, a few months ago, I was out purchasing program supplies for work, and randomly sitting on a shelf in the kiddie craft section, completely out of place was this little gem:

Being the shoe lover that I am, I knew it was a sign. I purchased it for myself (who doesn't love random gifts for no real reason, even if they are from yourself) and upon my return to the office, quickly placed it on my desk, not out there for everyone to see, but right where I can see it when I need it. I always say that wearing fabulous shoes can bring an improvement to your attitude, so now, on those most trying of days, I sneak a peak at this little picture, then look down at the soles I chose that day. Then, I take a deep breathe and I swear I can feel my soul smile. 

What little things bring you joy when you are feeling down or overwhelmed?

The Newness of Today

This morning I awoke to a pleasant song, "Auld Lang Syne". Yes, I am aware that New Years has come and gone and that we are truly into 2011 now, but the song made me smile. It is the version that was featured in the Sex and the City Movie, by Mairi Campbell and Dave Francis. While I love this version, the words, the symbolism of the song are what made me start to think, which is not an easy task in the morning. It seemed rather appropriate that a song so closely tied to the beginning of a new year and the possibilities it brings was the one that started my day, a new day, again, so full of possibility.

It is easy to wake up each morning and fret about what lies ahead, all the appointments and meetings cluttering the calendar, all the stops that need to be made, the errands that need to be made, the chores that need to be done. We can worry about how to accomplish so much in one day, what to make for dinner, what to wear that day, how to come up with the money to pay that one last bill this month. I often fall into this trap and stress myself out even more my feet hit the floor. It is a bad habit to get into, and while I try not to let my mind wander to my to-do list so early in the day, sometimes it just happens.


Waking to "Auld Lang Syne" brought a different feel to my day, a feeling of hope and possibility, the same as the feeling so many people experience when a new year begins. Why is it that we are so excited to ring in a new year, but don’t often greet a new day with the same sense of enthusiasm? A new day, in a way, might be an even bigger gift than a new year, a chance to undo the things that were not done right the day before, a chance to make different choices, to start a new to-do list, a chance to begin with a new attitude. Sometimes we don’t appreciate a new day the way we should, seeing it as just another step towards the weekend or another block of time filled with responsibilities and things we must accomplish, tasks to be done, people to please, et cetera.


My Opa is a very happy morning person, an individual who is perky and very much awake the moment hi feet hit the floor. I am not. The more I think about it, perhaps he is just embracing the beauty and promise of each day, seeing the opportunities it brings for new adventures, new quiet moments, to learn something new, to enjoy a new and yet another day with the ones he loves the most. He always jokes with me and says, “I checked the paper and my name wasn’t in the obituaries, so I got up.” It always makes me laugh and, given some thought, he has a point. Each day we are given a new chance to live, to our lives, even for just 24 what we want, what we will. We are free with each sunrise to make new decisions, to refocus, to reevaluate, to re-prioritize, to begin on new things, or revisit things or people left behind in haste yesterday. Seeing the possibility in a new day is like a little bit of new years excitement, given as a gift to each of us every morning. We should embrace it, whatever it may bring. The decisions belong to us each morning, the important decisions, like who to spend our time with, what deadlines are the most pressing, or what fabulous pair of shoes to wear today.


"Auld Lang Syne" was a random iTunes pick as my alarm this morning, but I think I may stick with it, just as a simple reminder to see each day as a new beginning, much like the new year.




Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And days of auld lang syne?
And days of auld lang syne, my dear,
And days of auld lang syne.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And days of auld lang syne?


We twa hae run aboot the braes
And pu'd the gowans fine.
We've wandered mony a weary foot,
Sin' auld lang syne.
Sin' auld lang syne, my dear,
Sin' auld lang syne,
We've wandered mony a weary foot,
Sin' auld ang syne.


We twa hae sported i' the burn,
From morning sun till dine,
But seas between us braid hae roared
Sin' auld lang syne.
Sin' auld lang syne, my dear,
Sin' auld lang syne.

But seas between us braid hae roared

Sin' auld lang syne.

And ther's a hand, my trusty friend,
And gie's a hand o' thine;
We'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

The Life of a Song

When a song is written, do you think it knows what it will become? Does it know it is so much more then the notes and lyrics on a page, more than the recording? Does it know that it will take on more meaning than perhaps the composers, lyricists and recording artists ever dreamed it would? As odd as it sounds, I think a song knows. A song has a life of it's own, a life that goes far beyond the page it is printed on or the disc it is recorded on, beyond the radio stations that play it and the mp3s of it that millions of people download each day. A song is, to me, much like a person, a character if you will, one that plays an important part in the story of so many lives. Now. I realize that to many people this might all sound a bit crazy, like I am making a song out to be so much more than it is. You might be thinking, "wow this girl is nuts" or a song is just something fun to listen to and sing along with in the car," but I promise you, if you give this theory of mine a chance, you will come to see and truly appreciate all that a song can be.

If you have ever found yourself at a true loss for words, whether it be do describe a situation, what you are feeling, or perhaps even advice you wish you could give, I guarantee that there is a song out there that can say it for you, almost perfectly perhaps, and often times better than you might have been able to say it yourself, had you not been at such a loss to begin with. My mom, and many friends, have told me on numerous occasions that I can find the perfect song for the moment, for anything; I totally take that as a compliment! I think there is so much more to choosing a song for someone, for a certain moment or occasion, than just looking at the title. One should not be limited by the titles, but rather look deeper, into the lyrics of the verses or the bridge. Don't stop at the songs belonging to the one genre you are most comfortable with or happen to like the most; go further and explore other genres and artists. There are so many undiscovered treasures out there, just waiting for the right moment to be found and brought to light, used for the perfect moment, perfect occasion, perfect person.

If you think about it, most of us can think of songs we would consider the "soundtrack" to our lives. These are often songs that make us remember a certain occasion, certain people, a certain snapshot in time. Perhaps they are sweet and lyrical, a love song from a long-ago wonderful relationship, or maybe they are those silly songs you sang with your friends as you drove through town with the windows down one summer, or sang at a karaoke bar in college. When I stop to think about it, I can very easily imagine a soundtrack playing along with the scenes of my everyday life, just like a movie, complete with rises and falls, dramatic, highly intense music for those dramatic, stressful, anxious, angry and crazy moments, and the slower, softer sounds of the peaceful moments, the happy laughter, the days and moments that merrily roll along, coated in sunshine and rainbows, and yes, everything in between. Sometimes, as I go about my day, I can hear the music, ever so quietly, molding itself to my life, to the situations and emotions at hand. Some songs seem to come back, fitting multiple situations and moments or just reappearing when I think back and remember something or someone specific. As one country song says, "the song remembers when." And, I truly believe that....

As for those songs that reoccur, and perhaps some of the ones that just seem to stick with us, no matter how long ago something or someone happened in our lives, I am very aware of these, more so perhaps than I wish I was sometimes. When I am sad, depressed, angry, lost, I lose myself in these songs, both the good and the bad. For some reason those songs are reoccurring characters in the story of my life, not always main ones, but lovable and/or memorable favorites or villains that pop back into the storyline when you least expect it. I would like to think they come back to me as much as I bring them back, will them back with my desire to play them just one more time, yes, just one more time, at least for that hour, just one more time, truly....

Here are a few lines that have come to fit me and my life, becoming an integral part of my soundtrack:

"I'm just a girl," "What do you say to taking chances," It's my life, it's now or never," "Lean on me when you're not strong, I'll be your friend," "Thank you for loving me," "Real life and real love doesn't have have to be perfect," "That's what friends are for," "I want to dance with somebody, with somebody who loves me," It's always better when we're together," Girls just wanna have fun, just wanna," "Giving you my heart's a real fine place to start," "If you're going through hell, keep on going, don't slow down, if you're scared don't show it," "Mess up my bed with me, kick off the covers i'm waiting," "I've done it all and seen it all, but I can't find a feeling like that," "You raise me up to more than I can be," "Here I go restless heart, another lovely misadventure in the dark," "You are the dancing queen," I love you just the way you are," "I've got a good old friend here with me tonight and guess I'm doing alright," "So when they ask how far love goes, when my job's done, you'll be the one who knows," "Love remembers," "I ain't settlin' for just gettin' by, had enough so-so for the rest of my life," "I gotta have roots before branches to know who I am before I know who I wanna be," "I live for little moments like that," "You say it best when you say nothing at all," "I'm a bitch, I'm a lover, I'm a child, I'm a mother, I'm a sinner, I'm a saint," "You find out who your friends are," "Who says you can't go home," "Take my breath away," "You're hot then you're cold, you're yes then you're no," "Remember the face

of the girl who had made you her own, and how you left her alone," "somewhere out there is somebody," "I am"... I cried "I am"... said I, and I am lost and I can't even say why," "You were always on my mind," "Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection, the lovers, the dreamers, and me," "I'm always your last call," "Someday my prince will come," "Your lucky coat, the first day of fall,when you wake up laughin' just because... that's how I feel when I'm with you," "Shut up, just shut up," "Sing it anyway," "I am woman hear me roar," "It's so complicated, I'm so frustrated" "All my friends said I started shootin' doubles when you walked in," "It feels just like it should," "Don't forget to remember me," "I hate that I love you," "Baby slide over, I'm taking that wheel," "Even when I'd forgotten all about us, the song remembers when," "Friends are friends forever," "All of these lines across my face, tell you the story of who I am, so many stories of where I've been and how I got to where I am...."

More and more songs become part of our lives each and every day. We hear new ones on the radio as we drive to and from work; we watch our favorite TV shows and don't even realize how the characters on the show aren't the only ones making their way into our lives, but the songs these shows use have found us, too. Just like people, songs have a story, actually many stories - there are the ones they tell through their lyrics, the ones that are woven in the notes of the melody and harmony, the chords and the rests, and the stories that they become a part of , our human stories, our lives. Perhaps next time you hear one of those songs that takes you back or makes you stop and think and remember, one that awakens your senses and makes you aware for reasons you may or may not know, consider this, that song, just like you, has a story, has a life. What could be better than to try and be more like a song. Crazy? Not at all. Simple? Perhaps. If we try to be more in tune with what is going on around us, try to flow with the ebb and tide of human life and existence, imagine the possibilities. How many lives could we touch? How many moments could we be a part of? How much comfort, joy, laughter, fun, etc, etc, etc could we bring to others? As the song says so beautifully:

A song lives forever and never ever dies
Sings enemies together and touches so many lives
Words and melody will always be long after we're gone...
Oh, how I wish I could live the life of a song

I could mend the broke and wounded, I could prove that love is real
And take someone from China to a Carolina cotton field
I could comfort every soldier, hum all the homeless home
I could change the world if I was just a song

(from The Life of a Song by Joey + Rory)