Hello New Year! More yoga, more dancing and just a little more crazy!
David Bowie, Gwen Ifill, Glenn Frey, Prince, Merle Haggard and Leonard Cohen, Muhammad Ali, Fidel Castro, John Glenn, George Michael, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Nancy Reagan, Carrie Fisher, Gene Wilder, Florance Handerson, Alan Thicke, Harper Lee, Doris Roberts, Arnold Palmer, Morley Safer, Edward Albee, Richard Adams…. to name just a few who passed away; 2016 has been a hard year on our hearts. With every passing soul, my mind flashed back to my younger years. The music, the books, the films, and the memories have a way of bringing segments of my past back into my present moment. It is interesting how the mind works. What I was left with was not a specific story, rather I was swimming in an emotional ‘twilight zone.’
Prince brought back my sense of careless freedom. That particular high-pitched energy that is so hard to find once you are in the working world. Za Zsa Gabor brought the giggles, Richard Adams the memory of that first great intellectual read, Fidel Castro a bygone era of my childhood in Eastern Europe. The smells, the colors, the sense of excitement, the heartbreaks, hopes, and daydreams. It felt as if 2016 is burying my past, and with all the uncertainty that the world faces, I found myself lingering with sentimental clinging to the images in my mind.
For many reasons, Christmas was hard for me this year. George Michael’s passing was somehow the icing on the cake. In one of my not very proud, but particularly self-sabotaging and funky moments, I hit play on one of my old favorite albums; Faith. As I listened, I started turning the volume up and up and up till it was shaking and rattling the walls and I finally felt alive again. I started dancing in the kitchen with Albert in one hand and spatula in the other while cooking the evening meal. It’s as if George was screaming at me; ‘Hey you are not dead yet! Live it up!’
Right there, I realized that all these amazing people leaving us can serve as a reminder. We are still alive! This is not the time to get jaded. This is the time to remember all your hopes and dreams because there is still time. I say, put on your favorite album and start dancing like nobody is watching because there is nothing like this moment and we all have this moment. It is OK to get sad once in awhile, as a matter of fact, it is normal but allow the clouds to pass and welcome the sun. Welcome in 2017 with that same high-pitched crazy unstoppable energy of a 16-year-old, it is still within us, we just need a reminder time to time.
May be we lost so many loved ones this year to remind us to step into action, to pick up our old dreams, to help us face an uncertain time. But maybe they all had enough of Twitter. :- ) No matter if you are pro or against President Elect Trump’s policies, I believe we can all agree that Twitter is not the way to communicate intelligently. Passing into heaven maybe one way to not have to listen to one more Tweet but maybe someone can hand P.E. Trump a mitten… We all need help time to time… Some of us need George Michael to restore our faith, and some of us need mittens!
Yeah, this blog was going too heavy, and it is Happy New Year time! So embrace the giggles and laughter and most importantly remember to dance!
Peace be with you, Namaste,
Dora