ukulele dreams

Every once and awhile, the Universe throws me a juicy bone!  I opened the morning paper to discover my ukulele hero Jake Shimabukuro would be performing locally that weekend and at a small, intimate venue. I called for Cowgirl, sat her in front of the laptop and had her watch the video of Jake playing While My Guitar Gently Weeps on ukulele. I believe when her mouth wasn't hanging open, she was saying "wow!"  That confirmed I was buying us tickets and three nights later, we were at the show.

I'm not sure I can explain why it was such a powerful experience for me.  He is an amazing performer and the passion and pleasure and joy with which he plays is evident the moment he bounces onto the stage.  The sounds he coaxes from those four strings is not to be believed.  But what resonated with me was the immense gratitude he voiced when he shared with us his wonder at being able to share what he loves with so many.  And that what kick started his career was the above mentioned YouTube video going viral.  

It was a reminder - a much needed reminder for me - to hang on to my dreams, follow  passion and to not allow set backs and challenges to cause me to loosen my grip.  In fact, when an obstacle presents itself, that is when I need to grab on tighter and reaffirm my commitment to myself and my work. 

Sadly, I didn't think to bring our sky blue ukulele, so we had nothing for Jake to sign.  But the line was long and we watched him enthusiastically greet each person even though he played closed to 2 hours without a break!  Next time ... and by then, we will have a few more chords under our belts.

It was also a beautiful lesson for Cowgirl to find something you love to do and follow that as far as it will carry you.  Not for the accolades or the fans or critic's approval; but for the possibilities of living full out joy-filled living, and watching how that energy ripples out and impacts others to live life with similar passion and celebration.

Thank you Universe ... and Jake.  The generosity of his spirit cracked opened my tired heart.  His gift is he does make you believe ...

Cowgirl and I both needed the buzz of that only a ukulele can bring: one part bubbling inspiration, one part soul stirring expression, topped with a cherry-bright experience of the optimist's gift - the magical yearnings of a child's heart made manifest and filling the air one note after joyful note.


 

a dollop of joy on a gray day ...

Deep in the thick of compiling my handbook for Joy Warriors ... found I needed a little self care and discovered this video:



I'm not sure I've ever mentioned this before - but I am a huge George fan. I probably wouldn't be practicing yoga or meditation if not for his example. His music deeply inspires me - I consider him and myself bhakti yogis. So, on this day I've been thinking about George, spirituality and, naturally, ukuleles. Thank you George.

I'm blaming my introspection upon the weather and not the impending birthday. Another year coming at me ... is it just me, or is time speeding up?

[Shaking her head ] Excuse me ... um ... oh, yeah ... Beatles ... What about you? George, Paul, John or Ringo? What music do you listen to when your joy tank needs replenishment?

(I once heard a writer say that most women over 40 have their hair cut in some form of a Beatle-do. I suppose my style is reminiscent of their druggy Sergeant Pepper days ... perhaps its time for an update?)

Monday Inspiration Celebration: or insanity?

I cannot begin to express how blown away I am by everyone's support and encouragement for my, ahem, little media experiment of last week. I am truly excited by the possibilities for deeper discussion and dialogue that video story telling holds (oh, okay - Vlogging! I vlogged. I'm okay with that!) I know I have already have thoughts for another session jotted down in my book, so I think I will be doing some future pieces. Definitely a Friday kind of event.

I find it thrilling to learn so many of us are Fred and Ginger fans! Here I thought our common link was creative self-exploration, but maybe the glue that binds us is a desire to find the ballroom moment in the everyday? (I now remember my first public-ish video was me dancing for my Unraveling course ... honestly, I am just now realizing the depths of my dancing dreams ... )

Okay, I am a bit scattered today, the result of a luxurious 4 hour coffee break with friends exploring some of the issues raised here last week. My mind is fudge at the moment. Not a whole lot of inspiration, but a dose of insanity?





Yes, the light blue ukulele finally arrived! (Ukuleles are apparently wildly popular - who knew? - and the music store cannot keep them in stock and this batch was delayed in arrived because of the tsunami. Not to belittle a horrific event, but crazy to see how it impacted my life via a much anticipated ukulele.)

Already I can tell ... we are going to love it. I know 3 chords and can already play All Together Now by the Beatles. Cowgirl rocks the chorus. She is more free form, but very intent. When I brought it out, she had her eyes closed and as I placed it in her hands her grin widened and she was giggling and immediately smitten when she finally opened her eyes.






So between the coffee and the ukulele, I haven't had time to do much here. I do want to share one huge HUGE inspiration ... the wonderful ning group run by divine Miss Effy Wild over in her Wild Precious Studio. There are several groups I immediately joined: one for art journaling and another for mandalas. Each one has a weekly prompts with videos and links, bringing together some of the best stuff out there and it is free people, yes free! Here is a piece I did over the weekend after watching one video:






Check it out. I spend one evening perusing the site and already have a beaucoup ideas for things I want to play with in my art journal (and I haven't even looked at the photography site yet! Be still my aging heart!)

Here is one video I saw before on making mandalas that is shared on Effy's site. Get a pen ready ... it is hypnotic:










So much more to share ... May Day celebrations, brownies made







clowns seen, the first farmer's market of the season ... guess I should watch the mandala video again and calm myself down ... I am also contemplating a 21 day power poetry writing class. What do you think? Should I leap?

Welcome May. I am so happy to have you finally here.