Written Sunday 18/10/09

I think I’ve become addicted to blogging! Trying to decide if it’s necessarily a bad thing. I’ve always loved writing, and I’ve always been fascinated by technology, so I suppose the meeting was inevitable. My personal journaling has changed, since I started blogging, which was also probably inevitable.

I’ve had an interesting weekend, with Saturday night’s gig one of the undeniable highlights. I used the new sound equipment for the first time in public, and was very pleased with the sound. Our guest artist was “MJ”, a guitarist and vocalist, who sang four songs during our second set and then another one at the end of the gig, when some late diners requested to hear him. What a lovely young man – a gentle personality, unassuming, modest yet aware of his talent and the fact that music is his passion. Later, I heard his professionally recorded 5-song demo CD, and I was blown away! He has a beautiful voice, one I could listen to for hours. From a gospel background, his style is a blend of rock, blues, folk and pop. His choice of repertoire showed off his voice, but when I heard his original songs (demo), I could feel the magic! The lesson for me, yet again, was that songwriters need to sing their songs!

Another really cool thing happened this weekend, on Saturday morning: I saw an infomercial that sparked off an idea for a fun workout – I got out some of my Latin music, put on some exercise clothes, and decided I’d do a 20-to-30-minute dance workout. It was such fun, I ended up dancing for 65 minutes! Rediscovered how much I love dancing, and am looking forward to doing this regularly. One of the special things about dancing to that kind of music, is that I can’t seem to stop smiling! Great stress-buster! Brazilian music, especially, has that effect on me. I also played some Carlos Santana, which also just makes me want to move. I figured out a couple of things, during the session: one, that I could use some of the beautiful slow songs to do slower, yoga-like stretches, and two, that when I felt my energy flagging, I could just play one of my favourite songs, and that would set me off again, dancing like there was no tomorrow. In fact, I highly recommend it.
There’s a saying that comes to mind: People say we stop playing because we get old, but actually we get old because we stop playing.

I’m once again contemplating the issue of commitment, a topic that rears its head periodically.
In his book, The Seat of the Soul, Gary Zukav says, at the beginning of his chapter called ‘Relationships’:
“There are certain growing dynamics that can occur only within the dynamic of commitment.” I concur. If you’re not going to risk sacrificing your single status, you’re only ever going to experience your partner in snatches, and you’re never going to know the full extent of what’s possible. I’m talking about the difference between dipping into someone’s world every now and then, and walking the journey of life with them, exploring the full power possible when two adults who love each other join forces, share resources and channel their merged energies into bringing individual and joint goals to fruition. There’s something quite tragic about two people in a relationship, with the potential, if they were to commit to each other, to make huge waves in society, as well as in each other’s lives, sitting with a situation where only one is willing to make such a commitment.

Which reminds me of another piece of wisdom: in every situation we find ourselves in, we always have a choice.

Another highlight of my weekend was my children’s return home after their week away, at their dad’s house. I will never get used to their absence, even after all these years. When they’re here, all’s right with my world. This is one aspect of divorce that sucks – not only does it force children to live disjointed lives, but it forces the parents into some kind of part-time status. But that’s another story!

It’s midnight, and I have to be up at 05:30. Time to commit to a good night’s sleep.