This article went on to say that NO ONE wants to go back to being 20! Oh – I’m sure we would all love to LOOK like we did when we were in our 20’s – and have the energy we had when we were in our 20’s. (What is that expression? “Youth is wasted on the young.”) But with age comes a certain contentment that we lacked when we were young. The researchers call it “emotional satisfaction” – and it improves as we age in spite of sad events like the death of friends or loss of social status.

As we age, we tend to focus on what matters most such as personal relationships rather than the high drama of youth and its flailing about trying to figure it all out. The ‘happy-go-lucky’ days of our youth are replaced by a deeper sense of gratitude.

Here’s to getting older! It is definitely better than the alternative.

“All Things With Exuberance!”
mary!

When my son was in high school, it would have been fabulous if he could have carried a cell phone – but in those days his school would not allow it. They apparently felt that students only needed cell phones for illicit shenanigans – like doing drug deals or some such. They were definitely not tuned into the realities of life with a teenager. I would drop him off in the morning and he could never tell me – did he have band practice that night? Do I pick him up at 3:30, 4:30 or at 5? Did he need extra money for this, that or the other thing? Was there a field trip today? It was like shooting in the dark. A cell phone would have made my life SO much easier. But somehow we managed to get through it.

We oldsters like to gripe about how our children our spoiled – how they have it so much better than we did when we were their age, etc… On the other hand, would we really want it any other way? Watching this group of young girls and their smart phones, I can gripe about spoiled little rich kids and their naivete about ‘the real world’. As in, “They would not last 15 minutes in…” But would we really want it any other way?

We carefully shelter our children from ‘living in the real world”? We shelter them from having to cope with our too adult problems. And by so doing, we encourage their youthful energy and exuberance. Oh sure – they can be annoying, arrogant and blissfully ignorant. But this is far preferable to having their youthful enthusiasm quashed at too young of an age.

Indeed, once they become adults, we will desperately need that energy and enthusiasm to solve the messes that we have left behind for them. Nothing else will get the job done.

“All Things With Exuberance!”
mary!

Yo-Yo discusses the origin of the Citizen Musician concept on the Citizen Musician website.

Now, when this video first hit the Internet, it went viral. ‘Professional’ jugglers were outraged at its success. One juggler made a parody – using the same music but embellishing the routine with much more sophisticated and complicated juggling techniques. Clearly, this juggler has a much higher level of skill then Chris Bliss. And the routine is humorous in how it captures Chris Bliss’ facial expressions and body language.

But we all know: imitation is the highest form of flattery, right? Can’t make a parody without an original…

Now this time when I looked for the video to send to my girlfriend, I noticed in the menu bar on the right a video of the “World’s Best Juggler” – a fellow by the name of Anthony Gatto. So, just out of curiosity, I did my own little impromptu study – a comparison of the World’s Best vs. Chris Bliss.

There can be no doubt that Anthony Gatto is absolutely superb. His energy and artistry is above reproach. He performs with Cirque du Soleil. So right away, I am inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Nonetheless, I still found Chris Bliss’ performance riveting. Indeed, it was hard NOT to watch it. Whereas I turned off Anthony Gatto’s performance after about 3 minutes.

So what makes the one routine hypnotic while the other has the feel of a series tricks? Granted – really complicated tricks that are flawlessly performed – but ‘tricks’ all the same.

I believe that the difference has to do with the music. Chris’ routine is perfectly choreographed to the music.  ‘Choreographed’ is the key concept here. It isn’t so much about ‘juggling’ as it is about choreography. In short, Chris Bliss’ routine is Dance – with a capital D.

Anthony’s routine, on the other hand, is a routine designed to showcase his level of expertise. The Cirque du Soleil orchestra puts up some unobtrusive background music to accompany it. The music is on a par with circus grade “elevator music”. So Chris’s routine is about the music – and Anthony’s music is about the routine.

This is not a new realization. In fact, it is apparently part of the ongoing debate. But it is a difference that, in my mind, makes all the difference.

Now there is a fellow that has taken the Chris Bliss video and overwrote different music to it. To me – the end product does not produce at all the same result. Chris Bliss’ juggling makes no sense once you remove the context of his music. Which only proves my point.

Check it all out for yourself and let me know whatchya think…

That is if you don’t find – as I do now – that this is just WAY too much debate over something that barely merits the conversation. Or does it?

H-m-m…

“All Things With Exuberance!”
mary!

To say he is discouraged and demoralized goes without saying.

Then the business section of The Chicago Tribune this week reported a story on a cafe in the Little Village neighborhood that has been forced to close due to the recession. The owner opened the cafe 6 years ago in 2005 after losing his $90,000/yr job as a project manager with Lucent Technologies. The closing of his business was met with tears by many in the community – including the artist community that had enjoyed meeting there – many of whom no longer could afford to do so.

This story is hardly unique. Roger’s Park landmark establishment, The Heartland Cafe – which opened it’s doors in 1976 – is only open today due to the fundraising efforts of the community.

There is not a single commercial artery that is not liberally peppered with “Space For Lease” signs. The small businesses that have disappeared under the weight of “The Recession” seem as numerous as the stars.

Those of us in the real estate industry already knew by the end of 2005 that the real estate ‘bubble’ was beginning to burst – even though the media was still reporting increasing real estate prices. In fact, it was later estimated that prices did not peak until 6 months later – in June ‘06. But we in the industry knew better. Buyers had started getting nervous. We heard more and more buyers voice concerns about over-paying. Some were even refusing to be held up at gunpoint by greedy sellers. Some were actually willing to walk away from deals they deemed to be ‘too rich’.

The government did not declare a full blown ‘recession’ until 2007. By that time, those of us in the real estate industry had already woken up to ‘the new economy’. Foreclosures were at never-before-seen levels. Buyers were in full blown flight. We had already realized that if we were going to maintain our incomes, we would need to do something different – we would need to reinvent our businesses. By the time the government finally declared that the economy was in recession, getting a real estate license had ceased being the “Plan B” of what to do should you lose your job.

So I understood my client’s frustration and discouragement only too well. I had been experiencing the same emotions in my own business for several years now.

I had no answers for him when he asked what he should do to turn this situation around. As he so shrewdly noticed, we are hardly the only ones wandering aimlessly wondering what to do. Our predicament is mirrored by our fellow citizens over and over again.

Is there anyone that can provide us with leadership out of this quagmire? Where is this generation’s FDR? I welcome your input.

However… rather than coming back as the Captain, he comes back as a lowly science officer!! He talks to his senior officers telling them that he has the potential to command and would like to be given an opportunity to do so. They respond by telling him that they do not see that potential in him and therefore cannot recommend him for any sort of a command position.

At the end, the Captain tells Q that he would prefer to die as the man he had been rather than live out his days as the mouse he had now become. So Q takes him back to where he had been before, and – rather then die, Q saves him, of course. (He is a main character in the show, after all. They can’t exactly kill him off!) So the Captain does NOT die – but lives another day for yet another adventure.

I like the notion of embracing all the parts of yourself and not holding regret over those parts that you think may be less desirable. Because it was precisely those bits, once tamed, that allowed the Captain to eventually become the dynamic leader that he was.

There’s another point to be considered as well: as Lt. Picard, his superiors tell him that they are unable to see his potential as a commanding officer. Even though, as Capt Picard, he clearly excelled as such! What preconceived notions do others have about you – or perhaps you may even have about yourself – that hold you back from fulfilling your potential? H-m-m…

And they said it was just a dumb TV show…

“To your success!”
mary!

Bottom line: so that you can find and follow “Your Bliss” – that which makes you happy for no reason other than the doing of it pleases you.

As this little story reminds us – to follow your bliss is not without risk or peril. But to NOT do so risks a life of bitterness – a life lived without purpose. Now Paulo states that if one does not “seize the moment”, take the risk and dive into the journey, that one risks losing the ability of EVER finding your bliss. I do not accept that. But then I believe in redemption and Second Chances. Probably because I am an American.

Which brings to mind a quote that Wintley Phipps is well known for (I think they are his own words):

It is in the quiet crucible of your own personal, private sufferings that your noblest dreams are born and God’s greatest gifts are given – as compensation for what you’ve been through.”

It is a wonderful comforting statement and has the power to heal a weary and broken heart. (Whitney is also an American.) And while in my heart, I believe the truth of what Whitney says, my mind wants to test the hypothesis: “Why should God feel the need to compensate us? And HOW are our noblest dreams born and God’s greatest gifts given?”

What occurs to me is that this is so because it is precisely in the quiet crucible that we actually take a “time-out” from our daily busyness to THINK. And sometimes it is ONLY during periods of suffering that we will allow ourselves the time and space to do so.

H-m-m… Something to think about.

“All Things With Exuberance!”
mary!

It’s weird, because the response is immediate and visceral. Like when a fragrance instantly conjures up a memory.  I have heard that explained as having something to do with the proximity of the olfactory nerves to the frontal lobe in the brain – or something like that.

Along those lines, I remember an incident that occurred some years ago while I was washing my hair with a new shampoo. The moment I squeezed the shampoo onto my hair, I had a vivid recollection of my Grandmother. For some reason that I could not fathom, the scent of the shampoo reminded me of her in a way that I had not thought of for years (she died while I was a child). Until I noticed that the shampoo was apple scented – and I remembered that my Grandmother had an apple tree in her backyard. Prior to that moment, I had no idea that I associated the scent of apples with my Grandmother!

Even more interesting to me is that this Ave Maria seems to be the only thing that Franz Biebel wrote that he is remembered for. I have this hallucination that he wrote it in an inspired moment – probably copied it down as if  taking dictation – as Beethoven was rumored to have done. Clearly, it comes from someplace ‘other’ and is not of this earth.

Since my name is Mary and I am, in fact, named in honor of Our Lady, this is my name day. The early church promoted the celebration of name days (or rather saints’  feast days) over birthdays as birthdays were considered to be a pagan tradition.

What a nice present to be given for my name day!

“All Things With Exuberance!”
mary!

“Bodhichitta is equated, in part with compassion – our ability to feel the pain we share with others. Without realizing it, we continually shield ourselves from this pain because it scares us. We put up protective walls made of opinions, prejudices, and strategies – barriers that are built on a deep fear of being hurt. These walls are further fortified by emotions of all kinds: anger, craving, indifference, jealousy and envy, arrogance and pride. But fortunately for us, the soft spot – our innate ability to love and to care about things – is like a crack in these walls we erect. It’s a natural opening in the barriers we create when we’re afraid. With practice we can learn to find this opening. We can learn to seize that vulnerable moment to awaken bodhichitta.

“An analogy for bodhichitta is the rawness of a broken heart. Sometimes this broken heart gives birth to anxiety and panic, sometimes to anger, resentment and blame. But under the hardness of that armor there is the tenderness of genuine sadness. This is our link with all those who have ever loved. This genuine heart of sadness can teach us great compassion…This continual ache of the heart is a blessing that, when accepted fully, can be shared with all.”

The Places That Scare You

Pema Chodron