Thank you John. Great read – even better when put into practice!

So interesting! So there I am about to have my breakfast of toast and 2 hard boiled eggs (whites only) when I see my March copy of Vogue. The thought that this would be the perfect time to look at some gorgeous clothes just makes sense! And sure enough, as I page through the first few photographs I am chewing and thinking that more than the toast is yummy! Just checking out the pictures – glancing til a color or line of the fabric catches my eye and deserves 4 seconds instead of 2. I turn the page and look right, then left and go to turnwhen my mind lights flash. I stop and go back, left. And there she is, beautiful, looking out a window into the far distance like the visionary she is, and I start to laugh for she is clothed in black and white and framed with white walls and a black frame around the window. I laugh for the way we try to box/package a person in a way that serves what we want and/or need. She is the least black and white of all the candidates. She has been open, willing and courageous in creating her journey.

Her openness is there for all to see. She has lived a very public life and somehow has managed to keep a part of herself private. That is called sanity. A lesson in this current electronic age that we all need to learn.

She has been willing to listen to differing points of view, to ponder difficult issues and to take necessary actions. She has changed and grown and will continue to do so for the rest of her life. This is important to me. I don’t want someone who thinks they know it all to have their finger near any of the “buttons”.

Courageous is her core and centered in her love for this country and the process of democracy. Her life has been spent in pursuing and strengthening the very foundation of its ideals. Do I always agree with her, no. Do I support her, yes.

She is a symphony and maybe that is what concerns some people. As the Emperor said to Mozart, “too many notes”. Not only has she created a symphony, she clearly has the creative vision to conduct a symphony as well. We have 319,000,000 “notes” in our country’s population and are adding every day. I want a conductor who understands the importance of the relationships of each and all the notes. I believe that Hilary Clinton is such a conductor.

Thank you Vogue! WOW! You made my day!

Follow your dream wherever it leads.

Don’t be distracted by less worthy needs.

Shelter it, nourish it, help it to grow.

Let your heart hold it, down deep where dreams go.

Follow your dream, pursue it with haste, life is too precious, too fleeting to waste.

Be faithful, be loyal, then all your life through the dream that you follow will keep coming true.

Larry S. Chengges

What, if anything, do you do to wrap up your year? For me, this week between Christmas and New Year’s has been a gift because I have been able to reflect and dream and plan and wish and let go of the “To Do” lists. The holiday busyness is over and I have chosen to spend time with myself.

I had a good year, 2 terrific shows with great roles. I actually got to sing and dance again. Also, told a story about a family growing beyond their sense of what “should” be. I continue to work on my new business and have had to admit it is a little more complex than I had initially thought. The process has been a good teacher. As I transition from the “day” job into my real work I am building bridges instead of burning them.

In my dream time, it isn’t just that I have a recurring role on TV and that the my top 3 roles I want to perform on stage are mine and will be done in the next 5 years and I have a thriving side business helping people realize their dreams. It is that I can feel and smell and hear and see and touch each of these dreams. I color them and add music to them and populate them with people I know and love and people who I don’t have any idea who they are. They are my dreams and the source of inspiration and joy in my life.

And so I have a clear plan that I believe will succeed. Well, maybe not always so clear and yet, definitely a plan. It has built in flexibility and a firm belief that persistence, intention and joy filled work can accomplish what I want to do.

Wishes are supposedly the things of childhood. For me, they are the releasing of possibility, the exploring of passion and the giving of a quiet part of ourselves to another. So I will continue to indulge in releasing the child and deepening my awareness of life.

This is the best part, the letting go. It has taken so many years and so many experiences to understand the importance of this action. It is life affirming and a true act of love.  To know that I can let go of the should; that I can let go of what doesn’t work, that I can make great mistakes and have great success and that it all nurtures me and expands my understanding of life.

I like the silence and am always inspired by what comes forth.  I get to ramble during this week. I get to let my mind wander. I don’t make resolutions anymore, having found them to be sources of judgment, another way to let the outside world determine who I am and what value I hold in life. I know that I/we have value because we exist. You are a wondrous work of art. Happy New Year! Thanks for traveling with me!

The words of Ellen Burstyn echo my own thoughts and intentions.  Good grist for the New Year.

From her book, “In the Thick of It”

“I was exploring the nature of the feminine hero and how she was different from a heroine. I’d read somewhere that a hero goes out into the world, meets his enemy, prevails, and founds a new order, while a heroine simply endures. I felt that a feminine hero goes out into the world, meets her enemy, which in one form or another is the limitations imposed on her by her culture, and she not only endures, she also prevails and founds a new order.

I guess I was trying to create a new myth for women.

I didn’t succeed, but success isn’t the only gauge of the value of an effort.”