Tag: just do it

Life With Gusto

Image result for quotes on model trains

“You’re in my heart, you’re in my soul
You’ll be my breath should I grow old
You are my lover, you’re my best friend
You’re in my soul

My love for you is immeasurable
My respect for you immense
You’re ageless, timeless, lace and fineness
You’re beauty and elegance

You’re a rhapsody, a comedy
You’re a symphony and a play
You’re every love song ever written
But honey what do you see in me”

You were probably singing along to the above lyrics from the song “You’re In My Heart” by Rod Stewart, as you were reading them. (Admit it. I know you did. You are fun like that!) I have always thought that those lyrics were the best that I have ever heard in a love song, and what I really enjoy about the song, too, is that it is encased in such a fun, upbeat, easy-to-sing melody. It’s the kind of song that 25 people will belt out together, at a bar or a party, all looped together, in shoulder slung arms. I did some research and I found out that Rod had written that song, mostly for the Swedish model/actress, Britt Ekland. Having always been quite the “player” in romantic relationships (he has had three marriages, and eight children by five different mothers), Rod doomed their relationship to last only about two years, but the song will go on in popularity, for quite some time. The lyrics and the tune are timeless.

I think that Rod Stewart probably has a big heart . . . . a big heart in the sense that it is filled with a lust for life, rarely witnessed in other human beings. I just read that in the 26 years that Rod Stewart (now aged 74) made 13 musical albums, and went on tour 19 times, he was also creating a masterpiece. Rod Stewart just put the finishing touches on an epic model train railway city. This is how it is described: “a 124ft spread depicting an entire US city and inspired by the view from his childhood home.” (Twitter) So, while writing songs and rocking it out on stage, womanizing, being a dad and a husband, and a grandfather, and a knight, an avid car collector, and at one time, having given it a go at becoming a professional “footballer” (in America, we call them soccer players), Rod Stewart was working on his model train set. Apparently, though most of this awe-striking creation is kept in his Los Angeles’ home’s attic, he would bring parts of it on tour, keeping the part that he was working on, in its own separate hotel room, so that he could work on it, in between shows.

There must be a connection with musicians and train sets. One of my best friend’s boyfriend is an avid musician, who also faithfully attends his model train club meetings, at least once a week. Apparently, Roger Daltrey, Phil Collins, Neil Young, and Ronnie Wood, also share in the hobby.

Miniature train sets, are fascinating. When I was a kid, we made several trips to The Miniature Railroad and Village, owned by the Carnegie museums and now housed in the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Ringling Museum in Sarasota, Florida also houses a magical train display, depicting the circus in the 1920s. My favorite part of both of these attractions, is how they simulate night and day, so when it gets dark, all of the the warm and twinkling lights on the buildings and street lamps start to glow.

I kind of got wander-y and meandering in this post, much like a charming little model train, making its way through towns and countrysides, and bridges and tunnels. I’ll park my post back in the station, of the point that I was trying to make all along. Life is grand. Life is full of possibilities. Life is so interesting because we are so interesting in the ways that we are INTERESTED. We all find ourselves attracted to different fascinations. What if we all started this upcoming new year (and new decade, for that matter) with an agreement to go after our interests, our hobbies, our passions, and our curiosities, with gusto? With wild abandonment? With unbridled enthusiasm? Can you imagine how great that would feel? Can you imagine the wonders that would come from that excited frenzy? Take the shoulds/what other people would think/judgments on level of “cool” or “sophisticated”/our somewhat limited beliefs on time constraints/worries that we aren’t talented enough/comparisons to others, etc. etc. right out of the equation and in the forever truism made popular by Nike – JUST DO IT.

Friends, in embarking on a whole new span of time – a new year, a new decade, in our decidedly short lifetimes, let’s throw the excuses out of the window, and get back on the tracks and see where they take us. It’s bound to be amazing. And much like a miniature train, it doesn’t have to end. It can loop around and around, reminding us, again and again, of just how damn delightful it is to be ALIVE.

Just Do It

My husband and I went to see A Star is Born last night.  It is everything that it has been hyped up to be!  I highly recommend the movie.  Here is one of my favorite quotes from Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper’s character in the movie):

Jackson Maine: Look, talent comes everywhere, but having something to say and a way to say it so that people listen to it, that’s a whole other bag. And unless you get out and you try to do it, you’ll never know. That’s just the truth. And there’s one reason we’re supposed to be here is to say something so people want to hear. So you got to grab it, and you don’t apologize, and you don’t worry about why they’re listening, or how long they’re going to be listening for, you just tell them what you want to say. Don’t you understand what I’m trying to tell you?

Readers of my blog, my guess is that you are writers.  Writers are readers and thinkers, and blogs appeal to writers and readers and thinkers.  I read recently that in Iraq, when the market shops close up at night, the book vendors never lock up their books.  They believe that readers don’t steal.  It’s not in a reader’s nature to steal.  Readers and writers and thinkers have certain natures.  You understand what I’m talking about.

I’ve had several people ask me how I started this blog.  Ironically, I went to another blog that gave me step-by-step directions.  It was much easier than I expected, but there was definitely a strong determination on my part to do it.  I had to get my words out and I needed a structure to do it.  I am not a technical person at all.  When my kids move out, I probably won’t be able to turn on my TV.  Putting in a printer cartridge was a challenge for me for quite some time.  I often accidentally turn on the flashlight on my phone and I can’t figure out how to get it off, until I’ve blinded at least three random people.  Point being, if I was able to start a blog, so can you and you should.  You have something to say.  You have something to share.  It is meaningful and interesting and important.

People are so tentative to share their talents and their ideas.  And that’s so sad.  The people who are bravest in showing us who they really are with their talents, insights, visions and passions are the ones who are really making a difference in the world.  Imagine the possibilities, if everyone dropped their fears and inhibitions and showed themselves truly and openly and beautifully, just as they are in raw form.  My, that would take the world to a different level, wouldn’t it?!?

Ingrid Bergman said, “Be yourself.  The world worships the original.”  Nike says, “Just Do It.”  What are you waiting for?  I want to read your blog or your book or hear your song or your poem read out loud.  I want to see your dance and your artwork and your crazy creative costume on Halloween.  I want to see You, the You that is timidly hiding behind fears, and societal expectations, and excuses and lies other people told you about not being good enough.  You did all of the “prep work” and learning and then “unlearning” in the first half of adulting.  You are ready to share You now.  There is no better time.  Just do it.