Happy Labor Day weekend (belatedly, hope it was grand), Fall Equinox, and most importantly, the changing of the seasons.
I have always felt deeply grateful for the simple moments and experiences in life. When giving messages, I emphasize that it’s the little things, personal words, and subtle feelings that are the BIG validations when connecting with our loved ones. And just maybe the change of seasons will help create one of those special moments for you.
Labor Day, although not about love, can inspire us to open up to what we can do, something that might become a labor of love. If so, we may be able to celebrate, or at the very least bask in the glow of a special moment of pure elation. We may get to say to ourselves, “I can’t believe that I’m having this breath-taking experience right now, at this moment.”
This past Labor Day weekend confirmed for me as always the importance of my work – my own labor of love, connecting with loved ones in spirit, our beloved DP’s – and went out on a very high note! Most North Easterners are somewhat familiar with Tanglewood in the Berkshire Mountains of Western Massachusetts. Located in an idyllic setting, Tanglewood has been around for 75 years. The world’s best musicians go there to play and it’s the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Home town boy James Taylor still lives in Tanglewood and gives sold-out performances every 4th of July.
In Tanglewood, the aura of a dream surrounds you in the middle of Nature, as you share space with music fans under a open sky filled with sunlight or stars. The audience basically camps out on the huge lawn and brings all sorts of food and drink as they “get away from it all” and enjoy this beautiful place. This year, I saw Josh Groban under the stars. As I sat there listening to Josh, I thought, “Life doesn’t get any better than this.”
Josh is very charming and funny on stage. During his banter with the audience, Josh mentioned one of his big breaks on TV. Do you remember what that was, kids? Hint: He was on a show playing a young and upcoming singer who had lost his sense of wanting to sing after his mother had passed away! The show was Ally McBeal, and the song he sang was – {{{{{drum roll}}}}} – “You’re Still You.” Anybody who watched that show and heard Josh sing knew he was going to light up the world with that voice.
In the show, it was the loss of his mom that made Josh’s character realize that he was supposed to continue singing. Anyone who listened with an open heart could feel their own losses while realizing that their loved ones are watching over them. I couldn’t help but smile as Josh talked about all this during his performance at Tanglewood, as I reflected on how privileged I am to be able to do the work I do, as a labor of love.
I’m sure that many of the attendees at Tanglewood that night felt the connecting power of music while listening to “You’re Still You.” So yeah, I got to hear Josh singing it LIVE, at a truly very special place on Earth. Again, life doesn’t get any better than that! Music truly is the universal language of Love.
As we head into this new season and the Fall Equinox, I am promising myself that I will try to fit in a few more of those precious little moments, while watching the trees do their dance of the colors. As we know, the natural sense of changing of the seasons does affect our moods. Autumn has a very different energy than summer, but beautiful in its own right.
I’m thrilled that I will be doing two events in California this month, and returning to Connecticut and Roanoke. It is always special to return to these places each year and see so many of you. Later I will travel to Denver, St. Louis, Chicago, Baltimore, Boston and Philly to name a few. I also am equally excited to be doing an event in my hometown of New York City, with John Holland in December. Check out my calendar for all the details.
For all of you in listen to me on Blog Talk Radio this week will be a full hour of readings with my friend and colleague, Austyn Wells. A wonderful way to bring in the new Fall season of change.
