Another year...

It's just another New Year's Eve...

Another night like all the rest...

(if you know those lyrics,  I will fist bump you!!)

I still refuse to accept "resolutions" on New Year's Eve.  It is the Pathway to Fail.

The entire holiday season for me,  gives me a chance to reflect,  to make decisions,  and to begin to focus and and nurture where I am,  where I have been, where I want to be next.

Learning to leave what is where it is,  is crucial to us as artists.  We are never completely satisfied: always wanting to change, to tweak,  to adjust.  This is a wonderful and maddening trait.

I am learning to let go of language that gets stuck in a loop in my mind.  Language that does not serve me.

"If only..."

"If I could do that again, I would..."

"Why did I let..."

"What was I thinking..."

"I can't..."

"It won't..."

And that's just a few...you can add yours to that list! You know you have them!

Language we use on ourselves,  does not need to be black or white.  As you continue to live on this planet,  you begin to realize that much has to do with the hues of gray as people and experiences and decisions and choice are thrown into the mix! However, we tend to be 'all or nothing' and it doesn't serve us well.

What happens, happens.  We do not control that final outcome.  For those of us who have control freak issues (!!) in portions of our lives,  who are "fixers",  who are little bit Type A...we have a hard time with this.

HOWEVER...how we speak to ourselves,  how we attitude our language in that inner dialogue matters.  THAT we can control.  We have agency over that language.  How we RESPOND to that language is within the grasp of our control and our choice.

So, when you review your year,  as a way of closing that particular book,  acknowledge what you must, but don't dwell on those things you did not do;  did not book;  did not achieve;  We tend to fall into the negative more often than we realize.  Well,  I know I do!  That language can be debilitating and create more anxiety and more confusion.

So, review your year.  Rejoice is what you DID.  What you DISCOVERED.  What you UNCOVERED.  What the roadblocks,  energy blocks RE-CREATED for you.

If you can recognize a barrier,  you can change it.  HOW is up to you.

Then let your authenticity lead you to language that inhabits your NOW;  that gives you power,  that gives you purpose,  that gives you possibility.

Those are the words I am leading with for 2017 starting today:

Power, Purpose, Possibility.

Nobody, and nothing, can take that from you,  unless you relinquish it.

Choose to carry your power, your purpose and your possibility and breathe life into them.

YOUR life.

YOUR choice.

YOUR year.

Let that lead you into your next,  and mingle with the energy of like minds;  find empathy for those minds not like yours; discover how to live the authenticity you are claiming just by DOING LIFE.

You truly have what it takes to claim your authenticity and all that manifests.

It means action.

It means reflection.

It means discovery.

One beautiful resonant sound at a time.

What do I do about that GAP in my resume?

I have been somewhat MIA - but busy!  I am not neglecting my blog my sweet snowflakes, I promise!

This comment - the gap in the resume - came up several times this week.  Whenever something seems to become a theme or sub-theme I always believe the Universe is asking me to pay attention and perhaps address it.

What do I do about this gap in my resume?

I can't be auditioning with this gap in my resume.

Others don't have a gap in their resume, and "they" will know I haven't been doing anything.


These are some of the things I have heard recently.

You know me well enough to know that I usually answer with a question (I am becoming my Dad).

So my question is:  what gap??? you weren't living during this time????

You have DATES ON YOUR RESUME?!?!?!? WHY!?!?!?!?

First - take off the dates.  Who cares when?  Did you do it, or didn't you?

Second and more importantly:  what is a "gap"?

I would respectfully suggest to you that you simply replace the word "gap" with the word "life" or "experience" or "exploration" or SOMETHING!!!

What is this "gap"???

If you are asking these questions,  I gently suggest to you that perhaps you are trying to create the excuses of why no one wants to hear you.

Why are you feeling that way?

There is no such thing as a "gap".

Life happens.  That isn't a gap - that is actually a FILL.

Life fills and fulfills.  Life changes you.  Experience makes a difference. 

Becoming an artist demands some life.  You BETTER take a gap!

If you are letting these "gaps" in your resume stop you,  you are making excuses.  If you say you wanna sing,  then sing!  Let "life" inform that singing and that artistry!

A resume isn't about the gaps.  A resume is a paper that informs those sitting at the table what you have done,  ( not WHEN),  where you've been,  where you're headed, how you've prepared and WHY YOU ARE THERE NOW.

Why you are here NOW is the most important revelation.

If you cannot deliver that WHY NOW then nothing on that paper matters.  What you have done shapes you.  Not just on that paper,  but what is NOT on that paper.  Some of you would call it a "gap".  I would call it life.

Life shapes you.  Life challenges you.  Life changes you.

And THAT is what you bring with you in that moment of audition.

If all you do is work work work,  are you living?  Sometimes.  Sometimes not.  Are you learning anything or wasting your time?  Are you working or just taking a paycheck/pay cheque?

Gaps mean life.

Gaps mean study.

Gaps mean tragedy.

Gaps mean change.

Gaps mean breathing room.

Gaps mean laughter.

Gaps mean decision.

Gaps mean choice.

Gaps mean life.

Yes I book-ended that on purpose.

If you have taken a time to LIVE,  and that is vivid and real, then it should reveal itself in your artistry.  If it is vital and alive in your artistry, then it will be present in how you audition, and what you can bring to a role and a production.

So, what do you do?

You audition.  You show them what you choose to reveal about YOU.  Which, after a "gap" should be even more than there was before it!

 Using a "gap" as an excuse, is saying your life experience - good, bad & indifferent - is insignificant.  Really? REALLY???  Get rid of your "gap" and FILL IT IN!