Love, love me do

You know I love you

I’ll always be true

So please

Love me do

Whoa, love me do

JOHN LENNON  PAUL McCARTNEY

What could a simple love song written by two teens in the UK do to impact the world? 

It depends on who those teens are. 

We start off young, ambitious, and knowing that we already know everything! That’s the joy of impetuous youth. We see the world through a filter of what matters most to us, and we are determined that we are not going to make the same kind of mistakes that those we have observed while growing up have made. 

Our ideas are fresh, our determination is unstoppable. Our vision is clear and the world is our oyster.

That’s the youth chapter. The one before too much reality has tried to rain on our parade. Where the actions of our youth have catapulted us into new realities that we might never have mentioned in our deepest fears or considerations.

In the youthful drive, we see past the obstacles, and only focus on the what if.

There is true magic in that process. It is raw emotion and energy waiting to be unharnessed in the world to travel as far as it may, to grow and evolve in unique and mystical ways.

When you look at these two kids, they really are no different than the others in appearance or presence. But deep inside them lay a determination and perseverance that overcame countless obstacles and which delivered them to new pastures that not had ever reached prior.

Is that all mindset? Perhaps. Or talent? Necessary… but not the solution in and of itself.  Talent is a great asset but there are countless talented people who never get to where they are going.  Calvin Coolidge said, “Nothing in the world will take the place of persistence. Talent will not. The world is full of unsuccessful people with talent. Education will not. The world is full of educated derelicts. Genius will not. Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.

To become the Beatles required the complete package. But as Calvin so aptly states, it is persistence that wins the day.

If your dream is coming to fruition, do not ever stop. Stay focused and show up every day to whittle away more at the outcome. As Michelangelo would not stop carving a block of stone until he had freed the angel within, so must you continue to push ever forward towards the goals and aspirations you desire.

And then one day you will discover….. Whoa, love me do.

Happy Friday!

I watched a documentary about John and Yoko and the making of the Imagine album on Netflix and realized (once again) that my perceptions as a youth, were (once again) wrong. The ire in the public sphere towards Yoko were wholly unfounded and highly unfair. We were all hugely disappointed that the Beatles were broken up, and it was easy for public opinion to lay this blame (unfairly) at Yoko’s feet. There were many negative things said about her during that time, her art was rudely reacted to. Her collaboration with John was scorned.

In contrast, one of my most favorite songs of all time was really her influence on John. When you see the documentary, and you learn about who she was, what they had together, and how they collaborated, there is no question that the lyrics to this profound track was either written by Yoko or (most certainly) influenced by her.

Below you see the original lyrics scribbled down on a hotel note pad. It is in John’s handwriting (I checked both of their styles this morning and it is John who put the words down) but when you get to see her personality, you unquestionably feel that she was the influence that brought these thoughts together.

Artists are (by definition) dreamers. Their dreams are manifest through words, music, sculpture, paint, film, photography, sound, music and so much more. As these artists bring their creations to life, they are manifesting a dream into reality. The dream is not necessarily one that comes through sleep. The daydream is by far the more powerful of the two. When your brain goes into theta waves, you begin to leave the insanity of life behind for a moment and instead find yourself in a state of what if? From that state of exploration stems all of the creative flow. 

Some believe the creative flow comes from God, others use the word source. In both cases, the catch phrase “Devine inspiration” is quick to be used to explain the phenomenon. We are hard pressed as artists to define what our imagination actually does. From the outside looking in, a person says, “oh, they just thought it up.” In many cases something of magnitude gets dismissed as if it were another thought that an artist happened upon, no different than the observer deciding what to eat for lunch. The reality for the artist is very different. Yes, we just thought it up. But the ability to think like that comes from years of an open mind and open eyes taking in what we are exposed to, learning from others, honing skills that few have, and working diligently to find the most exquisite means of expressing that. So yes, we artists just think it up, but it was a very long journey to get to the stage where that happens.

Most artists wish to have an audience. It is one part validation, and one part a burning desire to share what is coming up within us. It is very difficult to articulate. From my mind, looking inward, I would say that art and creative thought feels like a firehose in my mind. It is almost perpetual and there are times when I just have to shut it off.

Two nights back, some of my favorite people came over for an evening of reminiscing and laughter. At one point, they were gracious to comment on my writings in the morning, and were most kind with their praise. The praise is warm to receive but internally it feels wrong because the writing I do does not get created to achieve praise. In most cases, I do not think it is very strong, or compelling. It is just a daily exercise of communication. So the praise feels awkward for me and (honestly) not deserved. The flip side to that is what happened yesterday with my topic on grief. 

I had seen someone else’s aphorism that grief is the price we pay for love and that sparked the firehose of thoughts. It was just that simple. I saw the poetry in their statement and my mind went ablaze in thoughts. All I did was write down what I was thinking. The concept is not my invention. The ideas I share are not new. There is no art in the magic of writing what I am thinking, per se. But the magic came on Facebook where a few of my friends have lost their husbands in recent years and seeing how my thoughts had touched their hearts. At that point, I felt the validity for the experience of taking the time to articulate thought. If for no other reason, than perhaps you may touch another person’s heart… and in the end, isn’t that one of life’s most precious experiences?

John and Yoko touched my heart with Imagine. Almost more than any song ever written. I have said that I want it played at my funeral and have felt steadfast about that for decades.

I am glad that John met Yoko. I am glad that she brought him the joy that they appeared to share in this documentary. I was sad to see the Beatles split, but all who laid that blame at her feet (myself included) were just ignorant and wrong.

I am glad that the dream they dreamed together became a reality. It changed the world for the better and helped to put a high vibrational concept into words that everyone could grasp, ponder and wonder about for decades to come.

You may say I’m a dreamer

But I’m not the only one

I hope someday you’ll join us

And the world will live as one

Happy Friday!

The art of honesty and friendship is a beautiful ballet. The deeper friendships will tolerate core truths to be discussed and considered whereas the more superficial friendships merely enable the exchange of trivialities.

Many a friendship has been eroded or outright decimated by the wrong exchange of information, or the lack of diplomacy therein.

But as one grows older, one slowly accrues a group of people with whom one can be as honest, transparent and vulnerable as one desires, always knowing that one is safe in the haven of that friendship.

The safety that comes from having a friendship that is that close is something every human being deserves to have. It seems trivial from the outside looking in, but from the inside looking out, knowing there is someone with whom you may really bare soul, adds immense value to one’s life.

This kind of friendship creates a mental sanctuary that is nurturing, enlightening, comforting, instructive and constructively critical when required.

I believe it is equally imperative for us to be this kind of a friend to the right people in our world as well. Create a sanctuary where someone can feel completely unjudged and welcome solely on the basis of what created the friendship in the first place.

There are so many layers and complexities to a valuable friendship, but the cornerstone to all of it comes from being completely honest and pairing that with tact so as to bring that honesty to light in ways that help to elevate a friend in need rather than tear them down.

All of us have frailties deep within, regardless of anything that is projected externally. Trusting another person with those frailties is a vulnerable choice to make in life, and when it is made appropriately, it can prove to be one of the greatest measures of wealth that any person could help to amass over a lifetime. 

I hope your day proves to be incredibly special🌈 

Perhaps use this message as a stimuli to send a nice text message to a deep friend in your world and make them smile today?