Leap year meditation
Once in four years, just once, perhaps we could:
Forgive, forget, relax, care, stand out, speak up, contribute, embrace, create, make a ruckus, give credit, skip, smile, speak truth and refuse to compromise--more than we usually do. Pick just one or two and start there.
Hey, it's just one day.
Careful, though, it might become a habit.
I spend a lot of my days and nights in the theatre. Sometimes I'm with friends, sometimes I'm with total strangers, and sometimes we don't even speak the same language. Yesterday, one of the women from the chorus came to my dressing room to tell me (through the stage manager, who translated) that she'd been singing here for 20 years and had never heard singing as beautiful as mine, and that it was such a great pleasure for her to stand onstage and listen to me sing. Today, I saw her in the street with her little boy and she called out to me - I was on my way to the gym, virtually unrecognizable in my glasses, workout gear, hair in ponytail, zero makeup - and we had a lovely exchange in broken French and English about how beautiful the weather was today (it is, truly - the kind of spring day where you want to switch to a lighter coat and walk outside for hours) and where I live in the States. She introduced me to her little boy, who was very shy about the Américaine speaking to his maman in English.
Kindness takes only seconds - a smile, a word. It makes the rest of the daily grind bearable. Despite the crushing loneliness of being away from home for so long, the lovely colleagues who take a moment to say hello and ask how I'm doing, even if I can only answer, "Bien, merci, et vous?" lend so much warmth to the experience. To them, I am so very very grateful.
And to the end of taking advantage of this gorgeous leap day, I'm going to take a shower, get dressed, and go out into the sunshine. I hope you'll do the same.
Happy leaping!
Forgive, forget, relax, care, stand out, speak up, contribute, embrace, create, make a ruckus, give credit, skip, smile, speak truth and refuse to compromise--more than we usually do. Pick just one or two and start there.
Hey, it's just one day.
Careful, though, it might become a habit.
I spend a lot of my days and nights in the theatre. Sometimes I'm with friends, sometimes I'm with total strangers, and sometimes we don't even speak the same language. Yesterday, one of the women from the chorus came to my dressing room to tell me (through the stage manager, who translated) that she'd been singing here for 20 years and had never heard singing as beautiful as mine, and that it was such a great pleasure for her to stand onstage and listen to me sing. Today, I saw her in the street with her little boy and she called out to me - I was on my way to the gym, virtually unrecognizable in my glasses, workout gear, hair in ponytail, zero makeup - and we had a lovely exchange in broken French and English about how beautiful the weather was today (it is, truly - the kind of spring day where you want to switch to a lighter coat and walk outside for hours) and where I live in the States. She introduced me to her little boy, who was very shy about the Américaine speaking to his maman in English.
Kindness takes only seconds - a smile, a word. It makes the rest of the daily grind bearable. Despite the crushing loneliness of being away from home for so long, the lovely colleagues who take a moment to say hello and ask how I'm doing, even if I can only answer, "Bien, merci, et vous?" lend so much warmth to the experience. To them, I am so very very grateful.
And to the end of taking advantage of this gorgeous leap day, I'm going to take a shower, get dressed, and go out into the sunshine. I hope you'll do the same.
Happy leaping!
