Keeping the Dream

One of the most amazing videos and personal testimonies I have ever seen.

(This is a repost, but the sentiments and well wishes are very much in the present moment. Blessings - Demian~DreamSinger)

I have a multi-cultural background, and I cherish the traditions and gifts that my Asian, French and Native American ancestry brings to me. The one thing that has been consistent throughout all my years and through various explorations of different beliefs and faiths, is this image of the newborn babe in the deepest of winter.

The hope this brings to me, the powerful message of life when nothing seems like it could grow speaks to me on my healing journey.

It is with this universal message for those who celebrate this season for religious reasons and for those who don’t, that I would like to offer this song, as a prayer, to you and to the world.

With many blessings,
Demian,
~DreamSinger

Download MP3 File

By Brother David Steindl-Rast from Gratefulness.org

A most remarkable video. What I like most about this is what he has to say about the importance of creativity, with no small amount of wit and charm. Though he focuses on education for children, Sir Ken Robinson is really talking about that creative part in all of us, and the value we place on it - a wonderful perspective, and gentle, yet urgent, nudge…

(If you have trouble viewing it here, just click on the link right below and it will take you to the site, itself…but it’s worth watching all the way through)

TED | Talks | Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity? video

I was dealing with some depression yesterday, which spilled over into today, as depression often does. I had accepted a friend’s invitation to watch a movie tonight and was having second thoughts. Just climbing into bed and pulling the covers over my head was so appealing.

It had been a rather emotionally intense week for me and I was struggling with wondering if what I was doing on-line or in my music was worth the choice to focus on that and not other things, if I was actually making a difference, if what I was doing meant something.

He said I would like it. He was so sure he taped it for me. Though I wasn’t in much of a social mood, but because of his thoughtfulness I decided to grab a bucket of chicken and go on over.

And I’m glad I did. The movie was “Lady in the Water” and it really touched me. I know there were a number of critics who didn’t like it for a variety of reasons, but then there have been a few movies that got rave reviews that I thought were a total waste of my time.

I love fantasy and fairy tales, but this movie was more to me than that. It told just enough of a storyline without filling in all the blanks. It introduced just enough of the characters to weave the pieces of a story together…a story that was more like a parable to me than a chapter book. I like not having to have everything spoon fed to me. That way I have to actually use more brain cells to interpret meaning and the story becomes more personal and speaks more personally to me.

Some of the criticism I read were totally fixated on the fact that the author/director put himself in the role of the writer who’s work would change the course of humanity. They thought that was arrogant. I thought their inability to get past that weird. I didn’t care why he might have chosen to play that part. So what?

The story, itself, worked for me, and I didn’t see the character of the writer as a reflection of the author as much as a gift to the viewer to consider perhaps they, too, play a very important part of the fabric of humanity, even though they may not be aware of just how. And that’s just what I needed to be reminded of tonight.

I, also, loved the message of the most wounded offering the most healing, the idea that someone outside of ourselves can care enough to reach in, and those who offer help are often, in turn, helped by us.

An unexpected inspiration, I feel a weight lifted, and for now, that’s good enough for me.

The song says it all.

No apologies, sensuality belongs to me
All the lies are fading, truth and power waiting
Here for me…

No apologies, all the roads I’ve traveled for so long
Make me realize I’m strong and proud of who I’ve
Come to be…

No apologies, time is really not the enemy
Gifts abound that only those who live the years
Can truly see…

No apologies for the love I feel inside of me
Hold the writer’s pen and play with grandchildren
I’m so happy!

….Seasons come and go
and I am growing old
Now, hear me sing…

No apologies, oh no apologies…no, no, apologies

Oh, no apologies, sensuality belongs to me
Life is full and rich and twilight promises
There’s more to see…
And more to be…
And more to know…
And more to grow…

[I will be going to work this weekend and probably won't be able to access the internet for any length of time until Monday, and since I really like this song, I'm not going to schedule any posts while I'm gone. I'm just going to let this one sit at the top for a while. For those of you who would like this song, I'm offering it as a free download at www.soundclick.com/dreamsinger for a limited period of time as my celebrating gift to you.]

While looking at the journey of my life, it’s only right that I should stop and thank my greatest teachers. These are the ones who have had the greatest impact on my life, the ones who have taught me the most about myself and living, the ones who have forced me to look in the darkest places and inspired me to sweep them out and throw open the windows.

Not always so quickly. I am not the best of students, and sometimes I need to fail a class over and over again, before I get it enough to move on…and then I always need a lot of review.

But they are patient teachers and the most forgiving ones I have ever met. It’s within their nature.

I’d like you to meet my children.

My children have certainly been a major factor in leading me out of the tangled swamp of my own childhood…and sometimes with no small amount of pushing. I will be forever grateful to them.

But tell me, is it really fair that children should grow taller than their parents? In just another couple years, my youngest will be taller than me, too…that’s just not right.

I remember how my mom used to complain about having to look up to me now, and I’d lovingly call her “Shorty”. But it’s my turn now.

But you know, I do look up to them…in more ways than one. And when it’s time for me to have to tilt my head back a bit to look into my youngest child’s face, the truth is, I will already have been doing that.