Would you rather dance in a breeze or a storm?

A few months ago I wrote my obituary. Not because I was sick or wanting to die, but because I gave some thought to how I'd like to be remembered when I'm long gong.

I hope you think of me as someone who had as much fun dancing in balmy breezes as I did in howling hurricanes. Someone who always knew she had options. Someone who felt free to stomp and shout in a storm, or to stand perfectly still to watch how my hair dances in the wind.

When I lead people in music making I feel fully aligned, blissful even. Nothing can throw me off, not a grumpy singer, not a power outage. Some of you have experienced me leading singing in an ice storm, during a power outage in the pandemic, on line, bundled up in the car. We have fun wherever and however we sing!!! I experience coaching the same way: aligned and in the moment.

Do I always feel in tune when I'm parenting? I wish!!! I know. It's not totally fair to compare a few hours of work with the 24/7 responsibility of parenting, but what I have figured out is that an aligned life is easier (I didn't say easy!) and more fulfilling than the alternative.

When people push our buttons we have an immediate reaction. Something happens, and bang... we react before we know it. Our synapse is too short in that case. We all know what to do: deep breaths, walk around the block, a few yoga poses, some time in nature, meditation... All these practices will slow us down. These pauses lengthen that synapse in our brain.

If you can give yourself a split second between stimulus and response, you put the world at your feet again. Even if you can lengthen that synapse by a millionth of an inch, you've just acquired yourself some freedom. It is in that moment that you can remember that you do have options. That's when you realize you have a choice to stomp and shout or watch the wind play with your hair. 

In that pregnant moment anything is possible. The same happens in improvised music. See, music doesn't happen during the notes, but BETWEEN the notes. It is the following note that determines whether the music becomes more intense or resolves to something more mellow. Whether it becomes more dissonant or harmonious. Before you play that next note. Before you make that next choice...

What do you do in that omnipotent moment?

As soon as you let judgment in, or expectations of what you think is supposed to happen, you limit your options. Instead I invite you to love what is. I dare you to love what sucks! And to stay fully present, recognizing every moment that the possibilities are endless.

How do you want to be remembered?

What can you do on a daily basis to live into that?

Whether I guide you through a musical exercise or we have intimate conversations about your deepest fears and dreams, my goal will always be to help you get in tune with what feels right, with what makes you come fully alive. Let's find out how in a free 30 minute tune-in sessions?

xox

Marion

Your musical life coach