These are the Songs of our Lives - Singing (Sort of) into 2019

Music has marked the seasons of my life for as long as I can remember. I've been missing it lately, as I've taken a break from choir to focus on some other big goals. But it's still a major part of my life.

I get really excited about how songs imprint on us in moments of life. For a while, I’ve wanted to write a little piece on songs and how they, for me, are a lifeline. It amazes me how a song, like a smell, can take you smack dab back to how you felt at a particular time in your life. Life’s most effective time machine to date. Each song brings you back to a story, and most stories have a lesson. So I thought it would be fun to sum up some of my New Year's mantras by referencing some of those impactful stories.

Pachebel's Canon

I started having existential crises when I was about 5 years old. One of the few childhood memories I have is of waking up in the middle of the night with night terrors because I was terrified of the vastness of the universe. My mom would put on one of her favourites, Pachelbel's Canon, to calm me down and back to sleep. It worked for a time but then when I was older and heard it, the song made me so sad I could barely catch my breath. It took me back to that terrifying place. Through the years, however, it has morphed into something that reminds me of my childhood, of overcoming fears and has turned into one of my favourites as well. It still makes me cry, however. 

Lesson: Things that terrify you can be beautiful. Fears go away with time and with facing them. And, well, Moms know best!

Video Killed the Radio Star - The Buggles
Sitting in my University boyfriend's room, a voice came on the radio outlining the scores for the latest sporting events. I yelled out "That's me!" and my boyfriend's roommate yelled out "Man, you really don't have a voice for radio." I was crushed...for a second. But I kept doing it, both video and TV for Western Radio because I loved it. I did it with my friend Sarah and every time we were at the bar and this song came on, we would find each other and dance and sing our hearts out. It was such an awesome experience.

Lesson: Don't listen to the haters, do what you love! Do what feels good!

Robbie Williams - Love Supreme

I was backpacking through Europe on a dollar and a dream (lol). It was 2001 and I was travelling with a Sony tape walkman. Split was my favourite city in Croatia, with market stalls filled with baby chicks (Easter was mere days away), local fruit and vegetables, and pretty much everything else you might want to buy. Including an impressive array of bootlegged cassette tapes. I bought Robbie Williams and he was my soundtrack for most of that country. Love Supreme put a swagger in my step and made me feel cool and free and happy. 

Lesson: Experience trumps things. I could walk around the market in Split for days without spending much money. Just a good tune in my ears and maybe a good coffee. 

More Than This - Roxy Music "More than this, you know there's nothing."

Living in Japan was undoubtedly the best year of my life. It feels like a dream and as my good friend Nazza emailed to me after we'd left: some memories are so precious they hurt. That is what my memories of Japan are like. It feels like I lived the whole year in a dream. Maybe it's because everything was so different and my senses were so awakened. I think more than a dream, it was a year where I truly and completely lived out every moment mindfully and fully. 

One of the big songs on my playlist at the time was More Than This. I remember running on the treadmill with this song playing and thinking that if my life just froze exactly where it was I would be completely content. I was just unbearably satisfied in my own skin and in that moment of my story.

Lesson: Be in the moment. Every moment. And see things as if they are special and new. All the things. Everything can be beautiful or at least interesting if you see them this way. Also, amazing things happen when you follow that weird dream you kept having (for me, living in Japan).

The Japan Song - I can't even find this one online
Near my house in Moriguchi, Japan was a park that was essentially the remains of a World Flower Expo. It was amazing. The structures from each country's display for the Expo were left to ruin and it was the most beautiful thing.

Even more beautiful was the open park area where hundreds of people would congregate to sing and dance and picnic. There was a group of seniors who I always tried to sit next to because they were doing exactly what I would want to do in retirement. Dancing, singing and laughing. So much laughing.

There was this one man who wore a Tilley-style hat, grey pants and a white linen shirt whom I could not stop watching. Mainly because he danced like no one was watching. His body floated and twisted and contorted in ways that gave no hint of age. He was timeless. Weightless. and the joy on his face when the Japan Song came on was like a visual Prozac. You could not help but feel it...like rays of sun hitting your face from afar. It's such a privilege to be able to move. So many friends of mine have been seriously injured, and I've had enough minor sprains and injuries to realize that you should really move what you got man!

Lesson: Always dance like no one is watching. And enjoy each and every moment. Live them all fully, good and bad. And do what moves you, whatever that is. Life is too short. 

Everywhere by Fleetwood Mac
I'm sort of known for "encouraging" people to take fun photos or videos at parties. And I get my fair share of resisters and eye rollers. This one time, I had the idea of doing one of those funny mannequin videos to the song Everywhere at a friend's party. I knew I wouldn't have the attention of a bunch of partygoers dressed in 80s costumes for long, so I promised a two-take maximum and gave very specific directions.

Oh man if I could have a job staging boomerangs with willing participants I would be in heaven. The video was legendary and everyone loved it. People get annoyed in the moment but they love the result (or they totally will when they are 80 and looking back I'm convinced). 

Lesson: Do what inspires you - even when people try to talk you out of it. Don't

lose your sparkle just because there are grinches in the mix. Work around them. And surround yourself with people that light you up (and that will indulge you every once in a while)!

Opportunity by Pete Murray

I met Daniel on a night train in China and we hung out in Hong Kong. I decided to visit him in Australia on my way back home for a two-week period that I thought, at the time, marked the moment in-between youthful adventure and my real life beginning.

We were driving in a pick-up truck on a cool and nostalgic evening on our way back from a footie match and an artist big in Australia (whom I later found out was married to someone in our family) came on with a song, Opportunity. These were the words that got me: "Hold on, now your exit's here, it's waiting just for you. Don't pause too long, it's fading now, it's ending all too soon you'll see." 

Lesson: Don't wait too long to do the thing you want to do. Because you might just miss your exit (I'm sure there will be another one along the line...but just do it already!). Small steps in the right direction are a good start.

There are soooooo many more songs but I thought these were some fun memories and messages to usher in the new year. 

As you can see, a lot of my most influential songs relate to travel. I love to travel. You feel connected to the thread of life that runs beneath the humdrum of the day-to-day and are connected to a sort of time-travelling thread. So I'm really looking forward to planning the first big trip in a while over the next few months. That will be (I hope) a major highlight of 2019.

It was a good year overall: Writing retreat, great birthday, silent retreat, great times with great friends, solid family time, and no major medical stuff this year.

The not-so-great: a spark of a relationship that didn’t pan out, some minor medical, a job shift that was a bit of a catch-22, etc. Standard lows. But overall so thankful and grateful for everything.

I like to do a little wrap-up session and here are two great templates you can use if you want to review the last year and plan for the next. I consider the few days after Jan 1 to be good prep days. No need to squeeze it all in by December 31st. Way too stressful. 

• Mel Robbins does an awesome Mindset Reset which includes a review of the year that has passed: mindsetreset
• For a longer reflection, check this one out:Year Compass

I'm hoping and feeling like this is going to be a big year of change. Watching the Queen movie recently really makes me want to live a little bit bigger than before. And to let go of some of the silly small things that take up my headspace. I have similar goals in the areas of health, charity, finance, life passion, writing, travelling etc. as I do every year. Being kind. Being good to myself. These just evolve year-to-year and don't require any major rewrites. 

Essentially my message to myself is to just keep going, even when things feel bleak or hopeless or I hit a roadblock. Which I undoubtedly will. I know the drill. I know what makes me feel good. I have the plans...now I just need to sit back and do the thing. If the planning doesn’t turn into action then it’s just a cool list.

To kick off the year, I'm doing a bit of a two-week reset in January. Here are some of the things I'm doing that have cool tools that you can use too. 

• Meditation almost daily. My favourite for this is the Calm app. They have sleep stories and great meditations (7-day free trial) and some free booklets and meditation calendars. 

• A few years ago I did the Desire Map with Danielle Laporte (which is currently free! Desire Map). It's all about living your life by how you want to feel as opposed to what you think you should do. I'm using her yearly planner this year which has habit trackers and all that good stuff to take you towards your goals. 

• I'm continuing with Beachbody workouts, specifically the 80-day obsession. I did it last year and I have never felt stronger. It's a great feeling to be able to do hard things with your body. They also have a free trial period and I have a great coach if you need one!

• The last external thing I'm doing is Yoga with Adrienne. Do you know her? She is friggen incredible. She offers free yoga videos and every January does 30 free days of yoga. The videos make you feel empowered and loved and flexible. You can sign up here Yoga with Adrienne and go at your own pace. 

• No alcohol

• No complaints 

• Clean food - not doing the full whole 30 again or anything, but....gotta cut down on my frozen pizza obsession

• Less screen time

That's all ;). As I write this I'm gearing up for a bit of an uncharacteristically chill New Year's Eve with some awesome peeps I love being around. Exactly how I want the year to be. Wishing you all a very Happy New Year filled with all that your heart desires!