Firing up the Canon

Regina Brett's 45 life lessons and 5 to grow on By Joey Morona September 20, 2007, 2:03PM Originally published in The Plain Dealer on Sunday,May 28, 2006 To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolls over to 50 this week, so here's an update: 1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good. 2. When in doubt, just take the next small step. 3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. 4. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does. 5. Pay off your credit cards every month. 6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree. 7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone. 8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it. 9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck. 10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile. 11. Make peace with your past so it won...

Cleveland's Little Italy. Enjoy!

I move fast. I say what I feel. I reserve the right to change my mind. I could leave almost any material possession behind. My mind never quits. I can’t sleep in. I’m always looking to get high on life…people and thoughts that light my fire. Heart always wins over head. Passion for people is my life’s common thread. I sleep diagonally, but never comfortably. My ailments are an extension of my head. I like to become a part of other people’s experience. Teach me to feel strong, stable and free. And stay. Bring the dreamer out in me. Sometimes reality is too much for me to take. I’ll do something just for something’s sake. I miss my youth, but love the things I’ve taken responsibility for as an adult. Sometimes the air hits my lungs just right and I remember what it felt like to be a kid. I’m so aware it’s impossible to act oblivious. The words “loved like I should, lived like I shouldn’t” make sense to me. I’ve been told by a boss and friend to “never lose my gypsy spirit.” I can remembe...

"I don't mind what happens." E Tolle. I remember sitting in a Doctor's office in mild panic over a year ago. It happened to be during the time that I was reading through A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. Instead of allowing myself escalate into a deeper cycle of panic I remember taking a line from the book and writing it down over and over again. "I don't mind what happens. I don't mind what happens. I don't mind what happens." Just doing this put me in a place where I could deal with the wait. I empowered myself into believing that no matter what came of that visit I could deal with it. I could be okay with whatever. Here I am today with no idea what I was even there for...and I am okay. If I had allow myself to lose that day to completely unhealthy thinking...it would have been for nothing. A day lost. The thing is that if we just allow ourselves to be in a mindset of okayness...we really can deal with anything. Most things don't turn out h...

Some breaks are foreshadowed by cracks veining across an object, spreading rapidly but never causing a fracture. The windshield of a car. A coffee mug dropped in the sink. The interesting thing about this state of destruction is that until there is a complete separation in space...these things cannot be repaired or resurrected. It's in the complete space that you can apply a bonding agent, something to reunite the two pieces and truly hold them together. It is in complete space that the individual pieces show their worth. Where you can see that one really may not work without the other. That both are needed. Some breaks are clean - almost as if they come with instructions for repair. Apply bonding agent here. Stick together. Apply pressure. Rejoice. Others shatter. Pieces go missing. The air always get's through. The coffee always leaks out. There's no handle left to hold on to. But until the break...we may not ever know a thing's true strength or lac...

Connection. Connection. Connection. Last night I received a letter (plus two pages of beautiful toddler drawings that tickled my heart) from a dear friend whom I’ve spent little face time with, but whose energy has sparked my life into greater focus. I opened my life up to her in the moment I first saw her…and luckily enough she reciprocated the friendship. Earlier in the week I received a delicate envelope from a friend I haven’t seen in months and months. Last week I opened two letter bundles from my brother…complete with letters for me and the people I care about. I am here to just rejoice and feel grateful. These letters feel incredible in my hands. It is so centering it is to hold this bundle of packaged words, words placed on paper just for me. There’s a thrill breaking open an envelope to touch a piece of paper that was only days ago in the hands of someone who I care deeply about, but don’t have the privilege of seeing often enough. My eyes gallop across the letters at first,...

My dream last night was particularly disturbing. A man with a half covered face and a robotic expression cornered me against the bathroom wall. He fired one shot that hit my hand and I screamed. "Why did you do that? I'm a writer. How will I write?" Without any delay he turned around and fired again. This time at my throat. I could actually feel myself drowning in the dream. Maura woke up and asked if someone had criticized my writing any time during the day. "No, hmmm." And then all the way to work I spent thinking about what it all could mean. It seems each shot was fired to cut off communication in one form or another. Maybe I'm feeling pent up. Or unheard. Or unable to express. Maybe I'm just not putting enough into my communications. Ponderous. Ponderous. ----------------------------- Hours later I realize - Maybe the real message is to talk less and listen more. I talk A LOT.

We did a mix swap. It was my first...and stretched me beyond my comfort zone. And I'm proud of myself for not shying away. AND NOW....courtesy of Lindy Loo... the best of the best has been compiled online for your listening pleasure. Enjoy here . While you are there take a look around. The blog is filled with fun little tidbits...it's a daily visit for me. xoxo

   

This song sends me to tears every time I hear it. It just plucks my heart strings. Over and over and over again. width="425"> Lyrics by Amos Lee Well I walked over the bridge Into the city where I live, And I saw my old landlord. Well we both said hello, There was no where else to go, 'cuz his rent I couldn't afford. Well relationships change, Oh I think it's kinda strange, How money makes a man grow. Some people they claim, If you get enough fame, You live over the rainbow. Over the rainbow.. But the people on the street, Out on buses or on feet, We all got the same blood flow. Oh, in society, Every dollar got a deed, We all need a place so we can go, And feel over the rainbow. But sometimes, We forget what we got, Who we are. Oh who are are not. I think we gotta chance, To make it right. Keep it loose, Keep it tight. Keep it tight. I'm in love with a girl, Who's in love with the world, Though I can't help but follow. Though I know some day, She i...

The truth is blog friends, I've been feeling a little bit down. The details of the struggle aren't necessary...I like to keep a little bit to myself at times. But here is what is important. There are a few things that work for me during even the most difficult times...and maybe if I share them here they can help you to work through your life struggles as well. 1. Be honest with yourself first. You can't deal with other people if you are fooling yourself. If you do...any resolution you come to will be unfounded and an avoidance behavior. In times of hardship we need to work with what is real and modify real actions. "The truth will set you free." It's overused...but only because it's true. 2. Be gentle with yourself. There are things in life we can't control and our own thoughts are one of them. We can work to modify what we do with them...we can even work to push certain ones away, however punishing ourselves for being human and having reactions i...

In order to try to focus some of the energies inside of me I decided to take my obsession with Yogi Teabags one step further and create postcards! I also used one of the designs as the new header on my blog. Needs resized, but I'm loving it. It just fits. I heart tea! (Confession: I used a cheap teabag to cut open and spread as grass. I couldn't bear to waste a delicious Yogi bag.)

Loved this song when I first downloaded it and now thanks to our mix exchange it's been back on a frequent play list. Enjoy a little Mason Jennings this morning.

Open your eyes. Blink. Where did you come from...how did you learn Where were you loved...did each take their turn? Which things were spoken and taught? Which things did you know that forever you fought? Why didn't you say it back then? Why let a thorn in your side protrude and not mend? Open your eyes. Blink. What is it about the holding of a hand that helps you walk and helps you stand? Why is there enough in a fingertip to create...to take...to give and demand? Why have I let my struggle make me a slave of my mind... If there were no limits what would I find? Open your eyes. Blink. Who do you see opening the doors of your pain? Teaching with touch, guiding with thought, and holding on to restrain. Who is there when the lights turn off and the mind rides? Does the soul visit when the body hides? is there someone you meet in the corner of your dream...where the wind drowns emotion and tears cannot stream? Jamie Belardo circa 2002

Friday night we had our alumni band celebration. An event in honor of Mr. Lydecker, a man who spent the last 40 years of his life changing lives through music. And for me personally, giving me the best memories of my entire high school career and a place where I still feel at home. There's hardly ever a high school thing that gets deep down into the souls of the people that were a part of that and brings them back giddy and eager 15 years later. For the most part it seems that people are happy to have moved on. But when you witness 600 people (including current band members) marching onto the filed equipped with instruments, flip books and pride - you realize that something is different about band. I have so much pride in being a part of that group of people. I loved every face that I saw. I felt safe, excited and inspired. I felt like a part of something huge. Thank you to Mr. Lydecker fo giving us a band that was so incredible. Thank you for the years of your time. Thank you ...

As I mentioned earlier...I didn't win the photography contest for the city of Cleveland. However the winners are posted and their work is great. Congrats to all who entered and won. I hope you had as much fun taking your photos as I did taking mine. The Winners and Rules etc are posted here. I'm attaching my entries just to share! Hope you enjoy them. Entered Photos: Unentered Photos that I liked: