Love and Inspiration

Love and Inspiration, in no particular order:

1. Zadra – for never saying “I told you so”; for allowing me to be crazy and obsessed and insane and telling me it’s okay when I am; for just always being there, no matter what time, no matter what. For being on the ledge with me and not letting me jump off. Your voice, your music, your passion inspire me.

2. Chairman – for your casual generosity in a million little ways; for your support and unrelenting appreciation of me as an artist; for your clarity and your ability to cut through the bullshit and make me face things I don’t want to; for sharing your joy with me; for helping me discover music again; for being and remaining my friend, despite my craziness. The depth of your many talents inspires me as does your simple passion and joy for life.

3. Bibi – for your encouragement and your support last year when things were very tough; for your continued connection and encouragement. The grace and dignity with which you live your life inspires me every single day.

4. AJ – for your acceptance and appreciation of me as an artist; for your embracing of me as a friend; for including me in so many things in your life and making me feel so very special. Your talent, your intelligence and your profound understanding of your place in the universe inspires me to find those things within myself.

5. Peter – for your very dear friendship; for the respect you give me as an artist; for your tolerance of my constant manhandling of you. Your spirit and your dedication to your art and your beliefs inspire me every time I see you.

6. The Ark Theatre and those contained therein – for the continued pleasure of being allowed to do what I love more than life itself; for the vast array of talent contained therein; for the support and guidance being handed to me currently to help me grow as an artist. This place inspires me more than anything to continue to do good work, to challenge myself and to let myself learn how to be a better director.

7. Koji’s – for the joy and the music; for the insanity every Thursday night; for the continued study in fearlessness; for Ric and Erin every week. You all inspire me to tackle my fears and just face life. I know it’s only karaoke but I like it!

8. Patty – for being you; for becoming my friend and my sidekick; for sharing and listening and laughing with me. Your joy and your optimism inspire me to find that within myself.

9. Monica – for your intelligent take on life; for also sharing and laughing and listening; for your support and insight into my artistic side. Your continued exploration into your life and sharing that with me is an inspiration for me to continue that work myself.

10. Anna B. – for sharing your mid-life with me. I’m glad we’ve become friends and your continued pursuit of your own life and happiness inspires me to continue with mine.

11. Erik – for your friendship; for the checking in phone calls; for your cynical side; for continuing to be my friend through both of our tumultuous times; for your beautiful, blessed children. You inspire me with your ability to go through all the things you have this year and still continue to try to find the good things in all of it.

12. Amy – your talent; your openness with your struggles; your sense of humor. Your search for God and His meaning in your life inspires me to remember Him in my life and be always grateful for that.

13. All the musicians in my life – you inspire me to find the music that lives within me that I have never been given the opportunity to discover.

14. My sister, Cindy – for always challenging me and making me want to do better; for your wicked take on life; for your appreciation of me as an artist; for being there as a sister; for being my sister, no matter how much we piss each other off. Your continued search for what makes you happy, for what makes you Cindy, inspires me to continue o my own path.

15. My parents. There aren’t words for why I love and what I love and what inspires me about you. Cannot be contained in a single document.

16. The other mid-life bloggers – for your sharing of yourselves with such openness and honesty; for being willing to let others know when you share their pain and their progress. You guys inspire me to continue to write, continue to seek and continue to hope to find the joy we all search for.

17. The others – there are so many others in my life, I realized as I started this list, that inspire me every single day with their passion and their dedication to their art, their support of me through these tough times, their humor, their love and their joy. I just can’t even begin to name all of you. It would take volumes.

What I love and what inspires me the most about the people in my life – their appreciation and respect for me as an artist. I have never had that so much as I have now; their sheer joy and passion for their lives, no matter what happens, no matter what life throws at them; their fearlessness in tackling life and art; their willingness to share their lives with me.

Make your own list. Tell those you love and who inspire you that they do and why. If you don’t do it this way, tell them to their face. We all need to know that we are loved. And, as I’m learning, time is not infinite and it would be a shame to never have said those very important things to those who are important in your life.

I’ll send you off on this ridiculously sentimental journey with a thought from Brian Andreas from storypeople.com:

“There are things you do because they feel right & they may make no sense & they may make no money & it may be the real reason we are here: to love each other & to eat each other's cooking & say it was good.”