Adventures in African Drumming

I am currently marking off things from a long-standing list of "Things I Want To Do."  The most recent undertaking was bringing my son to an African Drumming Class.  Greeted at the door by a beautiful maternal African woman, who called me "mommy," I knew we were in for a treat.  We spent a half hour playing different rhythms on the Djembe, accompianing our instructor as he added extra rhythms on top of our own.  We sang, danced, and embraced the music.  I looked over to my son at one point, and he had closed his eyes, so that he could feel the music.  His body swayed from side to side, as his little hands made contact with the drum head.  

It was at this moment I realized that the need to express ourselves through music is something that is innate to all of us.  Other cultures sing and dance all the time to celebrate, to teach, to tell stories.  When did we as modern-day Westerners become so disjointed from our natural inclinations to sing and dance?  So many adults will say, "Oh, I can't sing," or "I don't play an instrument."  A child would never say those things.  They sing and dance without inhibition.  Maybe it is time for all of us to add music back onto our lists of "Things I Want To Do."

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Cardio Snob Enlightenment

So today I decided to take the "CardioMix" class at the gym.  The gym and I are just getting reacquainted after many, many months.  Let me rephrase that...after many, many years.  And this class, even though I knew it was an old school aerobics class (which I hate), fit into my schedule.

I walked into the room and instantly realized the clientele was drastically different than the yoga classes I occasionally visit.  Mature women who are the diehard Jazzercise type, and lots of stay-at-home moms trying to lose that baby weight which has built up over the years.  Almost all the women had slender torsos, and the ubiquitous pear-shaped lower halves.  

I took my place somewhere in the middle of the floor (not too far back so I could see, not too far forward so the peppy teacher wouldn't engage in ultra-positive, cheerleader banter with me during pony steps.)  The woman to the right of the instructor was deemed the low-impact model.  Obviously this women was an institution to the class, probably having attended it since the early 1980s when the class began.  She was well-equipped with a floral leotard, white tights, and bright white Reeboks.  (This is 2009?)

Well, I felt that I had already started out being very judgmental, and my bias leaned even further when the CD (which played songs which were neither current, nor retro) skipped about 50 times.  The instructor didn't really seem to care, and neither did all 40 or so bouncy students.  No one even cared that she had choreographed in 3/4 time to 4/4 music!  Here is where the music snob in me started to surface.  

Having sustained a back injury last year, I followed "white tights" and kept things moderately easy.  After a series of about 80 or so grapevines, one of the students yelped at the top of her lungs.  Her battle cry was echoed by other whoop-whoops and hollers.  It began to sound like a tribal celebration of women who were ecstatic they were able to endure so many heel-kicks, step-touches, and jazz-squares.

My indignation began to wear off, as I realized I was the only one not having fun.  Everyone else was present minded, open minded, and truly joyous.  And if all it takes is a kick ball change, than I should follow suit.  So, I threw out the ego, and bounced my way through the end of the class, where I ended up with sweat dripping off my face, and a smile.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Public Speaking and Nerves

 The next time you have to speak in front of an audience, think nothing of the past and nothing of the future.  Do not worry if you forget the lines you have spent so long practicing.  Do not worry what the audience will think of you.  The only way to create synergy with your audience is if you stay connected to the present moment. Show your audience the joy you have for what you are speaking about, and you will have success.

Excerpt from "Peace Is Every Step"

The following is an excerpt from Thich Nhat Hanh's "Peace Is Every Step."

Enjoy...

Twenty-Four Brand New Hours

Every morning, when we wake up, we have twenty-four brand new hours to live.  What a precious gift!  We have the capacity to live in a way that these twenty-four hours will bring peace, joy, and happiness to ourselves and others.

Peace is present right here and now, in ourselves and in everything we do and see.  The question is whether or not we are in touch with it.  We are very good at preparing to live, but not very good at living.  We have difficulty remembering that we are alive in the present moment, the only moment there is for us to be alive.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

"I Love You"

My uncle, Keith, passed away last spring.  It was quite sudden.  He had miraculously lived into his mid 40's, although had barely been expected to make it past childhood.  Keith was born with spina bifida, a condition that caused him to be paralyzed.  He had defied all medical timelines, and his optimism and zest for life, plus his mother's amazing care, I believe, is the reason he lived such a full life.  

The thing I will remember most about Keith was that he said, "I love you" all the time. Probably twenty times a day or more to the various people he interacted with.  His mom, his sister, his nephew, his cousin, his dog, the next door neighbor, probably even the postal carrier! He and I would sit in his room, watching a baseball game, and out of the blue he would say, "I love you."  I accepted it as a kid.  (That's Keith's way, I would think.)  I probably grew slightly weary of it as a teenager.  But, as an adult, I began to realize how amazing it was to hear those three words so often.  

When my son was born, Keith constantly told him how much he loved him.  Little Jack would waddle around not really responding to Keith's affection.  He was too busy playing with toys, running around, getting in trouble... (Poor Keith, I would think.)  I think Jack's lack of understanding hurt him.  But finally when Jack was about four-years old, he told Keith that he loved him, too.  Around that same time, I noticed Jack telling me how much he loved me every day, and my husband, and our parents, and our pets!!  

Keith died shortly after that.  He will be greatly missed, but this profound lesson that he taught our family will live on for generations.  We are a family that tells each other every day that we love one another.   Thank you, Keith.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

UM, LIKE, and Other Verbal Static

How many conversations have you been privy to where all you could notice were the incessant verbal ramblings of the other speaker?

"Hi, James. How are you?"
"I am, you know. I was, like, really busy all last week, with meetings and all. Working twelve hour days… It was rough, you know what I mean?"

Pretty annoying, isn’t it? Now, turn the mirror onto your own speech patterns. I bet most people have fallen victim to language blunders at one time or another. I know I have. Hey, if you hear others doing it, chances are you may fall into similar speech patterns.

Oftentimes, we use, what I call, verbal static to bide us some time as we are coming up with the right words to say. By using words and phrases such as “um,” “like,” and “you know,” we speak in very ambling pattern, taking quite a bit of time to get to the point of our message.

“Pauses in speech (point) to thinking – not, … a lack of thinking, a gap between thoughts, some psychic tension, or embarrassment,” says linguist and author Michael Erard, in his book “UM – Slips, Stumbles, and Verbal Blunders, and What They Mean.”

So, don't beat yourself up because you said the word "like" twenty-five times today.  Instead, keep the momentum of your thoughts moving forward.  Tune in to the meaning of your speech, do not dwell on the static.  And when you get a chance, pick up a copy of Michael Erard's amusing book.  His tales of verbal blunders will entertain and also let you know we all have had our moments of slips and stumbles, no matter how eloquent we think we are.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Being Green in the Workplace

Is having an eco-conscious image an asset in the workplace? Since Al Gore’s “Inconvenient Truth” hit the big screen, we have seen a growing trend towards environmental awareness. Many companies have taken the leap into the global consciousness arena. Whether these organizations are truly concerned about our global futures, or they are jumping on a PR bandwagon is up for debate. Nevertheless, the result is a marketplace where “being green” is becoming a prerequisite for consideration as being competitive and progressive.

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) recently released the results of their Green Workplace Survey. 50% of the surveyed (US) organizations claimed to have a formal or informal environmental responsibility policy, yet 43% have no such policy and no plans to implement one within the next year.

For the companies that have implemented environmental responsibility programs:

· 44% cited improved employee morale

· 16% cited increased employee loyalty

· 42% cited stronger public image for the company

· 20% cited increased consumer/customer confidence/choice

· 19% cited a positive financial bottom line

Of the companies who found obstacles creating environmental programs:


· 85% said the difficulties were due to implementation cost

· 74% said the difficulties were due maintenance cost

· 43% stated the difficulties were because of the lack of management support

· 25% stated the difficulties were because of the lack of employee support

· 20% were concerned about workplace inefficiency

Yet, of these companies who have not put into practice any environmental efforts, 73% percent of surveyed employees thought it was very or somewhat important that their organization develop an environmental responsibility policy.

Many of the companies that have successfully implemented environmental programs have seen huge returns for their efforts. Pamela Gordon has stated in her book Lean and Green that “capitalism and environmentalism are not mutually exclusive. ‘Green’ business practices can actually help organizations save millions, even billions of dollars each year.” The book Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategies to Innovate, Create Value and Build Competitive Strategy, by Daniel C. Esty and Andrew S. Winston echoes this same principle.

Clients and consumers are coming to expect more from companies. These days where money is short and consciousness is growing, people want their dollar to go far and in the right places. Learning that a company engages in unfair trade practices, damages the environment, or is indifferent to global awareness issues is a PR pitfall, and will hurt many companies in the end. If companies go green, environmentally speaking, they will likely see more green, financially speaking.

To purchase the above-mentioned books, go to http://www.amazon.com

To purchase a full copy of SHRM survey, go to http://www.shrm.org/surveys/