All In A Day's...Magic

Some days, more than others, give us notice of the beauty of life...and the price of admission. Monday was such a day for me, giving cause for celebration all week.

As a singer, my body is the instrument and my mouth, of course, a most important part. To make sure I knew as much as I could about this instrument and how to keep it honed for a lifetime, I studied for over three years with Professor Bonnie Kirk from the Brooklyn Academy of Music, also a member of the New York City Opera Company. It was a great investment that paid back handsomely in better knowledge and control over the living musical instrument I wanted to have for a lifetime.

Last Friday I found three small growths under my tongue.

I made a Monday appointment with my doctor and spent my weekend, as you can imagine, thinking all kinds of things while trying to think of nothing. In my mind's eye I kept seeing Willie Nelson's old Martin guitar...yeah the beat-up acoustic you've seen at every one of his performances. It's got holes, dents and scratches...but it still sings.

In the middle of the whirlwind that is living, the "what ifs" pulled me to my centre of stored survival skills, gratitude. How grateful I am for this human experience in a world of beauty, and grateful for the love and support of my family. There was no need for chewing-of-the-scenery drama, just the quiet holding of my blessings to help me wait.

"It's not Cancer," is a melodious phrase on a Monday afternoon. My doctor laughed as I engulfed him in a big Mama Mayhem hug, all decorum forgotten! Outside his office, the natural Pacific Northwest beauty I love so much seemed to light-up and shower me with the wealth of just BEING. I drove home to Home with the guardian trees on each side of the road waving at the parade...not knowing even more magic was afoot!

A little orange slip of paper in my mailbox told me that a package was waiting for me, down at the post office, and my heart jumped, knowing what it was. A young woman in Alaska had been working on a piece of artwork for three months, as a gift for me. Coming with love from a friend, it arrived the day it needed to...whichever way the news went down at the doc's office. That's the magic I choose to see in this life. That's the love and spirit I delight in sharing.

I had no idea just how gobsmackingly amazing this pen and ink of Anna and me would be! The artist wishes to remain anonymous and does not sell her work but I am allowed to show you the magic of a piece called "Across the Universe Between Mother & Daughter." (I apologize for webcam shots.)

It's a coin-toss, what we will or won't have to struggle with, in this life but the choice of our view? That's our own personal magic to draw upon.