A Bigger Pot to........ Do 'Whatever' In :)

Ladies and gentlemen, meet Maggie: 

I took this picture of Maggie shortly after she came to live
with me following her brief stay at a C-Town Grocery store.  She arrived with no
name.  How sad!  SO, I decided to call her after the one and only Dame Maggie
Smith.  Like me, she seems to enjoy filtered water as opposed to tap, sunshine
in moderate doses, and a Classical Lounge Pandora station (when I’m not humming
along to show tunes).  Throughout my daily routines, my mini-adventures, my
short term goals, long terms goals, highs and lows, I’ve continued to nurture
and care for Maggie as best I could.  There were days she was thriving, perked
up, glowing with green.  And of course there were days when her leaves were a
little more limp and yellow than I would have liked.  Then, roughly 3 or 4
months ago, something started to go slightly amiss with Maggie.  Some of her
leaves began to fall, the ends of a couple of them turned a little black, and
her height appeared to have become stunted.  I wondered, could it be growing
pains?  And I suddenly realized that throughout all of her many phases
throughout the year, I had hardly noticed how… tall she’d gotten!  How many more
stems and leaves had formed since her first arrival all those moons ago!  I
decided to give baby girl a bigger pot and some fresh soil so that her roots
had more room to breathe and stretch. 

Here is Maggie today…

If you haven’t been beaten over the head too hard with the above analogy, I
would like to assure you that I have no intention of going through the multitude
of events and stories that made 2013 what it was for me.  It would take too much
time and energy away from what I have already started to put into 2014.  But as
it was a year of tremendous growth, I feel that some attention must be paid to
the lessons that I learned and the people that came into my life, because they
were simply marvelous. 


Lesson 1

* As long as you keep trying, you haven’t failed. 

On January 10th, 2014, I will celebrate my 1 year anniversary of no smoking.  It was a long haul, lots of slips, lots of Skittles.  But once I switched chiding myself into positive thinking, and grasped the idea that getting back up after each slip was a victory in and of
itself, I found the power and the strength to not give up.  Go.  Me. 


  Lesson 2

* The universe gives you what you put into it.

 This concept has to do with energy; mental, physical, spiritual.  What am I
putting out there?  What am I giving?  And whatever it is, it usually coincides
with what I get in return.  Any time I was negative or cynical this year, I felt
as if I were in danger of becoming one of those old women on the subway covered
head to toe in yarn garments they made themselves shoeing children out of the
way with their copies of The New Yorker (women who are probably only
about 40 except that bitterness has aged them overnight like a pear).  AND, I
remained stagnant and unfulfilled for however long or short that period of time
lasted.  If I was (AM) positive and kind, if I sought out or manifested my own
opportunities, if I took the time to smell the roses and sing and Skype more
often with friends and family and obey a newly established rule of not doing
anything work related while I enjoyed a hot meal, then… then what?  Well, then I
was calm.  I was warm.  I was grateful.  AND… I was busy; either with work that
I genuinely enjoyed doing and was proud of, or with spending time exploring and
sharing time with people that I loved.  ‘Well how in the hell were you able to
be more positive and kind?’  you may now be asking yourself.  ‘Was it random? 
Was it vodka?  Was it medication?’  Which brings me to the greatest lesson I
learned in 2013.…


*Surround yourself with what will help you grow. 

This includes, but is not limited to…

People:  1) Those in your field who know more than you do, who can help you
get what you want through their own lessons and advice, who are generous and
kind and inspire you to be better at what you do.  2)  Friends whom you have
enjoyed cheering for, who love cheering for you back; who will talk you down
from the ledge with a hug or a heartfelt laugh or LOVINGLY shake their head at
you when you respond to their question of “What specifically concerns you about
this, why are you worried?”  with a frantic and defeated “Because…. because…
because that’s what I do!”  (I’m looking at YOU, Candillari) 
Health:  Some days, it's all you've "still got." Eating well and a few power walks go a
long way.
Inspiration:  Different people will find this in different things.  I myself have enjoyed
things like going to more theatre, reading, cooking new things, meditating, exploring, and
studying French on the subway. 


I attended a holiday party this year hosted by a dear dear friend of mine,
and I met this lovely horn player who arrived late because he had just finished
subbing for a performance of Phantom of the Opera.  We got onto the subject of
the music biz versus the acting biz, and eventually day jobs.  He recalled with a
charming roll of the eyes his 3 year stint at a retail store.  These days, he seems to
be busy as a bee musically speaking, but his years on the loading dock were still fresh
in his memory.  To no one in particular, he mused “You have to be at your
best all of the time, you have to be persistent, and you have to be kind.  If you
consistently try to be all of those 3 things, doors can’t help but begin opening
up.”   We were talking about careers, but I think that idea applies to life too. 
 Thank you to everyone who made 2013 a very special, productive, and eye-opening
year.  Perhaps next year Maggie will once again need a larger pot in which to
grow.