Just a wee one. 🙂 This was how I spent my New Year’s Eve. Hope you like it!
Firespinning has been one of my favorite things since I started learning how in late 2004. New Year’s Eve 2013 was the 9th anniversary of the first time I ever got to do it (after many weeks of obsessive practice and safety training). Here’s to rocking and rolling with things that scare us a little, in this wild and wonderful circus called life!
Happy New Year, everybody!
Thank you, as always, for being part of the journey with me.
I am honored to be part of your journey as well; never doubt it!
Something I’m working on keeping in mind for this new year, as I navigate my own ever-unfolding story, is that everyone else I meet is also a main character. We’ve all got a story. Nobody’s just a sidekick, or just a certain archetype who fills out the plot. It’s hard work to remember that, and nobody’s perfect. But I try to keep respect and kindness and awareness in mind and in practice, and there are days when I get it right. 🙂
I keep you all in my heart, and I hope that you really have a great time with the chapter of your story that’s titled “2014”. Here’s to that.
No really. How about some eighty free songs from my friends and me? Note: this link will be up for a couple of months! Feel free to share it with others. For real. Please do pretend it’s the best day of Kindergarten ever and share as much as you can stand it!
And how about another free new song from me, for winter time and all the best bits?
Download for free right here. Hope you enjoy it. Hope it warms you from the inside out. 🙂
I got to hear some of my very best friends in the world perform last night, for the first time since May. They absolutely killed it. In spite of unfamiliar surroundings and a crowd that didn’t know their music yet, together with the general atmosphere that bars tend to have (even really nifty bars are still bars), I thought their performance was top notch. After the concert, though, I heard from more than one of the band members that things had been really rough for them up there. They hadn’t been feeling the magic. It was a rough night.
I am here to tell you that Nobody Noticed A Thing.
This prompts me to say something. Because I’ve been there. Plenty of times. I’ve gotten off stage at the end of a show and thought to myself, “well, that was crap.” However, hot on the heels of this thought, all sorts of people, both strangers and friends, come up to me right away to tell me how great I sounded, and how much fun they had.
Here’s why that matters.
No matter what your inner judges are telling you, I would advise you to Listen when people who Love What You Do are telling you that you did a good job. Don’t let it go to your head, but DO believe them. And say thank you. And mean it.
It’s won’t be easy. I don’t know why it’s so hard to accept compliments for so many of us. But getting up on stage, being the center of attention, and sharing your truth isn’t easy, either.
For some of us, it feels easy. It feels natural. We can certainly make it Look easy. But truly? It’s not. It takes a ton of work- physical and mental. Every single one of us has an off night from time to time.
And you know what? People still love us, and still take the time to say so.
In summary, two things: One, yes, you rock. Two, thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Laddies and Gentlebabes, it is with GREAT joy this morning that I present Wonders the CD, available now for ordering right here! It’s still free to listen on my download page– you can also read the lyrics and the full credits there for each song- and now you can order the huggable version. Hope you like it! We worked hard, my brilliant artist friends, my brilliant recording buddies and me, to make it gorgeous inside and out.
This week I got a present in the mail from one of my stolen brothers. (I have no blood brothers of my own, so I have to steal them from other people.) It’s his newest creation: a slim volume of fantasy stories called Wyldsight.
Now, I am already a folklore and fantasy junkie. And he knows this. What he didn’t know was that I would devour this collection in less than a day, be brought to laughter and to tension by the words on its pages, and decide immediately that this little book, which holds so much more wisdom and awesomeness than its slimness implies, shall be required reading from now on for people I really want to have in my life until the end.
Brodie LeBlanc says, “I’d personally like to know if there are particular deities (and which ones) you are connected with.”
All right, I’m not gonna hold back. The first deity who comes to mind for me is Baubo.
I first “met” Baubo within the pages of Women Who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes.
For me, Baubo is the goddess of the belly laugh, of bawdy jokes, and of feeling comfortable in your own skin.
Estes illustrates her beautifully in this way. I recommend that book for anyone who loves folklore, as well as anyone who wants to deepen their understanding of their wild side, regardless of gender.
Baubo’s origins are murky. Any girl’s story suffers from gossip and hearsay, especially when her story lasts a long time. Baubo’s story is one of the oldest. She may be the first Sacred Fool that we have. We think that she predates the Greek myths entirely. She makes her own appearance in them, in the Eleusinian Mysteries, saving Demeter from her own grief with a little bit of bawdy honesty. She also appears in the Egyptian pantheon, in the story of Isis and Osiris, again as a fearless, honest, and strong balm for grief- she lifts her skirt and makes Isis laugh again. The same thing happens in the story of Amaterasu and Uzume. 🙂
I’ll be live on the Pagan Variety Show this evening at 9pm CST. Everyone’s welcome to listen and call in. The show will be broadcasting here.
WinterPocalypse was much more gentle with us out here in the woods than we feared it would be. The power stayed on, and the ice stayed mild. Our hard-working relatives and friends still had to drive in to work on the icy roads, though, as I’m sure most of you did as well. I hope that you’re all safe and sound, and that you continue to be so.
I’m gonna try to say this next thing without being cheesy or pedantic. Here goes.
As you scramble to get all of your Yuletide chores squared away, presents bought and wrapped, parties hosted and cleaned up after, remember that we’re all in this together. Try your best to be kind to everyone you meet, and patient with those you’re working with. Again: we’re all in this together. Whether we’re standing behind a counter or in front of it, we’re all part of the same Holiday Season. The weather, the stress, and the joy touches all of us. All of us.
Be as kind as you can. Even when you’re tired, even when others are too tired to be kind to you. I hope that the results will surprise and delight you. I hope that it’s easier than you think. 😉 <3
The perfect topic for a snow day, sez I. I’ve started up a discussion over on Facebook about which mythical creatures captivate us most, and why. Feel free to chime in with your own comment.
The Wondrous Celtic Velocipede Tour has come to an end! All parties are done for the year and safely home. I will post some recap and gratitude soon. Everyone please be extra careful in this winter weather, wherever you are! The ice has arrived at my house. There’s a chance we’ll lose power out here in the woods, so the Wizard and I may be rockin’ it old school in historic ways over the weekend. Yay for firewood and snuggles!
Heather Dale and I got a mention in the Philadelphia Inquirer, thanks to PhilCon and to our perceptive fan/friend Lynati, who told staff writer Julie Zauzman, “you should be interviewing THESE two ladies!”
THE TOUR: I have been (voluntarily) kidnapped by (really awesome) Canadians and stuffed into their (relatively comfy) car. They tell me that I’ll be (happily) playing bass, playing guitar, playing djembe, and singing with them for the rest of this month, across two provinces and ten states! Below is the list of dates and cities where you can catch us all, and I hope you will. Get ticket info and locations on my tour page.
TONIGHT Nov 11: Troy, NY
Tuesday Nov 12: Kingston, Ontario
Wednesday Nov 13: Toronto, Ontario
Thursday Nov 14: Belleville, Michigan (local to Detroit and Ann Arbor)
Friday Nov 15: Chicago, IL
Saturday Nov 16: Madison, WI
Monday Nov 18: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Tuesday Nov 19: Minneapolis, MN
Thursday Nov 21: Lincoln, Nebraska
Friday Nov 22: Denver, CO
Saturday Nov 23: Denver, CO again!
Monday Nov 25: Kansas City, KS
Tuesday Nov 26: St. Louis, MO
Saturday Nov 30: Mt. Joy, PA
Sunday Dec 1: Fredericksburg, VA