Summer Day, Evening Breeze

I love sitting outdoors at night.  The crickets, the traffic in the distance, the sound of the breeze as it gently fondles the trees. Even when it's stifling hot every day (like currently), something about the evening is so incredibly soothing. As if the universe is saying, "yeah, I was a bit harsh today, but here's your reprieve for making it through." It soothes the soul.

Many people don't seem to see those bones the universe throws us. Those moments of cool breeze on a hot day, or bursts of sunshine on a stormy one. They feel the sweltering heat, or notice the rain and storm clouds, but when it momentarily passes, they're too focused on the previous to realize the present.

Each minute of every day has its positive and negative, its trials and accomplishments, its fantastic and its annoying. In my mind, it is much like remembering those who have passed, we're more likely to focus on the good times than the horrible ones. So it goes with the minutes of each day. If the moment is behind us, it's essentially dead and unchangeable, why reflect upon it as a bad one?

I'm going to sit on my patio, dog at my feet, and relax to the sound of the crickets singing in the slight breeze. Life is good if you simply choose to view it that way!

~ The Girl In The Little Black Dress

The Figurative and Literal Glitter of Rocky

The end of anything in life is a time of reflection. From jobs, to relationships, to school, to life experiences, it causes us to look back and reminisce, gain new insight, and, if we're lucky, gain additional insight into ourselves from that which we've now left behind. If we're really fortunate, we're able to look forward and see not only new possibilities born out of those lessons we garnered, but also to bring new friendships and newly learned talents and outlooks with us into our futures that stem directly from what's now over and done with.

Recently, I choreographed a local version of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show". When I began this endeavor back in February, I was extremely excited about choreographing the show, but a bit nervous about the level of undertaking. If you've never seen "Rocky Horror", it's quite a large musical that employs a rather small cast. Lots of innuendo, lots of glitter, multiple characters that strongly develop from one extreme to the other, and a hard core dose of crazy. Kind of a sci-fi "Romeo and Juliette" meets "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" melded with a warped "Wizard of Oz". Intensely fun, but as a choreographer, daunting on a number of levels. I can honestly say that my fears were unfounded.

From day one of auditions, the director and I had shared visions of what the show should look like. From week one of rehearsals, the cast jelled like no other I've ever worked with. Even when bumps in the road occurred, everyone supported each other and picked up any slack. No matter whether it was rehearsals or shows or times in between, this group of individuals not only brought their talent to the table, but also their open mindedness and compassion on all fronts. I feel so incredibly fortunate to have been a part of this show experience.

So what did I learn? What did I take away? It's not only the choreography & its execution that I'm proud of regarding this show. I learned that leaning on the people around you every day when life gets rough, even if they're still new friends, is a positive thing. I learned that letting go and simply enjoying the exact moment that you're in brings incredible joy. Practically, I even re-learned to run a light board and realized that dabbling in set design is a really fun thing! Most importantly, I gained a group of friends that are some of the most giving, talented, incredible individuals that I've ever had the good fortune to work with.

Our run of "Rocky Horror" finished this past weekend, and while I hate to let go of what has been an amazing ride, I look forward to life knowing these new people I've grown to adore, and the new positive life outlooks I've learned because of them and this experience. I now move forward in my own life, a better, more glittery person for the experience.

"And crawling, on the planet's face, some insects called the human race. Lost in time, lost in space .. and meaning." - Narrator, The Rocky Horror Picture Show

~ The Girl In The Little Black Dress

Waiting For Sunrise

"It's always darkest before the dawn."  I've always been drawn to that phrase. It gives me hope whenever things seem negative and hopeless in life. As if no matter how dark or depressing anything feels, the experience is there for the purpose of allowing me to appreciate the beauty of the more positive things that are sure to follow it. Sometimes, though, our periods of darkness in life can be so pitch black, and seem to last so long, that it becomes increasingly difficult to remember that a period of light is sure to follow.

Everyone deals with tough times differently. Some bury themselves in work or hobbies, some isolate themselves in misery to shut out the world, some become any and every crazy version of social simply to numb the pain, some even lash out at absolutely everything and everyone in a vain attempt to destroy the painful world they feel is surrounding them. The unfortunate fact is, no matter what anyone does, the only thing that will break through the darkness and alleviate the pain, is Time. It takes time for situations to run their course, time for darkness to fade into light, time for emotions to calm into peacefulness, time for storms to subside. The world doesn't stop revolving for anyone's heartache or hardships, but even that stark fact can bring hope, as it means that the sun will always rise again. All of it simply takes time, and no amount of seeking vengeance, or angry outbursts, or even burying one's head in the sand in an effort to ignore or hide, will make things right again any faster. Honestly, none of us feels like playing Pollyanna during difficult times in our lives, but are the repercussions of self-destruction, or the accidental collateral damages, worth the possible additional angst?

I honestly believe that we are all on this earth to learn positive lessons, and that each life is meant to learn specific ones. As humans, we, many times, only seem to pay attention and truly learn life's lessons when the universe unceremoniously smacks us down with them. Maybe that's why it's always darkest before dawn. To truly learn something new, and to appreciate it and the wonderful things that already surround us that we may not have noticed previously, we have to proceed blindly forward for a while. It doesn't mean that we don't fight to get through the tough times, the point, I suppose, is to make yourself keep moving forward.

I'll leave you with my favorite quote (from the immortal Dr Seuss) to mull over ... just in case you need to borrow it for a dark time in life.  "I've heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead, some come from behind. But I've bought a big bat! I'm all ready, you see. Now my troubles are going to have trouble with me!"

~ The Girl In The Little Black Dress