Recently I had the opportunity to see an evening of remarkable dance, called “Change: A Contemporary Dance Concert,” at Central Connecticut State University. Its powerful title performance illustrated a variety of social issues through the medium of movement. Written by The Allman Brothers’ drummer, Jaimoe, and members of Jaimoe’s Jasssz Band, and choreographed by Catherine Fellows, Dance Director of CCSU and Artistic Director of “Change,” it electrified the audience with its emotional weaving of the dark and light aspects of humanity.
George Herrick
Relationships
This is a reprint from my newsletter from 2005:
A healthy relationship with a significant other (spouse, partner, boy- or girlfriend) can only become as strong and nurturing as your love for yourself (love your neighbor as you love yourself). So that is the first relationship to nurture.
Each of us must grow and develop as an individual, taking responsibility for our own well-being. If we seek fulfillment from another, we overstrain the relationship and set up disappointment, rejection and resentment. The Jerry McGuire line, “You complete me,” makes great romance in film but is a set-up for stress or even failure in a relationship. Ironically, the more we take care of ourselves, the more complete we feel in relationship to a loved one.
CREATING YOUR LIFE AS YOU WANT IT
Many years ago I first heard the phrase “What we are is God’s gift to us; what we make of ourselves is our gift to God.” We are the creators of our how we live the life we’re given – arguably not the things that happen to us, but how we perceive and respond to those things.
I have met many people who don’t think they are creative, but I have never met anyone who actually is not creative. We are all creative. Creativity takes as many forms as the imagination can conjure, and each person, group or entity has their own “thing” to create, and their own way of expressing or manifesting that “thing.” It is our nature, a part of our DNA. Many say it’s a part of our divinity.
Thoughts on the Journey…
Yesterday I passed another milestone in this journey of life, another birthday. It wasn’t one of those major ones that call for a lot of hoopla and celebration, but none-the-less it’s worthy of acknowledgement. I mean let’s face it, when it’s fully engaged life is a risky business, and so the markers of its successful navigation deserve at least a nod.
I am not living the life I anticipated in my teens and twenties, and for that I’m grateful (it’s a long story, but summing up, I was on the fast track to self-destruction and didn’t have much of a grip on the controls). And not every dream has come true. But I am living the life I created and attracted, consciously and unconsciously, and it’s a good life. There have been plenty of tough times and there will be more, but it’s a good life.
HOW TO TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE
There are things in all of our lives that we want to change – from inner patterns to careers to relationships to wealth. Some changes may seem minor and some may seem huge, but change, or transformation, follows a certain process regardless of how big or small, challenging or easy.