Come on! Sing along in your head ... this simple, wonderful, glorious little ditty......

I think I'm going to make it my song of the WEEKEND as I head to a cabin in Wisconsin, the e>v e-guide in tow.... Freedom, here I COME!!!

-Elissa



If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out
by Cat Stevens

Well, if you want to sing out, sing out
And if you want to be free, be free
cause theres a million things to be
You know that there are

And if you want to live high, live high
And if you want to live low, live low
cause theres a million ways to go
You know that there are

Chorus:
You can do what you want
The opportunitys on
And if you can find a new way
You can do it today
You can make it all true
And you can make it undo
You see ah ah ah
Its easy ah ah ah
You only need to know

Well if you want to say yes, say yes
And if you want to say no, say no
cause theres a million ways to go
You know that there are

And if you want to be me, be me
And if you want to be you, be you
cause theres a million things to do
You know that there are

Chorus
Well, if you want to sing out, sing out
And if you want to be free, be free
cause theres a million things to be
You know that there are
You know that there are
You know that there are
You know that there are
You know that there are

Thanks to Michael Bungay Stanier's The Great Work Blog today for this bit of hilarity that plays very well with our celebration mantra this month.

He writes:

I love this video clip, 71 seconds of over-the-top-ness that really gets to the heart of what it means to celebrate.

I particularly like the last 10 seconds, when you see what the score is.

We ask:

When did you last shake your booty/celebrate madly with such gusto?

Hey all! 

Gretchen here, writing to you live from the hotel bathroom floor where I'm holed up while my travel partners sleep.

So this weekend has found Elissa and I in Chicago where we met up with another great friend and have lived some evolution through vacation of our own (the original version, if you will, on a trip to take in Great Big Sea).

It's been perfect--magical and mystifying, expansive and contracted, bold and withdrawn. A gathering of contrasts. Contrasts explored with two of the best friends a girl could ask for.

The Great Big Sea shows themselves = fantastic. Truly, if you have not seen this band, go! Talented musicians all, they are commanding on stage. Fun and engaging, these are not shows to be seen so much as experienced. These two shows at the House of Blues brought out the die-hards from around the country and Canada and made for a very crowded floor where there turned out to be just enough room for vertical movement (which was brilliant for my sprained ankle, earned after a tumble down my icy Minneapolis front steps). 

There were times, though, when space opened up and the crowd faded away and I got my groove on. What I love so much about dancing is that it gets me out of my head (where I spend an inordinate amount of time) and into the rest of my body to experience the music. I used to play instruments, all of which I have left behind. What I remember so distinctly about playing is a zone I would enter when I stepped inside a song. It's a space of flow where doing (causing the instruments to make noise) emanated from being (the connection to the song). Dancing brings me to this space, too. And as someone who lives a lot in their head, it's a welcome shift.

It's been a grand adventure so far. And, as I hear stirring in the other room, I'm reminded we have another day yet to explore before our planes take off this evening. So, off the bathroom floor and out into the city...