Life's a Breeze: Me and My Heart

Here we are, post-Valentine's day, and all I have been doing is eating Hershey Kisses left right and center. I thought this would be an appropriate time to write again, as it has been another few weeks or so and I finally have some more ideas in my head. Basically to continue where I left off, I have been working much more often at the card shop since the "Hallmark Holiday" Valentine's day madness has been going on. Everywhere I look is red and pink (much to my dismay) and I cannot walk down one hallway of the mall without seeing lingerie several times in a row. I think the time has come now where everyone is packing all of it away, and bringing out St. Patty's day stuff. Yes that's correct, the halls have changed from pink to green.

Jack Johnson, Mango Tree Studios

Things at home are still as dandy as usual, but I have realized recently that I am spending more and more time in front of the mirror playing air guitar than playing video games. I can't help it though - I am addicted to Jack Johnson fully completely and when I listen to his music, I have to play along. This insane act of multiple personality disorder (I like to pretend that I'm singing in a band) has influenced me to follow my passion for music and re-learn an instrument. For real this time. Last year I really wanted to get back into playing the piano again, and for Christmas I was even spoiled with piano lessons from my parents. I had several lessons when eventually work began to conflict with practicing and I gave up trying to pursue it. Ever since I moved out here to Kelowna, I have rediscovered the reason that I wanted to learn the piano again in the first place. Music fuels me. It motivates me to wake up in the morning, I listen to it while I get ready, I sing in the shower, I hum while I brush my teeth, I play spoons while I eat my breakfast and I listen to my iPhone every single bus ride. Not only do I listen to music that much, but it's always the exact same artist: Jack Johnson.

Jack Johnson, Mango Tree Studios

Sadly it sounds like an obsession - which it very well could be, however his music has taught me so much since I moved out here. A few weeks before I left Winnipeg, I had picked up an old surf movie he made back when he was in college... and he did all the music for it. I eventually started to listen to all of his albums, I had them all in my music library but I only listened to one or two key songs. As boring is this may all be to read right now, I do have a punchline to the importance of his music. I enjoy really mellow, instrumental music, and before I listened to Jack I listened non-stop to Coldplay. As much as I do still enjoy their new album, courtesy of my friends at Polo Park, I have learned a lot from the tones of these particular styles. I fell in love with Jack's songs because his lyrics and themes all have to do with love and spreading it throughout the world. His sound is somewhat of a mix of Bob Marley and Jimi Hendrix. Who knew that a man and his guitar could be so powerful?

When I was on the airplane flying out here to Kelowna, all I had was butterflies in my stomach. I felt full of anxiety and fear, but then I plugged in my earphones and peacefully teared up while listening to one of Jack's songs. His lyrics of love, growth and happiness soothed me in a way I cannot explain. It inspired me to be happier and more calm. If you've ever listened to one of his hits, you know that his music is extremely calm. That's the perfect way to describe it. And when I listen to it, somehow it helps me battle all of that fear. At the end of the day, he is a good role model too, and that is essentially why I enjoy his albums. He's an environmentalist and has several charities and organizations for making the planet a better place. I think we could all learn a lesson from the person that he is. If there is some sort of rhyme or reason to life, he's figured it out. In his own words, he sings:

Love is the answer
At least for most of the questions in my heart
Like why we're here
Where do we go
And how come it's so hard

I thought that those words were subtly profound in their own way. When you think about life, why we are here and what we do with out lives... it's all based out of love. Family and friends are the most important things to me and it's important that we all share that love with our Earth. If we all planted some seeds and give back what we take, I believe that the world would be a better place. Ironically I'm not very good at doing either of those things, but this message inspires me and reminds me to do that. THAT is why I like his music.

Being out here in BC away from my comfort zone, away from my family, away from my friends (the few I may have :P ) has taught me so much about who I am, what my values in life are, and who I want to be as a human being. I think those are all very important lessons to learn, so I feel as though I have truly accomplished what I came out here to do. I understand that in life, we are always learning more about ourselves as we age and experience new things, but at least I am starting to see that now and appreciate everything that used to seem so simple. Emotionally, I feel like I have grown a lot in such a short period of time. I had to rebuild my entire life in a completely foreign place but thanks to having such supportive people in my life, I could do it. That's love. Every single person I know has been a part of helping me grow and learn more about myself. I still may have millions of more question marks floating around in my head... some of which I wonder will ever be answered... but at least I'm learning more each day. I know that in my heart, I just want to be as good of a person as I can be. I've still got a long way to go but I'm working on being better every day. I'm trying to make better choices for myself, trying to appreciate life's greatest simplicities and love the world as opposed to hating it. I'm going to make mistakes but that is my goal in life... finding happiness within.

I think finding your true passions in life is what fuels all of us in being happy. I've discovered music again, writing again, drawing again and even movie-editing again... so I'm working on all of these interests to reap as many good things out of them as I can. Yesterday I called the Centre for Arts and Technology campus here in Kelowna, and I asked them if they had any spots available for an upcoming workshop in graphic & digital media design. They said that they had quite a few spots available, and it's always pretty easy to get in. So I filled out an application and fired it off - and I am now enrolled in an Adobe Illustrator workshop! My wonderful relatives, Aunt Keren, Uncle Gianni and cousin Sophie sent me the greatest gift of all in a small card the other day... inside it read, "Take a course. <3 " To you, K, G and S: I am taking a course. :)

On Valentine's Day I was working at Hallmark and one of my first customers of the morning came up to the till. He was an older fellow who was making jokes as he payed. He was making me laugh, and then we bonded over the ridiculous cost of cards these days... (out of earshot of my boss of course. Hehe) and as he left he smiled and said to me, "I hope today you receive all of the love that you deserve, young lady." He turned and left peacefully, walking out of my life just as quickly and briefly as he walked in. That was the nicest thing that had ever been said to me on Valentine's Day. It came from a simple smile that a stranger shared. That, is truly the power of happiness.

The Grateful Fed

As one more example of how simple things can be good things, last week I was downtown picking up my paycheck from Telus... and I remembered how long it had been since I'd been out to eat anywhere. I enjoy little cafes or delis here and there... back when I was in Winnipeg I actually took myself out for lunch and went to the "Nook and Cranny" on Portage Ave. I sat at a table for one and had the best Reuben sandwich I'd ever eaten. Not only that, I had a nice, cold beer to top it off. When I moved to Kelowna, I stopped experiencing little spontaneous bits of culture like that. I took it upon myself to explore downtown a bit more since I'm now more familiar with the area, and can navigate my way home easier. As I was walking down one of the main downtown streets, I passed several different cafes and restaurants along the way. Each one looked appealing it its own, unique way; either by the way it smelled or by the menu that it had. I was looking for a place that was licensed so I could have a beer with my late-afternoon lunch, but most of these little places were restaurants and I didn't want to stick out like a sore thumb. I kept thinking in my head of styles of pubs I'd go to if I were on a vacation... what would my step-mom look for in a good restaurant to sit down for a beer? Suddenly a small patio off of the one-lane sidewalk caught my eye. It had only three or four tables out front but it still looked inviting. It was too cold to sit outside but if they had a patio, it meant that they had beer. And that's what I was looking for. Atmosphere.

Atmosphere is exactly what I got. This place had an over-hanging sign that read, "The Grateful Fed" and right away I knew this was a music place. I peeked through the glass door and saw only about 12 tables set up and ready to go inside. Some of them had couples, some of them had people sitting alone, and by looking at the florescent sign that said "Coors Light" flickering in the back behind the tables, I knew this was my kind of place. Patio? Check. Decor? Check. Licensed? Check. But the biggest winner of them all... was the menu. This was no ordinary pub - I was so overwhelmed I can't even remember some of the elaborate menu choices but everything looked quite exotic compared to your usual chicken fingers and fries. I walked inside and the smell was unbelievable of fresh cooked food. Behind the bar near the back, was a dainty looking kitchen window with a ledge for the cooks to put the food on when it was done. Beside the full, bountiful looking plates of food was a small, retro service bell. I looked and through the window saw only 2 cooks, both properly dressed in chef uniform and clean cut. They were chopping up fresh vegetables and cooking things over a stove. I was impressed. This place had true credentials.

The Grateful Fed

In the background I heard Beatles music playing, and the walls were decorated in soft-old-school rock posters of artists like Lou Reed, John Lennon, Grateful Dead, U2, BB King, etc. The tables had concert tickets from real shows scattered below a piece of plexiglass to hold them in place. The owner of this joint must be an avid music lover. (No kidding.) I heard two male voices coming from the bar so I looked up and saw an older, Italian looking guy with a rag over his left shoulder, leaning over the bar and chatting to a customer. Just by the way he looked and spoke, I could tell he was the owner. One of the local hockey players from the Kelowna Rockets came in after me, and the owner came out from behind the bar and sat down to chat with him at one of the tables. I picked a seat kind of flat right in the middle of the whole place - and when I say "whole place", I mean out of the 12 tables. It was such a small little pub but at the same time was comforting and peaceful. The one waitress that they had came up to me and told me the daily special: rotini done up in a light, freshly made white cheese pasta sauce (I can't remember what type of sauce it was, and for that I am filled with regret) and fresh grilled salmon with herbs scattered overtop. I cannot describe this meal. It was $12.00 for a giant plate of the best pasta I'd ever consumed in my entire life. That's not true, my step-mom whips up a damn good pasta, but coming from a small hole-in-the-wall pub, this was absolutely mind blowing. The food was incredible, the service was great and the atmosphere was amazing. I asked the waitress if they ever had live music and she said they do 3 times a week, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. I am picking this to be my official tour spot if any one of you ever comes to visit me out here.

So all in all, just another example of how good things can be sometimes. It was a totally spontaneous event, I never planned on going out to eat for the first time in months when I was going downtown to get my cheque, but it all worked out perfectly and I had an experience I will remember for the rest of my life because of it. There you go. Do something spontaneous.

If there was any true reason for me to be sharing all of this with you today, that would be that hopefully you'll find some inspiration in your life with it, too. Smile at someone today, hold the door open for someone today. Give your seat up on the bus for someone today if you take the bus. Serve somebody else before you serve yourself. If each of us did this every single day, maybe we still would not see a difference in the world... but maybe we'll see a difference in ourselves. :)

Spread the love today. No, I'm not just saying that. I mean it.

Be good as my favorite humanitarian, Paul Walker, would say. Here's a video of his disaster relief foundation, Reach Out Worldwide, as they celebrate their second anniversary. It's an extremely touching video.