Female Bands for Women’s History Month

In honor of Women’s History Month, I have compiled a list of the female fronted or all female bands that I have seen in my life. It’s hard to reach back and remember every group, but I think I have a pretty good list. I can honestly say that every single one of these acts was great! 

  • Heart 
  • Cranberries 
  • Jewel 
  • Sugarcubes 
  • 10,000 Maniacs 
  • Yeah Yeah Yeahs 
  • Evanescence 
  • No Doubt 
  • Sherryl Crow 
  • Elle King 
  • Indigo Girls 
  • Veruca Salt 

This is not a ranked list. Maybe I will do that next!

#sundaystills photo challenge: “I’d rather be…”

I have to say that I am a fortunate person, and am usually happy doing whatever I’m doing in the moment. But if I had to choose something “I’d rather be” doing, certainly performing in front of an audience is high on the list. In this case, performing in front of a GIANT picture of myself!

Join the #sundaystills challenge here

Sometimes you have to take a video

I’m a big proponent of being in the moment. I often resist the urge to take a picture or a video so I can focus on appreciating what is in front of me.

But there are times when I feel the need to record the moment and share it. After taking in the scene above, I had to take out my camera. It was just too beautiful.

From my journal

Besides having very high aspirations as a young writer, I also had an inflated belief in my abilities. I thought I was Creator level, with a capital C. Humility, and years, have brought me to understand that being a creator is a high enough calling, without believing I have to match the incomparable beauty that has been created and shared with all.

From my journal

This entry still reflects a little bit of how I feel about my creative life. I tend to hesitate as I’m planning new ventures, even though I know they will help me evolve and promote my work. I’m learning to break through, but I haven’t yet achieved the feeling of excitement and passion as I look forward to do new things.

Excerpt from Tao of Thoreau

I was going through my book looking for good passages that I will use in a philosophy unit in one of my classes. This passage stood out to me:

Thoreau

We should be blessed if we lived in the present always, and took advantage of every accident that befell us, like the grass which confesses the influence of the slightest dew that falls on it; and did not spend our time in atoning for the neglect of past opportunities.

We loiter in winter while it is already spring.

Tao

Earlier, Thoreau warned not to try to turn spring into summer; here he warns not to obsess on the past. Lao Tzu said:

Why was it that the ancients prized this Tao so much? Because it could be got by seeking for it, and the guilty could use it to escape the stain of guilt. This is the reason that all under heaven consider it a valuable thing.

Learn from mistakes and missed opportunities and apply this learning going forward.  Practice forgiving yourself, especially if you have accepted the lessons from your mistakes.

If you are interested in buying my book, click this link.

Milestones!

Five-hundred books!

I have to say, this brings me a lot of pride and joy. I’ve said before that it was a tough decision for me to self-publish. Not just because it felt like a defeat to not get accepted by a publisher, but more importantly I realized that I would have to promote the book myself.

I guess I’m doing a pretty good job!

I was thinking today about the rejection letters that I received when I submitted Tao of Thoreau for publication. Two of them were real disappointments because they expressed interest at first: I really thought the dream would come true. Due to those near successes, I held on to the idea of being published, until I finally made the decision to give it a go.

Now, I’m thinking of each of those books as an acceptance letter. And that’s a good feeling!

I think I’ve turned a mental corner about my writing. I feel more like an accomplished author every day, and the wannabee dreamer is being put behind.