One Thing Leads to Another

#1 - I went to a restorative yoga class (all relaxation no work) last Sunday. It was during the superbowl so there were only four of us in class, and at first I was the only person there so the instructor said, "Tammy do you want to try something fun tonight?"

"Of course."

Anyway, I've seen many photos on calendars/magazines of people doing impressive things in yoga. If I were on one of these, this is the pose I would want, impressive relaxation. It felt awesome. And since I don't have a magazine I will publish it here.

#2 - Hearing a voicemail of my cousin singing Happy Birthday (not to me) and really enjoying it. She has some real entertainment skills, that song usually is a bit grating to me.

#3 - I went to bed last night in sweatpants, a sweatshirt, a hood, my regular blankets and a sleeping bag on because I was coming down with something and just couldn't get warm. At some point in the night I took off the sleeping bag and at a later point no longer needed my hood.

#4 - I also could barely swallow during the night my throat felt so swollen, today it is slightly sore but nothing like it was.

#5 - I spent New Year's Eve in Nashville, TN. It was a trip only planned a few weeks before that. During a quiet evening alone at home I realized that it wasn't that I needed to do something different this New Year's Eve, but rather to besomewhere different. Then I started scrolling through friends I could visit and when I thought of a friend in Nashville I felt a deep feeling of peace. It was a crazy thought, but it felt right. I didn't look up airfare until the next day as I suspected it would deplete the peace I felt, and it did. But I couldn't let it go, so I emailed the friend in the hope she wouldn't even be in town and I could forget about it. However she not only was going to be in town, she didn't have plans and really wanted me to come.

So I bought a ticket and picked up a Nashville guidebook from the library. When I read the post for The Bluebird Cafe I immediately had the impulse to play there. It is inexplicable as I have never felt this before. I asked my friend if she had someone she could borrow a guitar from (using the excuse that I wanted to play her my songs, which was also true) and the next thing I know she had one. The Bluebird Cafe is a "listening room" so people aren't talking and it is only for singer/songwriters. Both of which helped me, plus the fact it seemed easier to do in a strange city where I could leave the whole thing behind. It is a popular place to play so you often don't get a chance the first time my friend warned me as we headed over there. "That's fine, I can at least say I tried." I responded.

So we lined up, but my name in a basket and they started drawing. The MC said they typically get through 35 people a night. So he is reading off the names #1..., #2...., #3..., #18..., #19..., #30...#31 - Tammy..(it's me I'm in.)

The remarkable thing is I wasn't nervous, which I realized after listening to some Eckhart Tolle, was because I wasn't thinking. I was just there listening, enjoying the other performers, occasionally wondering how I would tune the guitar, but then letting the thought go. My friend told me afterwards she took a photo, but I only saw it for the first time this week and I don't even recognize the person there. She looks so natural, like she does this all the time. Which I obviously don't, and in fact may or may not ever do it again, but once agin like #1, I'm grateful for the forum to share this story and for doing things outside your normal realm if/when
it feels right.

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