Today was one of those days during which I was immensely grateful for full sensory living. I awoke to the sun streaming in my bedroom window, stretching into the morning. Cheerios and strawberries drenched in soy milk for breakfast. Had a bit of a headache and the gratitude piece about that occurred when an hour later,  I notice it had dissipated. I had a skype session with a coaching client and found joy in her rockin’ and rollin’ on her goals that we had set a few weeks ago. A short while later, I was enroute to the counseling center where I work with clients who are facing addiction issues; having some paperwork to catch up on. Music was streaming from the radio and I sang along enthusiastically. I spent a frustrating, but then ultimately rewarding 20-some minutes on the phone with an insurance company, getting services authorized for one of my clients. Anyone who deals with managed care knows exactly what I’m talking about. Then off to lunch and a meeting with a long time dear friend named Bill Bloom. A bit of cool trivia…Bill is one of the songwriters of a classic from the 1980’s called Double Dutch Bus.

From Wikipedia:

“The song title represents a combination of two institutions in Smith’s Philadelphia, PA neighborhood: the Double Dutch jumprope game played by neighborhood kids; and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) bus system that was a backbone of the local transportation network (and for which Smith had unsuccessfully applied for a bus driving position; the Transpass referred to in the song is an actual SEPTA monthly fare pass).

Smith and co-writer  Bill Bloom  persuaded contacts at WMOT Records to finance the song, and it was recorded in early 1981, engineered by Gene Leone. The song rocketed to popularity in a matter of weeks and debuted on the US Billboard Hot Soul Singles Chart in February, rising to the top spot by July, where it held at number one for eight weeks. It also crossed over to the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at number 30 in the summer of 1981.”

Bill  (also an interfaith minister) and I had gotten together over steaming bowls of squash soup, corn bread and gingerbread to talk about my being a guest minister at his church in February. He wanted me to get a sense of the nature of this inclusive congregation and go over some potential topics and music to incorporate. Although we have known each other since the 1980’s this is the lengthiest conversation we have ever had. Barbra Streisand music was wafting through the air as we shared stories about our  families.  He has just become a grandfather and he was beaming about that. We also laughed heartily at our ‘middle aged moments’ that had us acknowledging retrieval problems with information that would have been right up front of our minds a decade earlier.

On my way home, I stopped at Trader Joe’s to pick up a few things and as I was checking out, I noticed an amazing aroma hanging around the counter. When I asked what it was, the woman at the register pulled out a container of coconut body butter and slathered a sample on my hand. As I rubbed it in, I knew it had to come home with me, so I treated myself to it. Even now, more than 5 hours later, I can still breathe in the lovely scent and my dry hands are smiling.

Another delight, came in the form of picking up a copy or Origin Magazine and seeing myself included in a section about community leaders being inspired by the world  around them How cool is THAT to be in the same publication as Jane Fonda, Richard Branson, Erykah Badu, Russell Simmons, Deva Premal and Miten, as well as a host of other amazing yoga teachers, speakers, writers, entrepreneurs and conscious creatives? Pretty cool. I’m honored to be among them.

Settling down for the night, sipping a cup of chai and writing to you, aware of being surrounded by beauty.

Ahhh~

http://youtu.be/fK9hK82r-AM Double Dutch Bus