Johnny Cash....Walking the Line

Joaquim Phoenix is playing Johnny Cash in the now released "Walk the Line." I havent' seen it yet but I will. Apparently the portrayal of Cash by Phoenix is pretty good. His counterpart in the show, Reese Witherspoon, plays the love of Cash's life, June Carter.
So, what's the buzz about? Why is Cash such an icon so many years after his first performance at the Grand Ole Opry?
By the way today, November 28, in 1925 was the first day the the Grand Ole Opry began broadcasting.
Cash lived a great life, full of highs and lows. He was born into an extremely poor family short on cash and long on love. The kids had to work at an early age. Cash was picking cotton by the time he was eight. He began to play guitar in his late teens.
Cash was not afraid to work hard, and play hard, at his craft.
He toured, and played, with many icons including Elvis.
Pressure took it's toll, as it is wont to do, and Cash's first marriage collapsed.
Losing a very close friend was the final straw for Johnny Cash and he soon spiraled into a life of drugs, alcohol and self abuse.
June Carter was his saving grace. She was the rock behind the "man in black." She was the tireless advocate for Johnny Cash when he couldn't be his own advocate.June Carter's devotion to her husband Cash was his saving grace. Up to the final days together, Cash and Carter, were a tour de force in the music industry.
Carter and Cash would not let the face of addiction and fear stop them from living their dreams.
Even at the final months of his life, after Cash was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, he continued to work at his craft.
Since I have personally been mis-diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, I understand intimately how difficult it is to live a fearless life knowing your faculties will become debilitated. I see it every time I see one of my PD friends.
Johnny Cash would not let the fear of the known, and the unknown, stop him from his life's work.
Do you? Do you have a dream that you have not put into action? Do you want to dream your dreams higher? Why aren't you?
I can promise you this, if you begin to set yourSELF on it's proper path, you will never look back.
Working with a coach will set you into motion to put those dreams back into play....
The work will be messy, it will be hard, it will be exhilerating and...I promise you....you will never be the same again.
Living la vida fearless, Jan
www.tobeyourbest.net

It's Grey Cup weekend. Tailgate parties, lots of celebrating, family and friends joining together to watch the big game....
Traditions are such wonderful events for some people.
Thanksgiving has just come and gone, Christmas is fast upon us.
What traditions do you hold dear? Do you get a Christmas tree that's fresh from the bush, do you put up an artificial one, do you put one up at all?
I heard today that the city of Boston was considering changing the name of the tree they get from Halifax, Nova Scotia every year to A "Holiday Tree" instead of a "Christmas Tree." The tree farmer was very insulted and said a Christmas tree is a Christmas tree...any other time of the year it's just a tree, but, tradition is tradition. What are your thoughts on this?
What traditions do you hold onto, what ones don't you like and what ones have you started on your own?
Living la vida fearless, Jan

Oh the places you'll go
And the wonders you'll see
Won't be half as much fun
As the things you could be....

You could be a this
You might be a that
You may even, my gosh,
Be the Cat in the Hat....

But what's this I'm seeing
Are you shedding a tear
Tell my why you have water
All over your ears...

What set that off
Is the question my dear
You can't be a anything
Til you've faced all your fears....

Your mom or you dad
or the bilbobigman
Told you you couldn't
But I say you can

Oh yes you can
my little friend
From the start to the middle
and Up to the end....

But....you have to quit fearing
and wondering if
The top of the mountain isn't always a cliff...

Her'e how to do it
I'll give you the plan
Take one step and one breath
And then you've began....

The road will be twisty
and bumpy and curvy
You'll fall on your face
You'lll tip topsy turvy

People will tell you
that's never been done
Kepp quitting those fears
and laugh when you've won.....

One step and one breath
Keep quitting those fears
and when it's all over
You'll have lived all your years......

Living la vida fearless, Jan

I had a friend. I could tell this friend anything at all and I would know that there would never be any repurcussions from my talks.I could yell, I could cry and I could laugh. Mostly we just sat together and she listened to me, no questions asked. This was a loyal friend indeed. She never asked anything back from me except my love. I was happy to oblige. I had this friend for more than seventeen years. Today we said goodbye for the final time.
I am talking about my faithful and loyal dog Mackenzie, whom we called Mickey. We had to put Mickey to sleep today. She was in pain and she could not walk anymore. She was just not living any more. So, I called my children and asked them to come home to say goodbye. No questions asked they were home within hours. My husband was already home so there we all were consoling Mickey while consoling each other. The vet was so kind to us and agreed to put her to rest at our house so that she would be more comfortable. I was so grateful for that. I was also grateful for his offer to leave us alone with her for a few minutes after she had passed. It was a gracious gesture. There was not a dry eye in our house. Afterwards I had to take myself out for a walk to clear my head. As I walked up my driveway I was expecting my old puppy to come running toward me, tail wagging, face smiling, greeting me in her usual way....then I remembered...and cried again.
Mickey was a great dog. She cared for us and she taught us so much. Compassion and sympathy and loyalty and trust and so much more. Pets are great teachers for the rest of us souls on this earth.
Rest in peace Mickey. You are in a better and more comfortable place. Blessings, Jan
www.tobeyourbest.net

Claude Monet is born on this day....November 14, 1840. He died on December 5, 1926.
Monet is considered to be among the best painters in the world.
His impressionist paintings are stunning pieces of art and they
are held by musuems world wide.
Monet studied art with many people including Manet, Courbet and
Renoir.
Impressionism was not a well received art form during it's
inception. The artists themselves believed in the structure of the
art and so they continued. They would make very little money for
many years, but they faced their personal fears and pressed on
with their work. Lucky for the world that they did.
Monet lived to the old age of 86. A fine age for that time of the
world.

Did you know that he began having problems with his vision at the
age of 67? It was detected that he had the beginning stages of
cataracts? Can you imagine how fearful that must have been, how
devastating the diagnosis to a man whose life evolved around
"seeing?"

Did he stop painting? Did he give up? Not Monet, the impressionist
painter, the man who would not stop. He continued to paint until
the final months of his life many years later. We are all blessed
for his persistence.

That story got me thinking about "seeing" and "perspectives." Do we always have to see with our eyes? One of the most famous people I read about as a child was Helen Keller. Here was a person who could neither see nor speak. Indeed she could not even hear. Her parents were told to give up on her but they would not. They persisted. They faced the fear of the unknown future withtheir daughter and worked through it. It was hard, it was messy and it was tough...no doubt....
To quote Helen Keller "Life is either a daring adventure or
nothing. Security does not exist in nature, nor do the children of
men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the
long run than exposure." She faced her fears, her parents
encouraged her to live a life full of herSELF and we are all the
better for it.

It's all perspective. How you see the world is how the world sees you.
Are you a Monet or a Helen Keller? Are you facing your fears? Are you dreaming your dreams higher? If not why not?
I promise you if you choose to live a fearless life you will never be the same again.
Living la vida fearless, Jan
www.tobeyourbest.net