The Right Thought(s)

"For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone."
-Audrey Hepburn

This newfound quote may become my personal daily mantra. Not that I have any particular mantra that I repeat to myself daily, unless "shut your mouth!" counts. I have always really admired Audrey Hepburn, and when I found this quote, I grabbed it. Electronically, anyway.
Today has been a pretty good day to be honest. I should have dragged myself up off the couch a little bit earlier, but I still got a lot of things done anyhow. Eurydice rehearsals began yesterday. I am excited for the process and its final product. It's a lovely show, and I am sure it will do really well. I am still finishing up working on finding the right music for the show, and I'm loving doing the research.
My N. Y. S. (New Year Resolutions) were written on the 1st, and of the 10 that I have decided on, I have been able to work on three or four. I have been perfectly consistent with one. I consider that an accomplishment. The resolutions that involve patience or anything personality related will take much longer, I assume. That being said, I am ready for the challenge.
Music definitely delights the soul. Yesterday, I began my month as pianst in Sacrament Meeting. Sis. Griggs and I trade off every other month, and ususally, I dread my month as being the pianst. I usually never practice more than one or two days in advance, and so I miss a lot of notes. The congregation's unintentional funeral march pace makes me feel that I am pushing a car uphill, and my nerves cause me to forget to breathe as I play. However, I decided to practice as far in advance as possible this time around. Although the funeral march was still present, the hill was not quite as steep as I gradually attempted to speed the pace while playing mostly correct notes.
Directly after first hour, I was asked to play piano in Primary. Who doesn't want an excuse of skipping class because an adult told so? I said "Yes!" probably a little too eagerly, and headed to the Primary room. Unbeknownst to me, our ward's Primary class has expanded enough that we had to seperate them into Junior and Senior classes. It is an exciting thing, but sad at the same time. So, I played for both classes. I actually really enjoyed being in there with all the four to twelve year olds. I know, I know, a room full of little children who get their heads stuck in their chair (that actually happened yesterday), or half their goldfish while crumbling the other half onto the floor sounds like a traumatic experience. It may be for some people, but I didn't really see it that way. I was actually amazed by those little, reverent people who came in as I was playing prelude in their Sunday best clothes, shiny shoes, with arms folded and almost completely silent mouths. Okay, so most of them did chatter away as they came into class, but for a few seconds, they all did look very quiet. I felt joy everytime they guessed what song I was playing in a game we played, and how they all delightfully spoke out of turn when asked what Primary song that they would like to sing for closing. I loved every minute of it, and would gladly "skip" class again to participate in their clases.
Yes, this evening finds me in a peaceful and thoughtful mood. Of course, there are many, many things to be done and deadlines to be met, but I wanted to take the time to think about the positive things I experience. The joy one can feel over simple things is a joy that should be cherished. Remembering to smile is important, and I want to do so. Documenting the good things in life will keep you in check when good things are hard to come by.



A super cheesy but true "MormonAd" that reminds me of, well, me.

Have a great Monday!

Jess