Catching My Breath

Kelly Clarkson Singing at President Obama's Inauguration

Five days a week, I drive to and from work and during that time I usually listen to the radio.  I have five stations that I randomly listen to depending on my mood and the pace of the traffic.

These days the song that currently makes me go directly to the volume button is Kelly Clarkson's "Catch My Breath."

It's a song of strength, a song that gives me a boost of positive energy.

To me, the song has the vibe of someone who has survived some kind of a personal journey and come out on the other side it, more sure of life and the direction they want to go.

The lyrics of "Catch My Breath" remind me of a time in my life when I was trying to keep up with so many changes that were happening so fast that it was hard for me to get a breath of air. 

I've spent most of my life

Riding waves, playing acrobat

Shadowboxing the other half
Learning how to react
I've spent most of my time

But the lyrics also take me to a place of seeing life in a simplier way and realizing that you cannot let worries keep you down.  Focusing on being carefree, laughing and spending time with the ones that I love is really what brings me happiness and that I should grab as much of it as I can.

Making time for the ones that count
I'll spend the rest of my time
Laughing hard with the windows down
Leaving footprints all over town
Keeping faith kinda comes around
I'll spent the rest of my life
 

Please listen to Grammy Award winner Kelly Clarkson sing, "Catch My Breath," a song I currently consider to be my musical Red Bull:

 

Year of the Snake

 

 

Chinese Celebration of the Year of the Snake/ AFP Photo

 

Happy Year of the Snake!

 

Chinese New Year is here and millions around the world are celebrating "the Year of the Snake."  Just so you know, 2012 was the Year of the Dragon.

 

In Chinese symbology, snakes are regarded as intelligent and wise, BUT the Chinese also believe that snakes have a tendency to be somewhat unscrupulous.  Oh yeah. . . we all are familiar with someone who might have "done us wrong."  Being unscrupulous definitely has a bad vibe attached to it, which is probably why Americans say that when someone acts badly he/she is a "snake in the grass" and can't be trusted.

 

I'm not sure why a whole year of snakes is a good thing but I'm willing to think of snakes in a different way if good luck is involved.

Which makes me wonder:  does good luck just arrive in our lives like the house in the Wizard of Oz that fell from the sky and landed on top of one of the Wicked Witches or do we make opportunities for good luck to enter into our lives?

I think having good luck is a combination of making the most of my opportunities, whatever they might be, and trying to be proactive and positive about life.  I know there are a lot of things that are totally out of my control but the way I look at life is one thing I can change and try to keep as positive as possible.  Coming at life with a positive outlook is a big step in the direction of  being receptive to good luck.

We all can use a bit of good luck in our lives so I wish your coming lunar year to be one that's full of fortune, peace, prosperity and good health and lots of good luck!