Category Archives: Monthly Themes

Best Advice I Never Got: Accepting the Present Moment


The word surrender has always seemed to carry a negative connotation. The side that surrenders in war loses. The people who surrender to another often give up themselves. But the type of surrender I’m taking about is the ability to yield to the moment instead of working against it, and in doing so, unburdening ourselves. Had I learned this lesson earlier in my life, I would have felt far less stress, grief, and consternation. Eckhart Tolle in “The Power of […]

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Best Advice I Never Got: Girls Need To Develop Boundaries


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This month here on middleSage our topic of choice is “The Best Advice I Never Got”.  We’ll be talking about the lessons we learned later in life, lessons that would have saved us a whole lot of heartache had we learned them earlier.  In the spirit of “I wish I knew then what I know now”! Today I’m talking about Setting Boundaries…. Boundaries aren’t fences that keep us in, they’re not lines in the sand that require permission to cross […]

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Everybody needs an Anthem


Sometimes the only thing you can do is turn up the radio, roll down your windows and sing at the top of your lungs.  And then sometimes you just have to play that tune in your head to get yourself through the day, down the hall, or up the street.  I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve caught myself singing a line right out loud in public…and when I get “the look”, that’s when I know…Oh, yeah, I […]

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Our Love Is Here To Stay: My Soundtrack of Courtship


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When I divorced my ex-husband I swore I’d never get married again. It was a horrible experience and I steered clear of any relationship that became too serious. In my mind, the only thing a marriage could assure was that a fell swoop of a judges signature would hand over 50% of the three things I would prefer to keep: my house, my stuff and my sanity. And then……I met Mark. A few years back I was at work minding my […]

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One Hit Wonders Or Just Bad Taste?


Guilty Pleasure or just bad taste?  You tell me.  I have a ridiculously large amount of “one hit wonders” in my iTunes library.  I use the term “one hit wonder” loosely.  I define “one hit wonder” not only as that one popular song an artist had and then disappeared, but that song an artist had that was so unlike their typical music it really stood out.  Some of them…okay maybe a lot of them, most people have never heard of. […]

Classical, Gospel, Pop….Music Learned from Mom


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My parents were were two entirely different people. Mom is very involved in the church; dad went (sitting in a pew in the balcony) and bolted as soon as the service was over. Mom likes the theater, symphony and ballet; dad liked sports and TV. Mom is a disorganized Type-A; dad was an organized list person. But despite all their differences, they both loved music. Dad liked big band, swing and jazz; mom likes classical, some pop and gospel. And […]

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What A Difference A Tune Makes…[explicit]


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It has been my good fortune to have the universe, a handful of eclectic radio stations, iTunes, my iPod, and now some really great streaming music apps (Songza & Pandora my favorites) to deliver the exact tune at the exact right time to turn my mood around…It doesn’t surprise me anymore, perhaps my surprise has morphed into appreciation.  The timing is what makes it so magical.  Its is magical when a song comes on randomly and it’s exactly what you […]

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The Disco Daze….


Yep. I was on of ‘em. One of those well made-up, Candies spike-heeled, Danskin leotard and skirt wearing, glitter sparkled, dance ’til the club closed, disco dolls. Make fun all you want…it was a ball! The mid to late ’70′s was kind of a unique time. We’d just come out of the don’t-trust-the-establishment, nobody’s-going-to-bathe-or-shave ’60′s with all the war and turmoil and learning to be ourselves and follow our dreams. Since the pendulum swings both ways, where else would you expect […]

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Music & Kids Make The Best Memories!


If you have adult children, then MTV played a role in your musical memories.  If your kids are well into adulthood then you remember the birth of MTV and sharing that experience with your kids and before MTV turned into something other than a Music Channel.  Remember when we waited for Michael Jackson’s Thriller Video to come out?  We’d do the zombie dance in front of the TV!   What musical memories do you have with your children?  Here’s some […]

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Kickin’ Him to the Curb (Or Music Messages I Couldn’t Ignore)


Many moons ago I married my first husband. And many moons ago while married to my first husband, I started to feel anxious and claustrophobic. The marriage was terrible and he had become an angry, abusive alcoholic. Being a woman, I figured I could fix it. (We seem to be conditioned to believe that we can fix anything if we just work hard enough at it.) But during those many moons, I was beginning to doubt things could be fixed. […]

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