Monday Unplugged - Christine Kane

In the music world, “unplugged” is synonymous with the occasional very raw and real show with no amplification, editing, or effects. In the blog world, it means that I’m not editing or going in any particular order with the following seven Monday (or rather, Sunday evening) thoughts…

1 – Junk Drawer blog will continue

The Sequel to the Junk Drawer blog will be posted next. I just flew back from DC, and it’s raining hard here. My focus isn’t so great, so I decided to write random thoughts rather than try to be coherent.

2 – “Rain Falls. Money Comes.”

This is an affirmation I created years ago. As the rain splooshes on the skylights, I’m reminded of it. I started saying it in my head any time I caught myself getting hooked by public panic about drought. Around that same time, I realized that almost every self-employed person I knew (including me at that time) could get panicky about the next client, the next gig, the next sale – you name it. And they’d often run themselves ragged for fear of the money running out. I have no idea what made me come up with these two simple sentences together. But honestly, it’s one of the best affirmations I’ve ever used.

3 – Sold out show

My performance at Jammin Java sold out on Saturday night. Thank you, dear reader, for letting friends know about it. I hope the people who emailed me about coming were able to get in! It was a fun night!

4 – “Well, folks…”

I wonder if there’s a required course at Commercial Jet Pilot School called, “Well, Folks.”

In the class, all commercial pilots would learn this little opening greeting and the importance of introducing bad news with it. They would spend the entire course rehearsing things like, “Well, folks…it looks like we’re gonna be experiencing some turbulence here, so I’m going to put the seatbelt light on.” Or “Well, folks, it looks like the folks at air traffic control are concerned about the weather in Charlotte, so we’re going to sit here on the runway for another hour.” I imagine that using “folks” several times in one sentence would net them a higher grade. (After all, it’s hard for a passenger who is “Folks” to get angry at other “Folks” at air traffic control.)

5 – Great Big Dreams e-Seminar

I’m teaching my six-week Great Big Dreams e-Seminar again in April. Email christine@christinekane.com for more information.

6 – Dog Delight

My dog was so happy to see me that she threw her entire body into a pile of Let’s-Not-Speculate-What when we walked through the field late this afternoon. The ride back home was aromatic bliss. (I swear she was actually smiling.)

7 – “The soul won’t invest in a compromise.”

Last week, I was in Shepherdstown, WV teaching the Federal Government how to be creative. (One of my regular training gigs.) One of the coaches on the staff was talking with the group about jobs and fulfillment. He was bold enough to talk about the soul. And he said, “The soul won’t invest in a compromise.” I love that. It’s so true.

13 COMMENTS ADD A COMMENT
  • DebMc

    I had to laugh over the ‘well, folks’ comment. My dh is an airline pilot for a private charter firm. And since he has a natural Texas drawl…I could hear ‘well, folks’ in his voice. I’ll have to ask him if it is part of their training.

    Rain falls. Money Comes. As a farm girl and now a gardener, how we handle the floods is as important as how we handle the droughts.

    And, (deep sigh) our souls SHOULDN’T invest in a compromise. Too often, we creative types don’t listen enough to our soul’s call and WE invest in compromise. Our soul whithers as a result.

    Listening here, and trying to hear through the noise.

  • Jean

    “Rain falls, Money comes” — out here in Portland, Oregon, that could mean a lot of money! Thanks for a great way to work with the late winter weather…

    Jean in Oregon

  • Pippa

    Beautiful thoughts, Christine, especially “Rain falls. Money comes,” and “The soul won’t invest in a compromise.” That’s enough food for thought right there to keep me busy for a while! Blessings to you for the light you shine!

    Love,
    Pippa

  • Lillithmother

    hi christine, i’ve had your blog bookmarked for weeks now, but i’ve never taken the time to browse through it, or find out more about you (the unofficial bio that is)…

    the junk drawer post sounds like fun, at least to the junk-junkie who constantly fights with the perfect-mom in me. i don’t want to perpetuate the psycho part of perfection, so i’ll definitely be keeping an eye on these posts. and i too fought depression (post-partum)…it was the hardest thing i’ve ever had to do, far moreso than giving birth, and alot longer too! i didn’t recognise it’s gift until much later…and i’ve still to write about it, but i’ve started…

    thanks christine for your inspiration and encouragement, i’ll definitely be back!

    peace,
    Lil

  • Deb

    Reading #5 it dawned on me that I probably don’t need any more dreams at the moment; I need some great big activation to achieve the one’s I’ve already got.

    Folks, huh; I wonder how that translates into 5 languages on an international flight?

  • Sylvia C.

    I love random thoughts!
    And I love the quote about the soul!

    You see, even when we teach we are always learning!

    Sylvia C.

  • Christine Kane

    thanks caryn – and yes, they seem to say that a lot!

    diane – i actually like it when the pilot is funny. i figure it’s their time and I’m on their plane – so feel free to entertain! i guess i’ve started noticing the “well, folks” thing. thanks!

    dblwyo – wow. quite a lot of information you’ve contributed! thanks!

    thanks jess! it was a fun show for me too.

    well, lisa – i believe you are indeed right!

    thanks alice – the operative term with the hannah montana song is “try.” 🙂 (and i worked so hard on it in the dressing room!) thank you for coming to the show and for your kind words!

  • Alice

    Hi Christine,
    I was also at the show with Rick and my friend Jeannie. It was really fun…that is a great venue. We often go there to hear Al and Amy as well as the Kennedys. I introduced Jeannie to your blog concerning the “word for the year” so she wanted to hear you play and she enjoyed your music and stories. Rick enjoyed it too. I was most touched when you tried to sing the Hannah Montana song for your nieces. I am very close to my nieces and one of them is almost through college, so that really took me back.

  • Lisa Call

    Is it in some way appropriate to interrupt the junk drawer posts with some unedited thoughts?

    Possibly even required?

  • Jess

    I was at the show Saturday night and really enjoyed it. I loved the stories you told about learning to leap. Thank you! Also: I *loved* your flowy shirt; it was gorgeous!

  • dblwyo

    In the FWIW pile pilot’s “folkiness” is a cultural artifact. While I’ll agree many of them talk too much the history, to the best of my understanding, goes back to Gen. Chuck Yeager, played by Sam Shephard in the Right Stuff. That laconic, slow drawl he displays is supposedly pretty accurate. Yeager was a hill-country farm boy from W.Va. And known,as he’s shown in the movie, for keeping his head and doing the right thing in the worse possible circumstances. Since his drawl was known to be the best of the right stuff the pilot community picked it up. If you ever get a chance to ride in the cockpit of a big jet take it. While we’ve all become complacent and used to expecting something simple and safe there are in fact a million little decisions where your safety and life are on the line. The odds these days are low but part of the reason is that a lot of folks over the years have worked to make it that way. And when you’re in real turbulence and the wings are bending above the body by 50′ a little right stuff helps. But like you I’d appreciate less in normal circumstances.
    You might find his Wiki bio as fascinating as I do:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Yeager

  • Diane

    I always appreciate a reticent pilot and thank them as I’m leaving the plane. It seems like most passengers just want to sleep or read. There seem to be a lot of pilots that really wanted to be a play by play sports announcer…not enough job opportunities I suppose.

    What a lovely saying “The soul won’t invest in a compromise.” So thankful I’ve learned from the past and my soul will no longer invest in compromise. Live and learn.

    Thanks Christine for getting my Monday off to a great start!

  • Caryn

    Rain falls. Money comes. I like that affirmation. Running oneself ragged can lead to burnout, which can lead to less joy in one’s work, lessened quality, and fewer clients. Sometimes it’s best to relax.

    Oh, and I loved the “folks” thing. So true. They do like to say that, don’t they?