Music Therapy with Miss Moon

"I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles."
~ Audrey Hepburn

"Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it."
~ Groucho Marx

" Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life."
~ Omar Khayyam

In May, what was intended to be a routine check up with my new doctor turned into months of fear, worry, and anxiety. He called me and said that there was something wrong with my blood tests, and that my white blood cell count was unusually high. He couldn't say why, but that further tests was needed. In subsequent visits the doctor did very little to assure me or give me some idea what could be the problem. I did what most people (FOOLISHLY!) would do in that situation, and took to the internet to look into what could cause this abnormality. And I ended up scaring the hell out of myself in the process.

So for these past few months, I lived with this fear not far from my thoughts: Am I sick? Am I dying? What would my family do? Will I be a burden on them? And with the stress I gained twelve pounds, upped my cigarette smoking to a pack a day, and discovered two new gray hairs rest comfortably on Miss Mooch.

All of this worry was immediately alleviated when I went to see the Hematologist. He saw my fear, he saw the tension and spoke to me like I mattered. He said I did not have Leukemia (Which was the biggest fear, as I have a family history!) and whatever the cause... it was not life threatening! I wept with relief when I heard those words.

This journey is not over... there are still test results to look into, and I still have to figure out how I can get this resolved and fast. But in the meantime, I am going to express gratitude for each breath that I take, and each step that I make each day.

For this week's song choice for Music Therapy with Miss Moon, I wanted to pick a happy, upbeat song that reflects the state of mind I am in... I am ready to get my life back on track! I am ready to get back to everything I had set out to do on my path before I got stuck in this fog of fear! With the lyrics included in the video, I hope you all will celebrate with me to "Coolin' in the Streets" by Andra Day with a bit of help by Ziggy Marley!!

Music Therapy with Miss Moon

"You are you. Now, isn't that pleasant?"
~ Dr. Seuss

"All the knowledge I possess everyone else can acquire, but my heart is all my own."
~ Johann von Goethe

"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken."
~ Oscar Wilde

"A girl should be two things: who and what she wants."
~ Coco Chanel

Working in a super fashion-conscious neighborhood in Manhattan is great for fashion inspiration and people watching. It's not so great for the self esteem when you aren't 5'11 and built like a supermodel.

I admit to days where I feel horribly out of place walking the streets of NoHo. And believe me, some of the inhabitants contribute to that feeling with their utter disbelief that I'm dare to breathe within 5 feet of them.  Me being so.... not them. Days like that, I just want to stick a paper bag over my head and find a bell tower somewhere to dwell permanently in. I hate days like that.

So I am going to change the way I think about myself on those days. I am going to believe that I am just as fly and fabulous as they are... there is just MORE fabulous me to behold. And I think we all should feel that way about ourselves. Short, tall, fat, thin, big nose, small nose, whoever and however we are. We should strut.

And today's song choice for Music Therapy with Miss Moon is a strutting song that celebrates everything that we are, despite what the haters may say! I hope you all will feel a little bit more fabulous today with Janelle Monae and Erykah Badu's "Q.U.E.E.N."



Girl, this is crazy... let me tell you

I can't believe all of the things they say about me
Walk in the room they throwing shade left to right
They be like, "Ooh, she serving face"
And I just tell 'em cut me up and get down
They call us dirty cause we break all your rules down
And we just came to act a fool, is that all right? (Girl, that's alright)
They be like, "Ooh, let them eat cake."
But we eat wings and throw them bones on the ground

Am I a freak for dancing around?
Am I a freak for getting down?
I'm cutting up, don't cut me down
Yeah I wanna be, wanna be Queen

Is it peculiar that she twerk in the mirror?
And am I weird to dance alone late at night?
And is it true we're all insane?
And I just tell 'em, "No we ain't" and get down
I heard this life is just a play with no rehearsal
I wonder will this be my final act tonight
And tell me what's the price of fame?
Am I a sinner with my skirt on the ground??

Am I a freak for dancing around?
Am I a freak for getting down?
I'm cutting up, don't cut me down
Yeah I wanna be, wanna be Queen

Hey brother can you save my soul from the devil?
Say is it weird to like the way she wear her tights?
And is it rude to wear my shades?
Am I a freak because I love watching Mary? (Maybe)
Hey sister am I good enough for your heaven?
Say will your God accept me in my black and white?
Will he approve the way I'm made?
Or should I reprogram, deprogram and get down?

Am I a freak for dancing around?
Am I a freak for getting down?
I'm cutting up, don't cut me down
Yeah I wanna be, wanna be Queen

Even if it makes others uncomfortable
I will love who I am
Even if it makes others uncomfortable
I will love who I am

Ohh, shake 'til the break of dawn
Don't mean to sing so tough, I can't take it no more
Baby, me and tuxedo crew; pharaohs, it ain't my tomb
Crazy in the black and white; we got the drums so tight
Baby, here comes the freedom song, too strong we moving on
Baby this melody will show you another way
Been 'droids for far too long - come home and sing your song
But you gotta testify because the booty don't lie
No, no, the booty don't lie, oh no, the booty don't lie

Yeah.. yeah, let's flip it
I don't think they understand what I'm trying to say
Haha, yeah, uh, I asked a question like this

Are we a lost generation of our people?
Add us to equations but they'll never make us equal
She who writes the movie owns the script and the sequel
So why ain't the stealing of my rights made illegal?
They keep us underground working hard for the greedy
But when it's time pay they turn around and call us needy
My crown too heavy like the Queen Nefertiti
Gimme back my pyramid, I'm trying to free Kansas City
Mixing masterminds like your name Bernie Grundman
Well I'm-a keep leading like a young Harriet Tubman
You can take my wings but I'm still goin' fly
And even when you edit me the booty don't lie
Yeah keep singing, I'm-a keep writing songs
I'm tired of Marvin asking me What's Going On?
March to the streets 'cuz I'm willing and I'm able
Categorize me, I defy every label
And while you're selling dope, we're gonna keep selling hope
We rising up now, you gotta deal you gotta cope
Will you be electric sheep? Electric ladies, will you sleep?
Or will you preach?

Music Therapy with Miss Moon

" You can't run away from trouble.  There ain't no place that far."
~ Uncle Remus

" Adversity is the mother of progress."
~ Mahatma Gandhi

" Life is truly known only to those who suffer, lose, endure adversity and stumble from defeat to defeat."
~ Anais Nin

Just when you think you've got a pretty good handle on your life, something happens that makes everything topsy turvy and difficult to find your bearings.

Such has been my life lately, but I think I've reached an epiphany that I'm currently testing to see if it's correct. Generally when I feel swamped by adversity, I admittedly crumble and fall to pieces, shake my fist to the heavens, wonder what I did in a former life to deserve such tribulations, get a second wind, gather my strength and push through it.

This time around, I am looking at it with different eyes. I am looking at it as an opportunity to test my strength and convictions, and to clear what is unnecessary in my life. I am going to take this challenge head on and recognize that it will ultimately strengthen me and bring forth knowledge that will help me through the next phase of peace.

So today's music therapy song choice is one that best sums up my attitude about adversity or trouble in my life. And if you are encountering a tough time, I hope that it will inspire you to keep cool, keep positive, and keep looking for a way out of the turmoil. Here's Marvin Gaye's "Trouble Man" revamped by Neneh Cherry.



I've come up hard, baby, now I'm cool
Didn't make it sugar, playing by the rules
I've come up hard, baby but now I'm fine
In checking trouble sugar, moving down the line

I've come up hard, baby, but that's okay
'Cause Trouble Man don't get in my way
I've come up hard, baby, I've been for real
Gonna keep on moving, gonna go to town

I've come up hard, I come up and get down
There's only three things that's for sure
Taxes, death and trouble
This I know, baby

Oh, that's right

Oh, I've come up hard, baby, with troubled mind
But then I've got my share of what's mine
Oh, I've come up hard, baby, but that's okay
'Cause Trouble Man don't get in my way

Oh, I've come up hard, baby

I know some places and I see some faces
I've got the connections, they dig my directions
What people say, that's okay
They don't bother me

I'm ready to make it, don't care what the weather
Don't care about no trouble, got myself together
Got the kind of protection
It's all around me

I've come up hard but now I'm cool
I didn't make it, baby, playing by the rules
Oh, I've come up hard, baby, but that's okay
'Cause Trouble Man don't get in my way

Oh, I've come up hard, baby, with troubled mind
But then I've got my share of what's mine
I've come up hard, now I'm fine
I'm checking trouble sugar, moving down the line
Moving down the line, moving down the line
Moving down the line, yeah, moving down the line

Music Therapy with Miss Moon

" Love songs are one of the great essences of life, the only thing that's lasting."
~ George Benson

" If music be the food of love, play on."
~ William Shakespeare

" There are more love songs than anything else. If songs could make you do something we'd all love one another."
~ Frank Zappa

Is there a love song out there that you secretly wish your significant other would sing for you (or even dedicate to you?)? I definitely do!!

For me, Stevie Wonder's "Knocks Me Off My Feet", "Something" by the Beatles, "Oh Girl" by the Chi-Lites and "Crush" by the Dave Matthews Band all top my list.

And today's song choice for Music Therapy with Miss Moon is all about having your sweetie convey their love in song form. So I hope that Alicia Keys and Beyonce will spark some romantic moments in the days to come!!



[Alicia]
Hey yo B
[Beyonce]
What up A
[Alicia]
What we want?
[Beyonce]
Want them to say

[Chorus]
Say you love me, Say you love me
Then put it in a love song (Put it in a love song)
Say you need me, Say you need me
Then write it in a letter form (Oh oh oh)
Say you want me, Say you want me
Then text me on the cell phone (Text me on my cell phone)
Say you love me, Say you love me
Then put me in a love song (Oh)

[Alicia]
If you say you want me, yeah,
You say you want me
If you do the right thing, we can be together
I'm not easy, yeah, you gotta work for it
I'm the real thing, and baby gotta please me

All that talkin', boy, you better walk it
All that frontin' that's not how you do it
If you really need me like you say you need me
Baby better show me, baby, better come and say

[Chorus]
Say you love me, Say you love me
Then put it in a love song (Put it in a love song)
Say you need me, Say you need me
Then write it in a letter form (Oh oh oh)
Say you want me, Say you want me
Then text me on the cell phone (Text me on my cell phone)
Say you love me, Say you love me
Then put me in a love song (Oh)

[Beyonce]
What you gonna do when somebody convinces me
To believe that he can do it better
Sending me gifts and showing me the romance
All this, this, and that, can you do better?

All I'm saying: love is what I'm looking for
If you wanna keep me, baby gotta love me more
If you really want me, like you say you want me
If you really need me, baby better come and say

[Chorus]
Say you love me, Say you love me
Then put it in a love song (Put it in a love song)
Say you need me, Say you need me
Then write it in a letter form (Oh oh oh)
Say you want me, Say you want me
Then text me on the cell phone (Text me on my cell phone)
Say you love me, Say you love me
Then put me in a love song (Oh)

[Alicia]
Gotta work it baby, work it out
If you want me baby, Work it out
If you need me baby, Work it out
Gotta work it out, Gotta Work it out

[Beyonce]
If you love me baby, Work it out
Gotta work it baby, Work it out
If you want me baby, Work it out
Gotta work it out, Gotta work it out

[Alicia]
If you want my love and all my time
Part of my plans and part of my mind
[Beyonce]
All of the things that you wanna do
But make sure your love for me's true to you
[Alicia]
Oh, If you show me; make me believe
[Beyonce]
So many possibilities
[Alicia]
Oh, We can look to infinity
[Alicia & Beyonce]
If you wanna be with me Ohhhhhhh

[Chorus]
Say you love me, Say you love me
Then put it in a love song (Put it in a love song)
Say you need me, Say you need me
Then write it in a letter form (Oh oh oh)
Say you want me, Say you want me
Then text me on the cell phone (Text me on my cell phone)
Say you love me, Say you love me
Then put me in a love song (Oh)

[Alicia]

1,2, 3, 4!!!

[Alicia]
Gotta work it baby, work it out
If you want me baby, Work it out
If you need me baby, Work it out
Gotta work it out, Work it out
[Beyonce]
If you love me baby, Work it out
Gotta work it baby, Work it out
If you want me baby, Work it out
Gotta work it out, Gotta work it out

Music Therapy with Miss Moon

“ Life is one big road with lots of signs. So when you riding through the ruts, don’t complicate your mind. Flee from hate, mischief and jealousy. Don’t bury your thoughts, put your vision to reality. Wake Up and Live!”
~ Bob Marley

“ Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good.”
~ Maya Angelou

" Joy is what happens to us when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are."
~ Marianne Williamson

For someone who is a big advocate of expressing gratitude in the daily life, I have to be honest. Until recently I hadn't been keeping up with my daily gratitude list. It happens. I don't beat myself up for it, but I do realize what happens when I don't take the time to reflect on the good moments of each day.

I noticed that negativity became all I thought about: I was constantly angry, constantly annoyed, constantly disappointed, constantly uncomfortable, and constantly insecure. Even the positive things that entered my life seemed lackluster. It ended with me having a super case of the blues on one lousy, lousy day.

When faced with a sadness that felt thick enough to choke me, I challenged myself to find 10 things I was grateful for that day. And I did it... With facing that challenge and finding gratitude in what I thought was the shittiest day imaginable, my spirit felt lighter. I felt like that awful bad day wasn't so awful and wasn't so bad. And like that... my gratitude list ritual resumed.

I won't lie to you or myself and say I learned my lesson and will never ignore my gratitude lists. But I do know that if I do, I will try to get back into the attitude of gratitude much, much faster.

For this week's song choice for Music Therapy, I decided to use a modern take on a old school message of gratitude. I hope you all will enjoy Omar and Erykah Badu's version of the William DeVaughn hit, "Be Thankful". And I hope that it will remind you to appreciate everything in your life, starting with the fact that you're alive!!



Though you may not drive a great big Cadillac
Gangsta whitewalls
TV antennas in the back
You may not have a car at all
But remember brothers and sisters
You can still stand tall

Just be thankful for what you've got
Though you may not drive a great big Cadillac
Diamond in the back, sunroof top
Diggin' the scene
With a gangsta lean
Gangsta whitewalls
TV antennas in the back

You may not have a car at all
But remember brothers and sisters
You can still stand tall
Just be thankful for what you've got

Diamond in the back, sunroof top
Diggin the scene
With a gangsta lean, wooh-ooh-ooh
Diamond in the back, sunroof top
Diggin the scene
With a gangsta lean, wooh-ooh-ooh
Diamond in the back, sunroof top
Diggin' the scene
With a gangsta lean, wooh-ooh-ooh

Though you may not drive a great big Cadillac
Gangsta whitewalls
TV antennas in the back
You may not have a car at all
But remember brothers and sisters
You can still stand tall

Diamond in the back, sunroof top
Diggin' the scene
With a gangsta lean, wooh-ooh-ooh
Diamond in the back, sunroof top
Diggin' the scene
With a gangsta lean, wooh-ooh-ooh

Music Therapy with Miss Moon

“ When we are unable to find tranquility within ourselves, it is useless to seek it elsewhere."
~ François de la Rochefoucauld

" No matter how lovesick a woman is, she shouldn't take the first pill that comes along."
~ Dr. Joyce Brothers

" Single as a dollar and I’m not looking for change."
~ Unknown

Recently I met a man who expressed interest in me. I am single and open to the prospect of a relationship, so I thought I would give him a chance. During our interactions, several red flags began to raise. Like red RED flags. Without getting into the whole long boring story, he was a bit of a superficial idiot. He was a successful man who felt that the only thing he had to offer was his wealth, and he thought that any woman with him should be not only happy to, but be GRATEFUL for the opportunity to be his arm candy.

Ummm, no.

I let him know that I didn't think I was the woman he was looking for, and was quite certain he was not the man I was looking for. And I stopped talking to him, after wishing him luck in finding what he's after.

After I made the decision to end this budding relationship, I started wondering if I had made a mistake. I mean, I'm single.... I'm not getting any younger... nobody's perfect... blah blah blah. In thinking about my past relationships, and realized that I chose to ignore red flags with that same reasoning in mind. And where did that get me? No place I wanted to be.

I'm pretty proud of myself for choosing my single life instead of situating myself in a relationship I don't want. Being single is lonely at times, but I can say with experience that the feeling of being stuck with someone you know is wrong for you is the loneliest feeling in the world!

Making the choice not to settle? What better way to show God what you are looking for than to say no to what you are not? Having the chutzpah to wait for the love you want? That's an act of faith!

Today's song choice for Music Therapy with Miss Moon is in celebration of having faith that the right love, a real love is just around the corner. I hope you all will enjoy "I Believe in Love" by The Dixie Chicks.



I made a promise to myself
Locked it away deep down inside
Told my heart we'd wait it out
Swore we'd never compromise
Oh I'd rather be alone
Like I am tonight
Than settle for the kind of love
That fades before the morning light

Silence stared me in the face
And I finally heard its voice
It seemed to softly say
That in love you have a choice
Today i got the answer
And there's a world of truth behind it
Love is out there waiting somewhere
You just have to go and find it

I believe in love, I believe in love
A love that's real, love that's strong
Love that lives on and on
Yes I believe in love
Yes I believe in love

Music Therapy with Miss Moon

" To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

" Be what you are.  This is the first step toward becoming better than you are."
~ Julius Charles Hare

" Let the world know you as you are, not as you think you should be, because sooner or later, if you are posing, you will forget the pose, and then where are you? "
~ Fanny Brice

I am never going to be an effortless beauty, like the women walking around SoHo everyday. Outfits I just throw together do not look like they could grace the cover of a magazine. They look like I just threw them together! LOL

This was a startling realization I made years ago that gave me a serious case of the bummers. While I have grown to accept the fact that I will always be a little too sophistiratchet to be considered polished, I can honestly say that until recently, I never embraced the fact or attempted to love it. And what's not to love? It's who I am.

It's easy to floss and strut about the things that ROCK about you: Your killer sense of humor, your dimples, your dance skills, etc. But the herp derp things about yourself are somewhat hard to embrace! LOL

For this week's song choice for Music Therapy with Miss Moon, I hope that Ani Difranco's "Pick Yer Nose" will inspire you to embrace all that you are, the glamorous and the geeky.



How come I can pick my ears
but not my nose
who made up that rule anyway
how can you say that's the way it is
that's just the way it goes
why don't you decide for yourself
what you can do
and what you can say

how come I can pick my friends
but not my enemies
what is it about me that offends
what is it about me
'cause you know I'm only five foot two
and I'm giggly wiggly
tell me again, what did I do
why are you scared of me
I fight with love
and I laugh with rage
you've gotta live light enough
to see the humour
and long enough to see some change

I think shy is boring
I think depressed is too
I think pretty is nice
but I'd rather see something new
all these plastic people
got their plastic surgery
but we got a big big beautiful
we got it for free
who you gonna be
if you can't be yourself
you can't get it from t.v.
you can't force it on
anybody else

you know they come to clear cut
they come to strip mine
they come for some of my big butt
my big brain
or just a little time
they wanna take me out to dinner
think I'm a bitch if I don't go
seems like the people who actually like me
won't allow me to say no
your idea of a conversation
is the third degree
but I don't really know you
and I don't really want to talk about me

'cause I'm not going to pretend
that I don't pick my nose
that's just the way it is, my friends
that's just the way it goes
this is who I am
what I do
and what I say
if you like it, let it be
if you don't, please do the same
I fight with love
I laugh with rage
you gotta live light enough to see the humour
and long enough to see some change

Music Therapy with Miss Moon

" You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream."
~ C. S. Lewis

" The secret to a rich life is to have more beginnings than endings."
~ Dave Weinbaum

" Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it, begin it now."
~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Confession time: About a month ago, I was seriously contemplating deleting Miss Moon's Musings. I knew I wouldn't give up blogging entirely (I still blogged on my Hindi film blog, Black Girl Digs Bollywood), but I felt like I had nothing else to write about here. I wasn't excited about it anymore. No excitement, no inspiration, nothing to share... I thought perhaps the blog had run its course.

Instead of doing something rash like deleting the blog, I decided to step away. No announcements, no "I'll be back...", I just put the blog on an invisible shelf. And I felt HORRIBLY irresponsible about it. But I put aside  the negative feelings I had associated with turning away, convinced that if my relationship with Miss Moon's Musings were to persist, I would be back. There is no shame in starting over after taking time to step back and reflect. There is no shame in making a much-needed redirection, but I was heaping tons of shame on myself or wanting to take a break. I realize the fatal flaw in my thinking, that has been holding me back in terms of this blog, and a lot of things.

I was thinking I was too old (at 35!) to make any type of changes in plans, but that's a crock. I'm old enough to make wise choices from the heart, and young enough to be able to see the journey to completion. There is still ample time!

So for today's song choice for the return of Music Therapy with Miss Moon is from Clare and the Reasons. I hope that "You Got Time" serves as a very important reminder that it is never over until it's over.



Even if you said something so cold
even though you have lies that you told

you got time to turn around and make things right
you got time to turn around and make things right

even if you manipulate us
even if you just caused a big fuss

you got time to turn around and make things right
you got time to turn around and make things right

you got time
you got time
you got time
you got time

even though you just told them goodbye
even though they’re still wondering why

you got time to turn around and make things right
you got time to turn around and make things right

even if you feel badder than bad
even if you got madder than mad

you got time to turn around and make things right
you got time to turn around and make things right

you got time
you got time
you got time
you got time

you got time
you got time
you got time
you got time

Even if you said something so cold
even if you’ve got lies that you told

you’ve got time to turn around and make things right
you’ve got time to turn around and make things right

Even if you feel badder than bad
even if you got madder than mad

you’ve got time to turn around and make things right
you’ve got time to turn around and make things right

you’ve got time
you’ve got time
you’ve got time
you’ve got time

you’ve got time
you’ve got time
you’ve got time
you’ve got time

Even though you made all of them cry

Music Therapy with Miss Moon

“With love and patience, nothing is impossible.”
~ Dr. Daisaku Ikeda

“With time and patience the mulberry leaf becomes a silk gown.”
~ Chinese Proverb

"Have patience. All things are difficult before they become easy."
~ Saadi

I saw a pin on Pinterest that said something to the effect of this. "Don't give up on your dreams because of the amount of time it will take to achieve them... the time will pass anyway.". And for such a simple statement, it really struck a chord for me.

Patience is not my strongest virtue I admit. I can be quite tenacious, but when I feel like I'm not budging after a certain period of time has elapsed, then I wonder if my energies should be better put to use on some other pursuit. I would tell myself that I'm not that young anymore, that I don't have the time to reap a long-term harvest. But in all honesty... that's fear talking.

For the very first time in my life, I have made the decision to stay put. I am going to work towards my goals for this year, despite the amount of time it takes to get it. And although the goal seems very very far away, I can see it on the horizon.

This week's song choice for Music Therapy with Miss Moon is a song I've featured before, but I honestly feel that its the best song that captures the spirit of where I am at this moment. I hope that "Closer" by Goapele will remind you that no matter how far away your goals may seem, it's very worth the wait, and worth the effort it takes to pursue them. Keep going!



Closer to my dreams
It's coming over me

I'm gettin' higher
Closer to my dreams
I'm getting higher and higher
Feel it in my sleep

Some times it feels like I'll never go pass here
Some times it feels like I'm stuck forever and ever

But, I'm going higher
Closer to my dreams
I'm goin' higher and higher
I can almost reach

Some times you just have to let it go (Let it go, let it go)
Leaving all my fears to burn down
Push them all away so I can move on
Closer to my dreams
Feel it all over my being
Close your eyes and see what you believe

I'm happy as long as we're apart
Then I'm moving on to my dreams

I'll be moving higher (Moving higher)
Closer to my dreams
And higher and higher, higher
Feel it in my being (I can feel it flow around me)
I know that I could not go alone (No, no)

I'm moving higher (Higher), oh...
I'm going higher and higher and higher (Higher and
Higher)
Closer to my dreams (Higher and higher, oh...oh...)
I'm moving upward and onward and beyond all I can see
(Stretching out my arms so I can reach)

Feels so close it's like i can just reach
I can feel my dreams (Closer to my dreams)
I'm moving closer to my dreams
I'm moving (Higher and higher) higher and higher
(Higher and higher)
Moving higher, oh...

Some times it feels like you never gon' change (Never gon' change)
But you never choose to walk away

Music Therapy with Miss Moon

" You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep spring from coming."
~ Pablo Neruda

" Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems."
~ Rainer Maria Rilke

" If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome."
~ Anne Bradstreet

There are times, where I wish I lived in a part of the world that had constant sunshine, year-round warmth. I can imagine living someplace where I can go lie on the beach in February, never have to trek to the subway in the snow, and never ever have to feel that awful chill to the bones one feels when its frigid out.

But the truth of the matter is, how else would we enjoy and appreciate the spring without the winter? And it's just like appreciating moments of peace without struggle.

So for this week's Music Therapy with Miss Moon, I have chosen a classic tune from the great Bob Marley to celebrate the arrival of Spring. I hope you all will enjoy "Sun Is Shining".

Sun is shining, the weather is sweet

Make you want to move your dancing feet

To the rescue, here i am

Want you to know, y'all, where i stand

(monday morning) here i am

Want you to know just if you can

(tuesday evening) where i stand

(wenesday morning)

Tell myself a new day is rising

(thursday evening) get on the rise

A new day is dawning

(friday morning) here i am

(saturday evening) want you to know just

Want you to know just where i stand

When the morning gathers the rainbow

Want you to know i'm a rainbow too

So, to the rescue here i am

Want you to know just if you can

Where i stand, know, know, know, know, know

We'll lift our heads and give jah praises

We'll lift our heads and give jah praises, yeah

Sun is shining, the weather is sweet

Make you want to move your dancing feet

To the rescue, here i am

Want you to know just if you can

Where i stand

(wenesday morning)

Tell myself a new day is rising

(thursday evening) get on the rise

A new day is dawning

(friday morning) here i am

(saturday evening) want you to know just

Want you to know just where i stand

When the morning gathers the rainbow

Want you to know i'm a rainbow too

So to the rescue, here i am

Want you to know just if you can

Where i stand, know, know, know, know, know

We'll lift our heads and give jah praises (repeat)

Sun is shining, the weather is sweet

Make you want to move your dancing feet

To the rescue, here i am

Want you to know just if you can

Where i stand, no, no, no, no, where i stand

Sun is shining, sun is shining

Music Therapy with Miss Moon

" Whenever anyone has offended me, I try to raise my soul so high that the offense cannot reach it."
~ René Descartes

" I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet."
~ Mahatma Gandhi

" If the world's a veil of tears, Smile till rainbows span it."
~ Lucy Larcom

" Because of your smile, you make life more beautiful."
~ Thich Nhat Hanh

I've been given the challenge to be more positive at work. This can be hard, because I am in a profession where 75% of the energy that I deal with is negative. But I do love a good challenge, and I am planning on meeting it with gusto!

I am a generally positive person, I practice expressing gratitude as a daily ritual, and I like to consider the bright side most of the time. But I concede that I've been a Negative Nancy and I recognize the need to change that. Not only for the sake of my job... but for the sake of my spirit.

So I have promised not to succumb to the anger and negativity of others. I will recite Om Vajra Sattwa Hung (Om vahj-rah saht-wah hoong), which is a mantra I recently learned for clearing out negative energies from within your body after interacting with people with a lot of negative energy. I will remember who I am, and never let anyone change that. And I will remember to smile.



Smile, though your heart is aching, smile,
Even though it's breaking
When there are clouds, in the sky you'll get by
If you smile, through all fear and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You'll find the sun come shining through for you

Light up your face, with gladness
Hide every trace of sadness

Although a tear maybe ever so near
Cause that's the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what's the use of crying
You'll find that life is still worth while
If you, you just smile

Although a tear is ever so near
Cause that's the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what's the use of you crying
You'll find that life is still worth while
If you, my darling just smile

Smile, darling baby, smile
Thank you, thank you very much

Music Therapy with Miss Moon

" Dreams are necessary to life."
~ Anais Nin

“ There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.”
~ Paulo Coelho

“ Hold fast to dreams,
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird,
That cannot fly.”
~ Langston Hughes

One thing that will most likely never change about me is my propensity to daydream. Since childhood, I would spend hours deep in my mind, imagining my life - How it is, how it isn't, how I'd like it to be.

Fast forward to me today at 35, and not much has changed. I find myself on the train, listening to my iPod and daydreaming the same flights of fancy as in my childhood. I've been blessed to make many of my dreams come true, so I know that as the years progress I will continue to bring more from the world of my dreams to the world outside we all live in.

This week's song choice for Music Therapy with Miss Moon is a song I've featured in a post last year, but I felt compelled to bring it back. I dedicate it to the dreamers out there: to you, to me, to all of us.



Have you ever heard
Of a dreamer girl
Living in a world
So far away
You might think that she
Is a bit naive
When she says that someday
She'll be your queen

Isn't it possible?
Is it a crime?
Or is it just a silver state of mind?
Baby baby
Close your eyes
Life's a dream
Maybe someday one day...

I dream of simple things every day
I dream that love will come my way
I dream of many lives
I cross the stage
I dream that in this world I can make a change

Is it possible?
Is it a crime?
Or is it just a silver state of mind?
Baby baby
Close your eyes
Life's a dream
Maybe someday one day...

Tell me that I could have it all
Tell me that I wouldn't change at all
Tell me this road is not too long
Will I give up a few years from now
Will I be strong someway somehow
Tell me that I should keep holding on

Baby baby
Close your eyes
Life's a dream
Maybe someday one day...

Baby baby
Close your eyes
Life's a dream
Maybe someday one day...

Music Therapy with Miss Moon

" I prefer to be a dreamer among the humblest, with visions to be realized, than lord among those without dreams and desires."
~ Khalil Gibran

" Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world."
~ Harriet Tubman

“ Your vision becomes clear when you look inside your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.”
~ Carl Jung

One personality trait of mine that has persisted since childhood is my ability to daydream. I'm still a woman who can be "in her own head" daily. While my daydreams are harmless and they don't prevent me from living my life, I sometimes fear that my dreams make me a bit too picky and adamant about what I want in my life. I wonder if I'm wasting time waiting for a dream to come true, because I'm not getting any younger, now is the time, blah blah blah...

Such were the thoughts in my head when my co-worker John handed me a fortune cookie from his lunch. I opened it and the fortune really knocked me off my feet:

"Hungry is the man that finds salvation in a cookie"

I took it as a sign that regardless of the time spent waiting (though patience is not my best virtue), it is better to actively seek out and wait for what you want in life to appear.

So I won't let fear of disappointment make me settle... not at all. I will expect the rest of my life to be the best of my life. Starting today! And to celebrate the first day of my fabulous future, here's this week's song choice for Music Therapy with Miss Moon, "Vision" by Alana Davis.



I don’t know what I really want in life
Well, of course, I want some love
And I may need something to keep me inspired,
So I don’t drive myself crazy

On the way, I tried to stay on my path
Glad for the things that I’ve learned in my past
And I try not to choose based on old decisions
And soon I’ll get stronger,
Without such divisions

And I want to know the future, yeah
But I can’t look over this day, no
I could work until I’m blue, from the mission
‘Til it’s more than just a vision in my head

More than just a vision in my head
More than just some ‘thing’ somebody said
More than just a lesson to be read
More like part of you and me, instead

I don’t know where to look for guarantees
Well of course, I want the truth
There are so many ways I could go, I think I..
Might just stay in the moment
All I know is I’ve got to make my way
‘Cause I don’t have time that I want to waste
And if I honestly look, I might find:
That I’m dumb in the heart
And out of my mind

And I want to know the future, yeah
But I can’t look over this day, no
I could work until I’m blue, from the mission
‘Til it’s more than just a vision in my head

More than just a vision in my head
More than just some ‘thing’ somebody said
More than just a lesson to be read
More like part of you and me, instead

Oh yeah
Is this a bridge, yeah?
It’s just a bridge, yeah…
It’s just a bridge, yeah…

And I want to know the future, yeah
But I can’t look over this day, no
I could work until I’m blue, from the mission
‘Til it’s more than just a vision in my head

More than just a vision in my head
More than just some ‘thing’ somebody said
More than just a lesson to be read
More like part of you and me, instead
More than just some Thing hanging over my bed!
Oh yeah
More like part of you and ME

Music Therapy with Miss Moon

" When people believe in themselves they have the first secret of success."
~ Norman Vincent Peale

" You are very powerful, provided you know how powerful you are."
~ Yogi Bhajan

" Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough."
~ Oprah Winfrey

Sometimes it's the simple act of going to work that makes me feel like I will always struggle to maintain. I work in the NoHo section of Manhattan, which is a pretty affluent area surrounded by shops I couldn't afford to shop in (even if they sold items in my size) and while many of us in the area of rushing to get to our jobs, there are countless people hanging out shopping. Because they can.

And I admit to feeling a little... okay a lot of jealously for them. I wish my life was as easy breezy as theirs seems to be and I look at my surroundings and wonder what misstep did I take to end up where I am. Thoughts like that only lead to more negative thinking... and in the end, I generally end up feeling like the biggest loser on the planet. Why do I subject myself to this?

My life is exactly the way it should be right now. I have enough, I am enough. I have a job that keeps me supported and I feel I'm very good at what I do. Furthermore, I have many many more talents to offer the world and when the opportunity arises, I will take it wholeheartedly. I will remain where I am and walk past all the shopping socialites to my job and be proud that I have the means to care for myself.

Like a sign from the Universe, in the midst of feeling this horrible feeling of being stuck I was reunited with today's song choice for Music Therapy with Miss Moon. When I was younger (way before I joined the workforce), it was one of my favorite songs and it always filled me with an incredible sense of optimism for the future. Listening to it again filled me with that same optimism, and I felt like questions I was asking the Universe had finally been answered. Keep going, keep trying, run your own race, and never give in.

If you are feeling disheartened or stuck in a current situation, I hope that "When Am I  Going To Make A Living" by Sade will serve as a reminder that your future is bright as long as you remember to shine in the present.



When am I gonna make a living?
It's gonna take a while before I give in.
See the people fussing and thieving.
While the sharks are wheeling and dealing.

Gotta look up and tell yourself,
there's no end to what you can do.
They'll waste your body and soul if you allow them to.
This is time to start believing in yourself.
Put the blame on no-one else.

When am I gonna make a living?
It's gonna take a while before I give in.
See the people fussing and stealing.
Too many lies, no-one is achieving.

Haven't I told you before,
"we're hungry for a life we can't afford."
There's no end to what you can do.
If you give yourself a chance to prove.

We're hungry but we won't give in.
Hungry but we won't give in.
Hungry but we won't give in.
Hungry but we won't give in.
Hungry but we won't give in.
We're hungry but we won't give in.
Hungry but we won't give in.
Hungry but we won't give in.

There's no end to what you can do.
They'll waste your body and soul if you allow them to.
Start believing in yourself.
Put the blame on no-one else.

When am I gonna make a living?.
It's gonna take a while before I give in. Yes it is.
I'm sick and tired of scratching a living.
I am hungry but I'm not gonna give in.

We're hungry but we won't give in.
Hungry but we won't give in.
Hungry but we won't give in.
Hungry but we won't give in.
Hungry but we won't give in.
Hungry but we won't give in.
Hungry but we won't give in.
Hungry but we're gonna win.

Music Therapy with Miss Moon

" Being solitary is being alone well: being alone luxuriously immersed in doings of your own choice, aware of the fullness of your won presence rather than of the absence of others. Because solitude is an achievement."
~ Alice Koller

" The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to oneself."
~ Michel de Monaigne

" It is only alone, truly alone what one burst apart, springs forth."
~ Maria Isabel Barreno

I am a woman who has no problems having only herself for company. In fact, I rather enjoy my own company... I'm awesome! When I'm asked, "Doesn't being alone so much make you feel sad or lonely?", I reply that being alone can definitely make one sad. Being solitary? Not so much! I've learned that I need moments of solitude from time to time.... It's a Scorpio thing, I think! LOL

I've become a much more social creature lately and I've been out and about with friends much more. And now that I've reentered the dating scene, I've gone out more in the past few months than I had in the previous year! Because I've been more social and active and a part of the world, it's become much for pertinent  for me to take time out for myself. To refuel, recharge, zone out, laugh, create, think, daydream... anything my heart desires.

For today's song choice for Music Therapy with Miss Moon, I picked a song from the one and only Erykah Badu that I think should be the anthem for being solitary. If you've been craving some alone time with your thoughts, I sincerely hope that "Vibrate On" will motivate you to do it.. soon!



Hey...
Hey, Hey...

Oh Let me know, let me know, let me knw, there she go.

They knew I was gangsta, When I hit the door.
I was hurting them baby, it was pitiful.
Everything I was doing, was their favorite thing.
What's your number, what's your name -- like all night long.

They on--
But I'm long gone, at home with the vibrate on...my phone.
Because I rather be left alone...a-lone.

Got no money for Spirits, so I contemplate.
Gonna drink me some water, and get over it.
Plus I'm running a fever, 'cause I'm getting sick.
Of what's your number, what's your name, like all night long.

They on--
But I'm long gone, at home with the vibrate on...my phone.
'Cause I rather be left alone...all night long. They on--
But I'm long gone, at home with the vibrate on...my phone.
'Cause I rather be left alone...oh

Wanna Be

My pistol is loaded, and my tank is full.
My cup runneth over, I'm in Hollywood.
It's 2 in the morning, just another day, for what's your number, what's your name -- damn, all night long.

They On--
But I'm long gone, at home with the vibrate on...my phone.
'Cause I rather be left alone...

Music Therapy with Miss Moon

" One cannot manage too many affairs: like pumpkins in the water, one pops up while you try to hold down the other."
~ Chinese Proverb

" The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough."
~ Rabindranath Tagore

“ The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.”
~ Albert Einstein

I admit it. I suck at multitasking. Well, that's not 100% true...

At work, I'm a beast!! I can answer and email, talk to a customer on the telephone and send an instant message to co-workers at the same time. But when it comes to balancing work with everything else in my life... it's a challenge that I'm trying to learn from and ultimately master.

I know that the time to do everything I want and need to do is available if I seek it out. The greatest challenge thus far is to prioritize and get each thing done in that small window of time allotted to me. So the best way I've found to do this is to fake it like I have everything together and that juggling all that life is throwing at me is effortless. Trust me, it ain't! LOL

Today's song choice for Music Therapy with Miss Moon has become a sort of anthem of mine, that I use to trick my mind and body into believing that I have more time to get everything accomplished than I really do. If you're like me, and you feel sometimes that there needs to be more hours of the day, then I hope that Little Jackie's "Move to the Beat" will motivate you to find the time to get it done and have a little fun in the process!



You move to the beat
Move to the beat
You move to the beat

Can you have it all?
Will you trip and fall,
While you do everything?

What's behind the scene
Hope nobody sees you
Stumble while you walk across that balance beam.

I know it's hard
To try to make it look easy
Try to stay in charge
And please everybody

You gotta move with the traffic
And go with the flow
Hop on one foot while you touch your nose
Trouble taking things with your other hand?
Ahh suck it up and be a man

Can you do it all?
Baby if you're asking
You're looking at the queen of multi-tasking
You move to the beat
Move to the beat
Tap into the insanity, yeah

You move to the beat
You can feel the heat
You embrace the multiplicity

I know it's hard
To try to make it look easy
Try to stay in charge
And please everybody

You gotta move with the traffic
And go with the flow
Hop on one foot while you touch your nose
Trouble taking things with your other hand?
Ahh suck it up and be a man

Can you do it all?
Baby if you're asking
You're looking at the queen of multi-tasking
You move to the beat
Move to the beat
Tap into the insanity, yeah

You move to the beat
Sha la la la
Sha la la la
Sha la la la
Sha la la la
Sha la la la
Sha la la la
Move to the beat
Sha la la la
Sha la la la
Sha la la la
Sha la la la
Sha la la la
Sha la la la

You gotta move with the traffic
And go with the flow
Hop on one foot while you touch your nose
Trouble taking things with your other hand?
Ahh suck it up and be a man

Can you do it all
Baby if you're asking
You're looking at the queen of multi-tasking
You move to the beat
Move to the beat
Tap into the insanity, yeah

You move to the beat
Sha la la la
Sha la la la
Move to the beat
You move to the beat
Sha la la la
Sha la la la
Move to the beat
You move to the beat
Sha la la la
Sha la la la
Move to the beat

Music Therapy with Miss Moon

" One of the virtues of being very young is that you don't let the facts get in the way of your imagination."
~ Sam Levenson

" The reluctance to put away childish things may be a requirement of genius."
~ Rebecca Pepper Sinkler

" Seriousness is a disease."
~ Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh

One of the things that I am most proud of is that people I meet find it very hard to believe that I am 35. Yep. I am 35 years old and 40 is rapidly approaching.

People's surprise at learning my age is not a source of pride for me because of some vain notion that I look younger than 35. I am 35, so this is clearly what a 35 year old looks like for me. I am proud of this fact because on most days, I feel much younger than I am. I am young at heart, and I guess it reflects in the way I look somehow.

But there are days when I feel OLD. I feel older than 35, in fact. Days where getting up out of bed and being a grown up is a big ole drag! But I do it, because I AM a grown up, and part of being one means that there are responsibilities that must be attended to. So I do my grown up, responsible thing, and then I dedicate one weekend day to just having a fun: watching cartoons, eating junk food, dancing around my room with a brush in my hand as a makeshift microphone... anything I can do to reclaim some of that childish spirit.

So for today's Music Therapy with Miss Moon song choice, I wanted to pick a song that was fun, upbeat and very youthful. One that would bring into mind of being young, without a care in a world, and allow all of us grown ups to take a piece of that exuberant spirit with us through the work week. So I hope you all will enjoy "Perfect Day" by Hoku, and that it will remind you to take time out of your busy schedules, responsibilities, and adulthood to have a perfect day for yourself. You deserve it!



Sun's up, a little after twelve, make breakfast for myself
Leave the work for someone else
People say, they say that it's just a phase
They tell me to act my age, well I am

On this perfect day, nothing's standing in my way
On this perfect day when nothing can go wrong
It's the perfect day, tomorrow's gonna come too soon
I could stay, forever as I am on this perfect day

Sun's down, a little after ten I pick up all my friends
In my Mercedes Benz, wake up don't tell me it's just a dream
'Cause when I've had enough you'll hear me say
Now don't you try to rain on my

Perfect day, nothing's standing in my way
On this perfect day when nothing can go wrong
It's the perfect day, tomorrow's gonna come too soon
I could stay, forever as I am on this perfect day

I'm in the race but I've already won
And getting there can be half the fun
So don't stop me till I'm good and done
Don't you try to rain on my

Perfect day, it's the perfect day
It's the perfect day, nothing's gonna bring me down
I could stay, forever as I am
On this perfect day, nothing's standing in my way
On this perfect day, nothing can go wrong

I'm in the race but I've already won
And getting there can be half the fun
So don't stop me till I'm good and done
Don't you try to rain on my perfect day
On this perfect day, on this perfect day

Music Therapy with Miss Moon

“ Optimist: Day-dreamer more elegantly spelled.”
~ Mark Twain

" What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise."
~ Oscar Wilde

" The optimism of a healthy mind is indefatigable."
~ Margery Allingham

" March on. Do not tarry. To go forward is to move toward perfection. March on, and fear not the thorns, or the sharp stones on life's path."
~ Khalil Gibran

Confession time: I haven' been faring too well in the optimism department as of late. I've been going through the motions with my daily gratitude list, but haven't been putting the love and happiness into it. So it should come as no surprise to me that I've allowed pessimism and negativity to creep into my daily life. No more, though.

I'm learning that a bright and optimistic spirited can change upon circumstance and from the neglect of it. Instead of devoting energy to wringing my hands and dwelling on the "could-a would-a should-as", I will use it to nurture gratitude for my life and acknowledging the optimistic spirit within me.

Days after coming to this conclusion, I received a significant sign from the Universe that I was headed in the right direction. I found a Hamsa, or a Hand of Fatima on my way to work, a symbol I've always loved. I love and am so grateful for the moments in my life when I receive instant confirmation that I've found the better way I've been seeking.

And to celebrate this discovery, I share with all of you today's song choice for Music Therapy with Miss Moon. I hope you all will enjoy Ben Harper's "Better Way" and that it will usher forth a better way for all of us.


i'm a living sunset
lightning in my bones
push me to the edge
but my will is stone

fools will be fools
and wise will be wise
but i will look this world
straight in the eyes

what good is a man
who won't take a stand
what good is a cynic
with no better plan

(hope these words feel pleasant
as they rest upon your ears)

reality is sharp
it cuts at me like a knife
everyone i know
is in the fight of their life

take your face out of your hands
and clear your eyes
you have a right to your dreams
and don't be denied

i believe in a better way

Music Therapy with Miss Moon

" The person who sends out positive thoughts activates the world around him positively and draws back to himself positive results."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

" Affectation is a greater enemy to the face than smallpox."
~ English Proverb

" The last of the human freedoms is to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances."
~ William James

For years, as a joke I referred to Fiona Apple's "Fast As You Can" as my "relationship anthem". I even went as far as to exaggerate that when I meet my next prospective partner, I would play the song for him... so he would know what he was getting into right from the start.

Even though I said it in jest, I think a part of me really thought that the song was an accurate representation of who I am in a relationship. It's not and I know this now. In retrospect, it would explain a lot about the way I am projecting myself and how men see me... and why I'm single still! LOL

So I meditated on it and I let myself be open to a new anthem to come into my life. And days later, I heard today's song choice for Music Therapy with Miss Moon at work. I hadn't heard this song in years, and I remembered liking it when it first dropped.

In rediscovering the song and taking in the lyrics, I found myself saying "THIS!!! This is me in a relationship!!". And I think that this song is the perfect new anthem to adopt. So I hope you all will enjoy "Clumsy" by Fergie. If you are single (or even if you are not) do you have a relationship anthem? What's yours?



Can't help it
The girl can't help it
Can't help it
The girl can't help it
Can't help it
The girl can't help it

First time
That I saw your eyes
Boy you looked right through me, mmmhmm
Played it cool
But I knew you knew
That cupid hit me, mmm mmm

You got me tripping, stumbling, flipping, fumbling
Clumsy cause I'm falling in love
You got me slipping, tumbling, sinking, fumbling
Clumsy cause I'm falling in love
So in love with you

Can't help it
The girl can't help it
Can't help it
The girl can't help it
Can't help it
The girl can't help it

Can't breath
When you touch my sleeve
Butterflies so crazy, mmm mmm
Whoa now, think I'm going down
Friends don't know whats with me, mmm mmm

You got me tripping, stumbling, flipping, fumbling
Clumsy cause I'm falling in love
You got me slipping, tumbling, sinking, fumbling
Clumsy cause I'm falling in love
So in love with you

Can't help it
The girl can't help it
Can't help it
The girl can't help it
Can't help it
The girl can't help it

You know, this isn't the first time this has happened to me
This love sick thing
I like serious relationships and a
A girl like me don't stay single for long
Cause everytime a boyfriend and I break up
My world is crushed and I'm all alone
The love bug crawls right back up and bites me and I'm back

Can't help it
The girl can't help it
Can't help it
The girl can't help it
Can't help it
The girl can't help it

You got me tripping, stumbling, flipping, fumbling
Clumsy cause I'm falling in love
You got me slipping, tumbling, sinking, fumbling
Clumsy cause I'm falling in love
So in love with you
So in love with you
So in love with you

Music Therapy with Miss Moon

“ Find the love you seek, by first finding the love within yourself. Learn to rest in that place within you that is your true home.”
~ Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

" You protect your being when you love yourself better. That's the secret. "
~ Isabelle Adjani

" You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love and affection."
~ Buddha

I used to be the kind of girl who HATED Valentine's Day when I was single. Back then, the day served as a  reminder of how painfully alone (I thought) I was... But as I got older, I realized that it could be a great opportunity to lavish myself with love, and what could be better than giving and getting love?

When you are your own personal Valentine... you know you'll be getting exactly what you want with no strings attached. And you know that the gift will be appreciated and valued with no regret or disappointment. For this year, some friends and I will be going to dinner and a movie. We've decided to make ourselves and each other our Valentines!

So this week's song choice for Music Therapy with Miss Moon is a very special Valentine's Day shout out to all of us. Dedicate this song to yourself and sing along if you know you are loved!!! I hope you all will enjoy "Video" by India.Arie.



Sometimes I shave my legs and sometimes I don't
Sometimes I comb my hair and sometimes I won't
Depend on how the wind blows I might even paint my toes
It really just depends on whatever feels good in my soul

I'm not the average girl from your video
and I ain't built like a supermodel
But, I learned to love myself unconditionally
Because I am a queen
I'm not the average girl from your video
My worth is not determined by the price of my clothes
No matter what I'm wearing I will always be the india arie

When I look in the mirror and the only one there is me
Every freckle on my face is where it's supposed to be
And I know our creator didn't make no mistakes on me
My feet, my thighs, my lips, my eyes; I'm lovin' what I see

I'm not the average girl from your video
and I ain't built like a supermodel
But, I learned to love myself unconditionally
Because I am a queen
I'm not the average girl from your video
My worth is not determined by the price of my clothes
No matter what I'm wearing I will always be the
india arie

Am I less of a lady if I don't wear pantyhose?
My mama said a lady ain't what she wears but, what she knows
But, I've drawn a conclusion, it's all an illusion, confusion's the name of the
game
A misconception, a vast deception
Something's gotta change
but,Don't be offended this is all my opinion
ain't nothing that I'm sayin law
This is a true confession of a life learned lesson I was sent here to share with
y'all
So get in where you fit in go on and shine
Clear your mind, now's the time
Put your salt on the shelf
Go on and love yourself
'Cuz everything's gonna be all right

I'm not the average girl from your video
and I ain't built like a supermodel
But, I Learned to love myself unconditionally
Because I am a queen
I'm not the average girl from your video
My worth is not determined by the price of my clothes
No matter what I'm wearing I will always be the india arie

Keep your fancy drinks and your expensive minks
I don't need that to have a good time
Keep your expensive car and your caviar
All I need is my guitar
Keep your Kristal and your pistol
I'd rather have a pretty piece of crystal
Don't need your silicone I prefer my own
What God gave me is just fine

I'm not the average girl from your video
and I ain't built like a supermodel
But, I learned to love myself unconditionally
Because I am a queen
I'm not the average girl from your video
My worth is not determined by the price of my clothes
No matter what I'm wearing I will always be india arie