"Shmeykhlen" – 12/28/20

As this farkacht year
(hopefully a Yiddish curse won't get me banned)
Comes to a definitive denouement,
I just want to send everyone a little extra love.
A lot of people tell me I seem to have
"weathered" this pandemic particularly well.

The truth is I have endured a lot of loss - dear friends
and relatives who have passed, some from Covid
and others from cancer - and every day I have to
literally coax myself out of bed. I am often depressed
and frequently "a mess". But through it all I have been
so so fortunate for the loving support and

encouragement of friends & listeners - egging me on,
telling me not to stop making music or art...because
it's no secret those things bring joy and moment by
moment, also build bridges between kindred spirits
(and sometimes not-so-kindred, too). When I wear a
smile on my face it is not always automatic, but it

never fails to make me feel better. I look for the
opportunities to sparkle because it also helps me
cast interesting shadows that then become songs
and paintings and hopefully to create a cycle of uplift,
however nuanced. Plus, it's been proven to elevate
one's mood. What makes you smile? And also:
Crying is G-d's way of sprouting soul-flowers, nu?