Your Music is Timeless...

The world mourns another legend...this time it's Whitney Houston. I remember singing one of her hits: One moment in time at my primary (elementary) school graduation....I remember all the words to this day. The Bodyguard was one of my favourite movies...along with Waiting to Exhale. Someone just remarked on cnn that when you live a life in the spotlight everyone knows what you're going through at any given moment. I think that not all times this is true. These talented famous people get on stage and make appearances to wow the world and make us happy while making records and movies as part of their job, but no one really knows how they truly feel inside when they get home at night and shut the doors to the world. It's really sad indeed, that sometimes it's those with the greatest talent are the ones with the most pain and internal warfare and need the most love and support. Just a week or so ago it was Don Cornelius. It's sad to think that while they make sooo many people happy around the world...they can't find that happiness within to make the pain go away....really sad. 

Their music and life's work are able to break down borders and traverse race, geography, languages, culture and religion....their music is timeless. Some of them however live a really lonely and tormented life and to onlookers it seems that everything is all glitz and glamour and everything is all well in their world but all that glitters is not gold. It's good to acknowledge the talent in others but always recognize the source. We (myself included) must live our life in such a way to nourish and keep connected to that source that we will always be able to let our talents shine for the world to enjoy. We must be able to surmount the fears, obstacles and temptations that may block us from our true path and connection to God which is the true and almighty source of all talent.

I'll leave you with the words of the Emmy award winning song that Whitney made famous in 1988: 

"You're a winner for a lifetime, if you seize that one moment in time...Make it shine..." 

- From One Moment in Time (1988) recorded by Whitney Houston and written by Albert Hammond and John Bettis.

Your music created wonderful memories for us all...RIP...definitely gone too soon.

TGIF

Friday is almost here!!

In some countries it's well underway. Did you make it count?! Did you do everything you set out to do on Monday? Did we surpass our expectations or did we just do the usual to get by....what are you waiting for?!! It's not too late to score that touch down you've been doubting yourself about. Push a little harder and next time it'll be yours:)

Hope you had a good week.

Sometimes it's a roller coaster ride and the only thing you can rely on is your faith that all will work out well in the end. When it looks like those dark clouds are headed your way...walk with your umbrella and learn to dance in the rain and have fun without getting caught in the downpour!!! Don't let anyone rain on your parade because you've worked too hard and worth too much! Who's not glad for the weekend...let me see a show of hands (or retweets)!! Not me...I'm glad it's almost over and I can sleep in for two days!! Who's going to Misty Ridge?? Fatima?? (in trini)...Enjoy for me;P Was too late for tiks:(( but all is not lost. Whatever you're doing, wherever you're going...be safe and have a good weekend!! And remember to Make it Count!!

Peace.

Let's chase the Monday blues away!

Have a great week folks. I trust that you had a good weekend and we're all recharged and ready to go! I know only two days you say but let's try to Make it Count whatever we're doing, where ever we go...that way Friday will come again before we know it;)

I'll leave you with a bit of inspiration to chase the Monday blues away!

Through the years...

photo credit-salon.com

Sometimes when I'm in a public place I "people watch." And at times I can't help but stare at the elderly. I've always wanted to blog about that but somehow I never got around to it...until now. When I look at them...their life flash before my eyes. I see history. I picture what it would have been like for them when they were young and what they would have looked like. What kind of life they had...spouses, children. Then I'm left with soo much sadness to see how time has brought on a whole other dimension to that person. What's even sadder is that in time I will be where that person is: aged...and some other youth will be looking at me in the same way. Sometimes I think I am too deep for my own good and I wonder if the average person thinks about these very distant and at times morbid thoughts of death and aging. For those of you that watched The Notebook or have aged parents, aunts/uncles or grandparents know what I'm talking about, especially when you look at old pictures from another time and place.

If you believe in the bible...then sometimes we may wonder how life would have been if Eve did not lead Adam to eat that forbidden fruit and people still lived to be 800 and 900 years old....not quite sure the origins of that whole aging story but just food for thought. What would we do differently? What would you do differently with your life if it was stretched out before you? Would you be caught up in vanity and "play yourself" as we say in trini. Or would you keep reinventing yourself to be the best person: daughter/son, mother/father, sister/brother, wife/husband, partner, friend, employee, citizen that you can possibly be? Would we seek to find our purpose and fulfill our true potential sharing our gifts and talents with the world? Would we cherish those persons we hold near and dear to us until it's time to part ways?

No matter how many years we are given to "live out" our time here on earth...how can we make the most of it? How many of us wish we had more time to do all the things we wanted to do...always putting off something for another day until we realize when it's too late that our time here is through? How many of us live our lives for other people...always trying to please someone else and sacrificing our own lives in the process? Some of our lives even get cut short before we are given a chance to give any of these things thought. That's why we have to live each day like it's our last and Make each Moment Count.

Can you relate? Feel free to post your comments. For more thought provoking musings get your own copy of my new book Thinking out Loud available here:

http://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Out-Loud-Carolyn-Correia/dp/1105184382/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1326334445&sr=1-1 (US) 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thinking-Out-Loud-Carolyn-Correia/dp/1105184382 (UK)

https://www.lulu.com/commerce/index.php?fBuyContent=11764998

Happy 1st February!!

photo credit -clipartof.com

Hoy is miercoles de febrero!

Wednesday...the first day of February 2012...and if you have breathe in your body then you have a lot to be thankful for. Sometimes we are so caught up in our world we forget what a blessing it is to be alive. Sometimes I myself am guilty of this, then every time I slow down long enough to commune with nature I realize how great I have it. Lots of things to be thankful for...like family and friends. [Even the loneliest person has 1 friend I'm sure!]. Employment [although wish I can trade in my day job for a full time writing gig with paid vacations in Hawai and Paris! heheh]

Right now...our nation is preparing for The Greatest Show on earth...which is Trinidad & Tobago Carnival...I would try to keep you in the loop of what's going on in these parts. If you can partake of the festivities ...it's definitely a "must-see" event from Panorama - steelpan, Soca Monarch, Chutney Soca Monarch, Brass Festival, Dimanche Gras, Parade of Bands on Carnival Monday & Tuesday and of course who can't forget the fetes leading up to the Big days...the all-inclusives [fetes] and the like with your fill of live bands, well-stocked bar, security and every cuisine under the sun.

On another note...how was your day?! Mine wasn't the greatest to be honest...things didn't exactly go as planned...but you know what? I made it through the day! That's a big accomplishment...lots of people aren't as lucky. Sometimes people would help you out of a difficult situation when you need a listening ear but not all times they can help you find a permanent solution to whatever challenge or difficulty you're facing. What we fail to realize is that the only permanent solution to our problem is to take it to the Lord in prayer which I did today and that gnawing feeling immediately dissipated like magic! But no magic there...that's the power of prayer.

I earnestly intend to get even closer to Him as the year goes by. Soon it will be lent and many of us would attempt to make a sacrifice (or do without something) during this period. In this way, we humble ourselves to draw closer to Him so as to receive His spiritual gifts that manifests itself most times in a tangible way in our lives. But I'm rushing the weeks...marvel in each moment and savour every memory because this time can never come again!

Peace

XO

Set a new record!!

¡Buenas noches mis amigos!

Las Cuevas Trinidad & Tobago © C. K.Correia

Yep that's the effect Spanish class has on me. My day just escalated on the scale of enjoyment after that class. The things a foreign language can do! Can't wait for Thursday (jueves)! 

So with Christmas just a fond memory...the New Year well under way....and here we stand at the last day of January...waiting at the door of February...my how time flies! I hope you made this month of January memorable. As we look forward to February...let's put our fears aside and embark on a new adventure to create new memories and break our previous record!

Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit!!

Hasta luego~

Make it count!!

Hello my lovelies:)

Peakes sunset image courtesy C. K. Correia

It's been a while. Just got home from a day out. Felt like I needed a time-out. After doing my errands, I decided to treat myself and I did a little bit of shopping. After that I stopped by a friend of mine who is always a good hostess:) I really need to be grateful for the little things more, for they make it all worthwhile. Yesterday morning I saw a rainbow as a I was driving to work and it always makes me smile...had to take a pic and put it up on bbm. How many things like this go unnoticed because we are too busy or too caught up in our "own little Idaho?" There are many things....while I was at the carwash the other day, I saw the most beautiful scenery outside the gas station near the ocean as some guys were playing football. Again, I put it up on messenger and in a matter of minutes persons were messaging me to find out where it was! One of my friends even went to check it out himself. Beautiful and majestic this universe is! We need to learn to appreciate it more for all it's worth!

Here are a few ways that I have learnt how:

• Discovering that there are many different languages, countries and cultures to explore e.g. taking a Spanish class, travelling to a new place or rediscovering an old one
•  
• Slowing down long enough time to smell the roses literally!!
• 
  
• Discovering the beauty or a different side of people
•  
• Learning to appreciate music
•  
• Discovering different ways to express your talents
•  
• Being thankful for the small mercies and luxuries you are blessed with: ability to express yourself freely/live in a free country, talk, sing, dance, walk, exercise, play, go to the beach, listen to music, drive

Rainbow QPS - image courtesy C. K. Correia

Last weekend of January already! Make it count people! And remember: there's always a rainbow after the storm once you walk in faith:-)
XO

Freedom: What's in a word?

One last thing before I hit my sheets...

google image

For many of you interested in quitting the rat race for your own dream job in the not too distant future, here's an entrepreneurial article that I wrote for a business consultancy blog:


Freedom: What's in a word?
Enterprise Hub http://www.enterprise-hub.com/page11.htm

Enterprise Hub - Blog

www.enterprise-hub.com

Check out this awesome review of my book: Thinking out Loud!

https://www.facebook.com/enterprisehubtt

For more info and/or business advice/training needs etc...you can check out the Enterprise Hub's website or facebook page.

Cheers!

Break Free!

photo credit - flikr.com

Ever thought you needed to do more? To surpass your previous limit you set for yourself? Soar above the ordinary...beyond your own expectations. Just do something spectacular, ground breaking and out of this world??! 

At I lay under my blanket yesterday evening (with all the rain we've been having in these parts) the thought drifted into my head and I thought and THOUGHT, brainstormed and prayed for an answer: a [creative] brain wave as my boss would say lol. I did not put too much thought into it but soon I will come up with the answer...would not rest until I do! I do not know exactly when I became this driven but it sometimes keep me awake at night (not really but I thought that statement had a dramatic appeal to it:)

I absolutely LOVE creating new things, coming up with new ideas and ways to do things differently...to get a stir and reaction out of people...something to get oohs and ahhs and wide eyes and dropped jaws:) Maybe it's my nature, someone once told me that I crave attention - wasn't really a compliment at the time, needless to say I used it to my advantage. Maybe being the last child in a family of five...it's something inherent in my nature...who knows. Hey my major wasn't psychology although I did do well at the few courses I took. I feel like I have soo much to say, to get off my chest...to share with the world. That's why at times I feel a bit stifled, not able to do this fully. As I said in my book, this blog is cathartic and it's a release for me to purge myself of all emotional build up throughout my journey... as we all do. I think everyone does it each in their own way. I love self-expression both verbal and written and I wish I had the time to devote more time to it....to just write and write and record/broadcast away! Time will tell. I guess I have to put aside a little time day by day until I achieve my goal and have another published book under my belt...ohhh how I long for the day!

Until then...my audio book is my next project. I have been getting requests for a translation into Spanish and kindle....but that will take some time. In the meantime....please feel free to peruse the preview and order yours today on amazon shipped to you anywhere in the world. Isn't technology amazing? http://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Out-Loud-Carolyn-Correia/dp/1105184382/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1326334445&sr=1-1 (US) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thinking-Out-Loud-Carolyn-Correia/dp/1105184382 (UK)

Thanks for your support. My blog readership is growing everyday. Please feel free to drop me a line so that I know what you're thinking. And to think my blog was first a very private blog only visible by a few close friends and family...now I feel so liberated to share my photos and videos unabashed...I'm viral! My! how I've come such a long way...all thanks to my co-worker Nigel:-) xo

Be blessed and have a great night and day tomorrow folks. See you in the manana!

Viewed my photos from the launch for the first time since December and took me back....might surprise you next time....Stay tuned!