After my last blog, I was filled with excitement to sing at Credo Coffee shop. I had been rehearsing vocal and guitar for over a week in order to perform there for what would be my 2nd time. The guitar was becoming my friend and I let go of my grudge against it. You see the guitar and I have a “love/hate” relationship. But recently I decided to give it another try on my terms. So when my baby girl fell asleep and with my husband’s support; I practiced chords on guitar and strummed along to my original tunes. I felt fairly confident that I was ready to showcase my original songs, even if my guitar skills were not perfect. However, sometimes things happen for a reason. The weekend prior to open mic, the guitar was not tuned. I tried tuning it several times, using different tuning methods but was not successful. I was losing hope and wondered if the guitar was broken. But really I felt like the broken one because I was so disappointed. What I really wanted was the last two days (weekend) to rehearse. And well with a baby, various creative endeavors and life; it just didn’t happen. With that being said, I am glad it did not. And thankfully, the guitar was fixed. It turned out that only ONE STRING was out of tune. But due to limited time and my desire to perform at my best; I chose to sing at next open mic. I’m thinking about trying out Austin’s Coffee Shop next week. Sometimes I am too hard on myself. One missed open mic is nothing in grand scheme of life. The important thing is that I am playing the guitar and not giving up on this creative growth.
Sometimes the unexpected actually turns out to be a great thing! So after my disappointment, I set my mind on the next creative goals. And with a tuned guitar, I felt that opportunities were endless. Then I got a phone call from my agent. She wanted to submit me as print model for Scholastic Books catalog. I was excited and of course said “Yes!”. I booked the job and arrived at Scholastic Books on Thursday. It was such a positive experience and the team of artists, directors and photographer were professional. This is another experience that reaffirmed my love of entertainment field. I enjoy print modeling as much as acting and singing.
It just goes to show you that sometimes change is a GREAT thing and that unexpectancies can be GREAT. Here are some quotes that I stumbled upon when looking up “unexpectancies, change.”
“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” -Maria Robinson
“Today is the first day of the rest of your life.” -Anonymous
“All great changes are preceded by chaos.” -Deepak Chopra
“Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars. You have to let go at some point in order to move forward.” -C.S. Lewis
“Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.” -Marilyn Monroe
“If what you’re doing is not your passion, you have nothing to lose.” Unknown
This Monday I will be singing for the 2nd time after a long break (post baby). I’m excited and surprised myself recently when I picked up the guitar again (literally). I have a love/hate relationship with the guitar. It dates back to many guitar lessons, in which I didn’t feel I was learning the guitar in the way “I should”; as dictated by teachers. So I learn differently and needed the teacher’s “style” to adapt. Several of my music teachers were unwilling to find a method that worked for me, rigidly wanting to stick to their own style. So after a few attempts to privately train; I decided to teach myself. So far so good. I know a few guitar chords and can strum, so this is a start. Monday night, I will be singing original lyrics and strumming my guitar at a local coffee shop. It shall be fun!
Lately, I have been very inspired by consistently saying my “thank you’s” about everything in this life. I’m thankful for every bite of delicious food, the home I live in, the baby and family I have. Its being as grateful for the small things, small moments as I am for the bigger things and bigger moments. As I give more gratitude, I feel more positivity and it magnifies in expected and unexpected ways. That’s the best way I know how to describe the feeling.
Well keep on giving and stay tuned for my new original songs/lyrics to be posted.
Lately the word “Acceptance” has been on my mind. I hardly feel like writing tonight as I am one busy mommy and entrepreneur these days. But I miss writing to you, my blogger friends. So yesterday I started pondering over how I am feeling, as many artists do. The words that popped up in my mind are “gratitude and acceptance”. As I have written in previous blogs; I have been feeling immense gratitude for the people, things and places that fill up my heart and mind. The book “The Magic” has inspired me like never before. However, the word “Acceptance” took me by surprise.
So I asked myself, “Where is this word coming from?” The answer: I accept who I am today, not tomorrow. I have spent a great deal of time planning my future and daydreaming. I’m a big believer in futuristic thinking but sometimes people get stuck in either the past or future. I began to feel stuck in the future, not knowing how to be present minded. Still-I am working on being more mindful each day.
The future is now. As I made plans for the future; I also began to feel stuck in the mindset of ”why aren’t my dreams happening sooner? and I will be happy when….” How many of you have felt this way? So I realized I have been living for the future. Although I have been making strides towards my goals of being an actor, singer and writer; it was never good enough. So I asked myself, ” What can I do now to be happy?” What can I do, while pursuing my dreams that will be a “muse” to my creative ideas?
The entrepreneur in me has come up with a vision. I look forward to sharing this plan with you, as soon as it is copyrighted.=) So back to the word “Acceptance.” I’m learning to accept that I am always going to be the “type” to want a job that is spontaneous, creative and in a healthy, happy environment. After browsing the internet about the word “Acceptance.”, I found a few quotes that inspired me and would like to share with you tonight.
“To be given permission to be confused — and remain confused — for as long as it takes would have been a huge gift.”
― Janet Jackson, True You: A Journey to Finding and Loving Yourself
“In life one has a choice to take one of two paths: to wait for some special day – or to celebrate each special day.”
― Rasheed Ogunlaru
The price tag that you put on your soul will determine the people and circumstances in which you find yourself.”
I am reading this awe-inspiring book called ” The Magic” by Rhonda Byrnes. It from the series of books beginning with The Secret, then “The Power” and now “The Magic” regarding the Law of Attraction. There is a paragraph at start of first chapter which truly captures the essence of “The Magic”.
It reads “I am here to tell you that the magic you once believed in is true, and it’s the disillusioned adult perspective of life that is false. The magic of life is real and it’s as real as you are. In fact, life can be far more wondrous than you ever thought it was as a child, and more breathtaking, awe-inspiring, and exciting than anything you’ve seen before. When you know what to do to bring forth the magic, you will live the life of your dreams. Then, you will wonder how you ever could have given up in believing in the magic of life!”
The key discussed at the start of this book. And I say “start” because I have just begun reading this book. The key is one word: Gratitude. Yes, many of us daily give thanks for “our bread”, friends, family and say thank you to the stranger who kindly opens the door. However, the author challenges us to give an abundance of thanks with intention and regularly. There is a 28 day journey to bring forth the magic into your life by gratitude detailed in the book. The book also provides activities to increase gratitude.
So I want to say a big THANK YOU to Rhonda Byrne and the team that created this book “The Magic”. Why? Because the more I give; the more magical my life becomes. As Willie Nelson (singer-songwriter) quotes ” When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.” I have been aware of gratitude and believe I am a grateful person. However, I can be doing so much more to express gratitude and give back.
I hope that this blog inspires you, the reader, to continue your journey of attracting magic to your life. Give, give, give!!!
It’s been awhile since I have written…well not too long. I wrote blogs for sixty days. However, I promised myself that after the sixty days; I’d only post relevant information to my writing, singing and acting.
So here is the latest news. I performed at Open Mic night for Credo Coffee Shop last Monday evening in College Park, Florida. My family and friends supported me in many ways. I asked my parents to babysit and I had sisters/friends who came out to root me on. I was overcome with gratitude for their support. Below is a peak at the YouTube clips of two songs I wrote.
First song: No Home Without You (Co Written: Kimberly Beaman and Susie Foster-Trewick; Vocals by Kimberly Beaman) Copyrights 2013
There is something so exciting, glorious about co writing. At first the road can be bumpy because you have two people who often come from different writing styles. But the journey of writing as a team is fun. Tonight my friend and I completed the lyrics to a new song. We had never worked together before. We didn’t know what to expect but we are both very optimistic. The art of writing lyrics together is a creative art form in and of itself. It is like waves of an ocean which begin to take form and flow in unison.
Creative juices are flowing at rapid pace. I am beginning to see this life transition in full effect. I’m embracing any fears that creep up and jumping into unknown and known territory.
And with that, good night. Not much more to say. Stay tuned for our song, whose title will be released when I post the track.
It was not the average Tuesday. Why? Because I made the decision to change-up the routine this week. I took Olivia to Science Center this morning after her doctor’s appointment. Doctor said she is one healthy girl, thank goodness! We went to the Science Center afterwards to celebrate. Liv enjoyed playing with musical instruments, running around in a mysterious tunnel, shouting “baby” to each baby that passed by and eating a cookie. I tried to give Liv bites of our veggie sub but she wanted nothing to do with it. The exception was eating tomatoes from the sub. And of course, she always enjoys a yummy cookie.
The day was filled with fun for Liv. I am trying to get over what appears to be an allergic reaction to cold weather. Every time its cold, my allergies kick in alerting my throat to turn red. However, by mid day, I was really hurting (my throat that is) and decided to just take it easy. The Science Center tired us both out! I’m grateful for another beautiful day even when I feel this way. Thanks to tea, gargling, rest, and medicine; I am on the mend.
Not much more to say today. Have a great tomorrow!
It looks like my blogger fans are reading my posts again. Yay!!! Thanks guys! It appears that my blogs are more interesting when I write in the usual manner. For awhile, I began posting “highlights of my day”. The statistics of previous posts show a decline in views with direct correlation to the type of blog post. It appears to be more appealing to my blogger fans, when I just write, rather than analyzing and creating “highlights” for each post. I want you to know, I hear you. Perhaps there is more emotion, vulnerability and spontaneity in writing, without editing thoughts and coming up with highlights. So from here on out, it will just be the usual.
Today was another “artist date.” I had time to myself to browse through musical theater songs and to review ideas for an upcoming audition. Yet, the more I looked for traditional musical theater songs, I became increasingly agitated. I asked myself, “Why? Are you not enjoying this?” You see, I just started listening to an audiobook called “The Element”. This book on CD emphasizes how a person can find his/her passion and be in his/her element. Check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQrPviAAd4c. Anyways, long story, short; I had an epiphany. I don’t have to be a pro at singing musical theater and I don’t have to be passionate about theater in order to act. It seems that for a while now, well since college; I have tried to convince myself to love theater. But the simple truth is this. I would rather be on film. There is something exciting and honest about being on stage and in the moment. However, I am not feeling the bug for theater acting, at least not right now.
What else did I learn on my “artist date?” Well, I realized that I am forever passionate about singing and writing. And I enjoy commercial and film acting. Not much more to say about this right now.
At the end of the day, around 7 pm; I was filled with immense gratitude. I lead a support group for adults grieving loss of loved one(s). The stories I hear are filled with emotion and the surviving family members are resilient. After work, my husband surprised me with a picnic in the park. I love surprises and feel it was very thoughtful of him to do so. When we first met and dated, we made a tradition of eating Chinese at the beach. Since we do not live near a beach, but we do live close to a park; he thought it would be nice to have “Chinese in the park.” Chinese in the park plus two, became chinese in the park plus 3. Just imagine food flying everywhere, chopsticks soaring in the air, chasing after a baby while eating and smelling one stinky diaper. Chinese food plus three quickly became chaotic. But at the end of the night; it was laughable. I guess we will be having Chinese in the park only the two of us from now on.
Well, I am really sleepy and you are too. So go to BED!
Goodnight,
Kimberly
I was trying to convince myself to like musical theater more than I do. You see at one point, I was enrolled in a a musical theater program at Flagler College. Although I truly enjoy acting and being on stage; I didn’t feel passionate about musical theater. I am trained as a pop style vocalist not from classical training.
Singer, Writer
Kimberly Beaman
