How playing Solitaire helps me...

The title is crazy right? I mean initially, you're thinking, "What is Patrice talking about?" Seriously, playing Solitaire has been game changer for me recently. Yes I could have jumped on the Candy Crush train, but when I started to look for a game to play when I need to relax my brain, I took it back to the basics. Here's what I took from my old-new found love of the game:

"Out with the old, in with the new" is not always true-- There a millions of games and apps that you can play, but sometimes the older games can be just as exciting. In this fast-paced world, where the "next big thing" looms above our heads daily, sometimes it is nice to go retro and embrace the "old".

You cannot control the hand you're dealt-- no point in dwelling on the hand you have been dealt, because you cannot control it. Play the game and when it doesn't pan out the way you wanted it to, start a new game! 

Stick with your "thing"-- I have little nuances and traditions when I play Solitaire. For the first 6 deck shuffles, I rotate between moving cards on the floor, and in the deck. Sometimes it is tempting to forgo your tradition and "way" of doing things, but stand your ground- even with yourself. If you have found something that has worked for you and makes YOU effective, stick to it no matter what- you will thank yourself later. 

Pay attention-- I cannot tell you how many times I was moving so fast that I missed combinations that could have been made "shuffles" ago. Sometimes we move so fast that we miss the perfect move below. Once you miss that move, it can throw off your entire game. I "punish" myself when I do this- if I miss a move and have to use the "hint" feature, I start a new game. Most times in life, there is no "do-over". Making myself start another game serves as a reminder to stop making this silly mistake and SLOW DOWN. 

You will win some, and lose some-- accept the losses and rejoice in the wins. It is that simple! 

THE POWER OF MUSIC

THE POWER

        Sometimes I forget how powerful music is, considering that most of my life, I have done it as a job. Rarely do I get the experience of just sitting back and being in the audience and “feeling it”.  I have been riding the Metro to work lately and have been listening to music--not to learn it for a gig, or study and practice trills…just to….listen…and it is AMAH-ZING. I created a new playlist called “Inspiration” and by far my favorite songs on the playlist are “No One Else” by Smokie Norful and “Go Alone” by PJ Morton (…yes, Bishop Paul S. Morton’s son).

NO ONE ELSE

       I enjoy Smokie’s song as it gives me motivation to give God glory in all that I do, but Smokie and the live band outdo themselves on the music composition. The lines they play to get to the call and response part blow my mind and I call it, the “ride”. Even though I am walking from the train, I am riding on the music. Listen to the whole song, but REALLY listen to the lines played starting at 5:25….POWERFUL….

LISTEN: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQUwav4WL_c

GO ALONE

     PJ Morton’s whole EP “New Orleans” is great, but the lyrics to"Go Alone" speak volumes to me, as it exposes some of my fears and insecurities in just…being me...and living MY life...the lyrics SPEAK to me….I hope they do the same for you:

I want the world to sing along
But I’m not sure I can afford the costs
Without getting lost
I know that there’s an easy way
But I’m not sure that I’m willing to play
I’m not so good at this game
‘Cause I can’t be…

Going through the motions
As a ship sets on the oceans
Passing you all by
You’re standing on side
A spectator of your old life
Don’t you think it’s time
You take a ride

(Chorus)
Why do you go on
Why do you go on
You should go for what you wanted all along
Why do you go on
Why do you go on
You try to feel it even when it felt so wrong
Instead of just going alone
Why don’t you go alone

ENJOY THE WHOLE SONG:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFecQwUe_oY

                                                           

Top 6 DUMB things that happen to me…often….

I chose six things, because six is my favorite number….

And because that’s all I had…

#6: Shoes being untied

I have always felt that when you reach a certain age (over 18 years old), you look like an idiot being fully dressed, out and about, and you’re squatting down to tie your shoes. I always feel like people are looking at you thinking, “You didn’t tie your shoes the right way when you left the house you ADULT?”  It burns me up when this happens to me because you know what- I DIDN’T tie them right before I left the house…

#5: One spoon left in the dishwater after you have dumped the water out

One question: Am I really going to fill the dishwater pail up again and wash this one spoon?

 I will let you answer for yourself, but technically it WAS soaking the whole time….

#4: Sneezing while driving…and only one piece of tissue

I KEEPS* my McDonald’s napkins! I have a full stash in my glove compartment. But I am convinced that the Government KNOWS that I am going to sneeze two weeks later, so they send FBI agents to come and steal my tissue in the darkness of night, leaving a single piece. Am I the only one that prefers more than one piece of tissue at the scene of a sneeze? I think not.

*To say “keeps” vs. “keep” emphasizes how serious I am…i.e., "I keep it real!" vs, "I keeps it real!” (See what I did there?)

#3: Locking yourself out of your car or house

Doesn’t your body temperature change in that last second as the front door and car door slam shut, and your brain reminds you that your keys are still on the kitchen counter, in your other purse (ladies), or still in the ignition? Do you want to slap yourself even more when this happens to be the day you REALLY needed to reach your destination ON TIME? Blasphemy.

#2: Stubbing that toe

I believe there is an evil spirit out to break my left pinky toe off of my body. To have stubbed my toe so many times in this lifetime, it should really be against the law. To all the kitchen counter corners, coffee table legs, and occasional kid high chairs…I rebuke you!

#1: Dropping your cell phone face down…and the cap of the juice

There’s an octave that I can ONLY reach when this happens. It seems like it is in slow motion, but it happens so fast. And somehow, I manage to get a prayer in, asking God for forgiveness of my sins and reminding him about the fee I will have to pay if my phone is broken, or how I haven’t swept the floor so a piece of hair might get into the cap of the juice.  I love my phone…can’t breathe when it is gone…but I must say, the cap of the juice would be saved first if I could only save one…

Feel free to add your own!