What a fantastic week of connecting through music, movement and creativity! We discussed getting through this pandemic, the lessons we've learned through our lives, resilience in nature, and the phases of our lives. Along the way we laughed, shared and created some beautiful pieces together!
We started with a Qigong-inspired warm-up during Kathleen's Creative Flow class, paying attention to our breathing while moving our hands like fish and dolphins in the water.
We sang "Here Comes the Sun" by the Beatles and then looked at some images around “the light at the end of the tunnel” reflecting feelings of hope we have about getting through the pandemic.
Kathleen shared the story of a "rock snake" at Kew Beach. Bored of the pandemic, 7 yr old Lucas Walker painted 4 rocks and invited friends and family to paint rocks to make a snake in the sand. “Rocky Smiles”, as the snake is now called, is made up of over 8011 painted rocks in a colourful line that stretches about 650 meters (almost ¾ of a km!). (Learn more on CBC and Instagram).
Here's the rock that we contributed to "Rocky Smiles." It reminds us that there is light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to the pandemic. You can see where we placed our rock here.
In Steve's Piano Concert and Music History class, we discussed "life lessons." We shared the following life lessons that we have learned:
Steve shared that he learned the following lessons and we discussed them:
Whatever you do in life, you gotta love it, otherwise, you are going to struggle
Success in life can be measured by CONTENTMENT
Be in the moment, have awareness in what you see and hear
Less is more - we don't need a lot
There is power in PLAYING
Get rid of your ego, be open to improvising and embracing the messy and imperfection
We enjoyed listening and singing while Steve played the piano.
In Simon's "Music is Life" class we discussed "Resilience in Nature."
As an example of the class theme, Simon shared that cicadas from 15 states in the Eastern US are currently emerging after 17 years of living in the ground. Billions of them are surfacing and it's the world’s largest cicada hatch. Apparently, cicadas have become a big business in the USA - they are sold in food (cookies, pizza, pasta, tacos) and on T-shirts and other merchandise.
We enjoyed this song written and performed by Jen Schaffer called Fateline. The song takes the resilience of the remarkable cicada and draws inspiration and similarities to that of a young mother who has her child taken away from her by overzealous authorities … and waits 17 years to be reunited with her child.
Simon asked: "What does resilience mean to you?" Here's what we shared:
- ‘Stick-to-it-tive-ness’; determination and strength
- Keeping up to date
- Standing up against something or someone
- Going against the grain
We listened to a great song about Resilience - Let it Be. The song came to be when Paul McCartney had a dream and his late mother, Mary, told him in the dream to ‘LET IT BE’.
During Jennifer's "Nia: Movement & Music" class we focused on "Resilience in Aging".
We began with some gentle movement to keep our bodies resilient.
We spoke about what helps us age well:
Friends
Having a purpose
Having a sense of humour
Doing things for other people
Stay comfortable and relaxed
We brainstormed about the “morning”, “afternoon” and “evening” of our lives.
Morning (childhood/adolescence) is a time when you
Become more alive
Learn
Meet your friends
See the world through the eyes of a child
Wait and see what’s coming
Share
Are physically engaged
Are excited
Afternoon (adulthood) is a time when you
Take on responsibility
Expand
Learn
Maybe get married or have children
Go on adventures (in a hot air balloon or on a plane)
Evening (seniorhood) is a time when you
Put on the brakes
Slow down
Rest
Enjoy friends and family
We co-created a painting of what the “Evening of our Lives” looks like - a fiery red-orange sunset against a purpley-black sky!
We have a wide range of stimulating classes for you next week! Book your spot here.
Also, please tune in on Sat July 3 at 1 pm to Zoomer Radio (AM 740) to hear us share The Bitove Method on the "Finding Your Bliss" show. You can listen on the radio or listen here by clicking "Listen Now" on the home page's left-hand side.