"There is no greater gift..."

“There is no greater gift you can give or receive than to honor your calling. It's why you were born. And how you become most truly alive.” ~ Oprah

Diamond Isis and I

at my birthday party this past Summer

Last week I sang at Diamond Isis' Surprise Birthday Party. She had commented on one of my previous blog posts saying that she hadn't heard me sing (apart from the "Disturbia" parody I did of her...lol) and she would like to one day.
I had written a song called "Your Love is Enough" and thought that would be perfect to sing at the party. The song is about my own heartache and struggles, and how beautiful it is to discover other facets of myself.
Working on my musicianship has not been an easy road, but it has been personally gratifying. It takes dedication, committment, focus and as Kathy Baylor was once quoted "courage" which "is the ability to be scared but keep going anyway". Thankfully I have the love and support of core people...Ann Ruckert and my peers in the music workshop, and some family and friends.
When I sing and someone is moved to tears, it means that person has connected with me in some way. When someone says "I love your song!", that just reinforces the fact that I am on the right path of not only living my dream, but also living with purpose.
When I sang that song for Diamond, she said to me "Mandy, that song was written for me...that song was and is my life story".  She was then inspired to do this spoken word video:



Diamond continues to work on her first book, (spoken word) cd and her blog.
I am Blessed to have unearthed my true calling and I hope everyone finds that joy in their own lives as well.