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Pause for Reflection

I was fortunate to live in the same century as Mario Lanza who sang "With a song in my heart", written by Lorenz Hart and Richard Rodgers.

I was fortunate to live in the same century as Mario Lanza who sang "With a song in my heart", written by Lorenz Hart and Richard Rodgers. Part of the song goes,

But I always knew

I would live life through

with a song in my heart for you

the words in my ears

will resound for the rest of my years.

It struck me recently that we live our lives with songs in our hearts, and these songs get us through tough times. They inspire and lift us up.

In Mama Mia, the Pierce Brosnan and Marel Streep musical, I counted 18 Abba songs that have touched my heart and my life variously as the years went by. For example, in "I have a Dream" we hear:

I have a dream, a song to sing

To help me cope with anything

If you see the wonder of a fairy tale

You can take the future even if you fail

I believe in angels

And the inspiration goes on:

Something good in everything I see

I have a dream, a fantasy

To help me through reality

And my destination makes it worth the while

There were years of struggle to make ends meet, at least in my life:

Money, money, money

Always sunny

In a rich man's world

All the things I could do

If I had a little money

There are songs in our lives to take us through the heart aches:

Chiquitita

You and I cry

But the sun is still in the sky

And shining above you

Let me hear you sing once more

Like you did before

Sing a new song

Chiquitita

There are moments in the spotlight:

Super Trouper lights are gonna find me

Shining like the sun

Smiling, having fun

Feeling like a number one

But I won't feel blue

'Cause somewhere in the crowd there's you.

There are years as children leave home - it all goes so fast:

Schoolbag in hand

She leaves home in the early morning

Waving goodbye

With an absent-minded smile

I watch her go

With a surge of that well-known sadness

And I have to sit down for a while

The feeling that I'm losing her forever

And without really entering her world

I'm glad whenever I can share her laughter

That funny little girl

And it's all:

Slipping through my fingers all the time

I try to capture every minute

I let precious time go by

But memories console us:

I can still recall

Our last summer

I still see it all

Memories that remain

When all is said and done, our lives have been so blessed with the songs that fill our hearts that we can say:

Thank you for the music, the songs I'm singing

Thanks for all the joy they're bringing

Who can live without it, I ask in all honesty?

What would life be?

Without a song or a dance what are we?

So I say thank you for the music

For giving it to me

May your year unfold with joy as you follow your dreams and sing your songs. May you pause enough to enjoy this precious ever something we call life. The realization of it can bring you to your knees.