My Musical Life 5-19-26

On By Heather HoustonIn My Musical LifeLeave a comment

May 19th, 2026

#35 In the Ghetto (Elvis Presley) 👍🏼

Lyrics:
As the snow flies
On a cold and gray Chicago mornin’
A poor little baby child is born
In the ghetto
(In the ghetto)🪄
And his mama cries
‘Cause if there’s one thing that she don’t need
It is another hungry mouth to feed
In the ghetto
(In the ghetto)🪄
People, don’t you understand
The child needs a helping hand
Or he’ll grow to be an angry young man some day
Take a look at you and me
Are we too blind to see?
Do we simply turn our heads
And look the other way🪄
Well, the world turns
And a hungry little boy with a runny nose
Plays in the street as the cold wind blows
In the ghetto
(In the ghetto)🪄
And his hunger burns
So he starts to roam the streets at night
And he learns how to steal
And he learns how to fight
In the ghetto
(In the ghetto)🪄
Then one night in desperation
The young man breaks away
He buys a gun, steals a car
Tries to run, but he don’t get far
And his mama cries🪄
As a crowd gathers ’round an angry young man
Face down on the street with a gun in his hand
In the ghetto
(In the ghetto)🪄
And as her young man dies
(In the ghetto)
On a cold and gray Chicago mornin’
Another little baby child is born
In the ghetto
(In the ghetto)🪄
And his mama cries
(In the ghetto)
(In the ghetto)
(Ah)

My Abundant Life 5-19-26

On By Heather HoustonIn My Abundant LifeLeave a comment

May 19th, 2026

Order Within

“What a gift of grace to be able to take the chaos from within and from it create some semblance of order.”

Katherine Peterson (American Writer; October 31st, 1932)

“Spring cleaning can also be psychological, a time-out to confront the emotional clutter that has accumulated in your mental closet. It’s a pause for introspection—a midcourse correction for ordinary people in ordinarily stressful lives.”

Abigail Trafford (Journalist)

“One way to begin seeking order within is to come to grips with what drives you crazy but what you’ve been too distracted to do anything about.”

“There is a better way to live. It begins when we establish order within so that order will become a visible reality in our daily round. Start seeking order within by book-ending your day with reflection first thing in the morning and last thing at night. This quietude will remind you that you can make the choice every morning to live in the world but not be caught up in the frenzy of it, especially a frenzy of your own devising.”

“Quiet your mind, lift up your heart, muse, mull over, make discoveries. Consider, conceive, create, connect, concede that it all starts within.”

“Think about the day ahead and how it might unfold more smoothly. Invoke Divine Order, asking Spirit to take charge of your life today and every day. Visualize yourself at the end of a happy, stress-free, productive day, relaxing and enjoying the well-deserved leisure of the evening.”

“Book-ending your day by nurturing your Spirit means rousing your body earlier when you’re so exhausted from yesterday that you can barely crawl out of bed, or spending an extra moment with yourself at night when you’re ready to fall asleep like a stone.”

“Today, seek order within, so that Divine Order may be manifest outwardly in your daily round.”

“Today will be reviewing what I need and want in my life. My homework with my therapist was to create a list of 5 each. WOW, much harder than I expected.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 166 to 167 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.

My Musical Life 5-18-26

On By Heather HoustonIn My Musical LifeLeave a comment

May 18th, 2026

#33 Easy To Be Hard (Three Dog Night) 👍🏼

Lyrics:
How can people be so heartless?
How can people be so cruel?
Easy to be hard
Easy to be cold🪄
How can people have no feelings
How can they ignore their friends
Easy to be proud
Easy to say no🪄
Especially people who care about strangers
Who say care about evil and social injustice
Do you only care about the bleeding crowd
How about a needy friend
I need a friend🪄
How can people be so heartless?
You know I’m hung up on you
Easy to give in
Easy to held back🪄
Especially people who care about strangers
Who care about evil and social injustice
Do you only care about the bleeding crowd
How about a needy friend?
We all need a friend🪄
How can people be so heartless?
How can people be so cruel?
Easy to be proud
Easy to say no
You know it’s e-
Easy to say no
Easy to say no
Easy to be proud
I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know
I know it is🪄
Easy to say no
Easy to say no
It’s easy
It’s easy
Easy to say no, no, no
It’s easy, it’s easy, it’s easy, it’s easy

My Abundant Life 5-18-26

On By Heather HoustonIn My Abundant LifeLeave a comment

May 18th, 2026

Simplify, Simplify, Simplify

“Out of clutter, find simplicity.”

Albert Einstein (Theoretical Physicist; March 14th, 1874 to April 18th, 1955)

“Spirituality, simplicity, and serenity seem to be a sacred trinity; three divine qualities of the orderly soul.”

“…our life is frittered away by detail.”

Henry David Thoreau (American Naturalist & Essayist; July 12th, 1817 to May 6th, 1862)

“I disagree. I think our lives are frittered away by lack of focus.”

“Simplify, simplify, simplify.”

Henry David Thoreau (American Naturalist & Essayist; July 12th, 1817 to May 6th, 1862)

“Simplifying our lives by only keeping what is dear or practical is a magic elixir for creating space for more and new abundance.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 165 to 166 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.

My Musical Life 5-17-26

On By Heather HoustonIn My Musical LifeLeave a comment

May 17th, 2026

#32 My Cherie Amour (Stevie Wonder) 👍🏼

Lyrics:
La, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la🪄
My Cherie amour, lovely as a summer day
My Cherie amour, distant as the Milky Way
My Cherie amour, pretty little one that I adore
You’re the only girl my heart beats for
How I wish that you were mine🪄
In a café or sometimes on a crowded street
I’ve been near you, but you never noticed me
My Cherie amour, won’t you tell me how could you ignore
That behind that little smile I wore
How I wish that you were mine🪄
La, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la🪄
Maybe someday, you’ll see my face among the crowd
Maybe someday, I’ll share your little distant cloud
Oh, Cherie amour, pretty little one that I adore
You’re the only girl my heart beats for
How I wish that you were mine🪄
La, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la

My Abundant Life 5-17-26

On By Heather HoustonIn My Abundant LifeLeave a comment

May 17th, 2026

The Ruskin Spring Ritual of Restoration

“In order that people may be happy in their work, these three things are needed: They must be fir for it. They must not do too much of it. And they must have a sense of success in it.”

John Ruskin (English Polymath & Writer; February 8th 1819 to January 20th, 1900)

“To be buried in lava and not turn a hair, it is then a man shows what stuff he is made of.”

Samuel Beckett (Irish Novelist & Playwright; April 13th, 1906 to December 22nd, 1989)

“When in doubt throw it away. You don’t need it. You don’t want it. You forgot you even had it, so don’t keep it. No, it will not come in handy some day. Furthermore, you do not, under any circumstances, want the contents of your junk drawers ending up being thrown into ‘junk boxes’.”

“So uncanny how we are actually in the throws of sorting boxes from storage to choose what to keep and what to discard or donate. It is a lot of work AND invigorating to live more simply.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 163 to 165 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.