Mixed Media Monthly- Let It Go
Tangie Baxter- Steamer Trunk
Digital Curio- Grecian
Mommyish- Stylin' 199, 225, and 228
Fonts: Calisto and Neon Greek
Journaling:
I have never been to Greece. I have never been to India. My eyes have never beheld the splendor of Egyptian pyramids. Nor have I pet a panda in China. Yanni has. His music has taken him around the world to these countries and many more. His eyes have seen treasures I have only read about and his tongue has uttered words in languages I have never known. Yet, the most remarkable thing about Yanni is not his music career but how he lives life.
While on tour, Yanni once told the audience, "It’s what I believe. These lines that are in the maps, they really don’t exist. They’re not on the ground. I don’t see them. My dream is that some day, they will fade away. And finally we will realize that we are all one people living in this one magical place called Earth."
Once upon a time, a young me believed it too. I saw color and culture but sought to delve into a study of how all people are the same, so as to know them, but also how all cultures have differences that make them vital to humanity as a whole. Unlike Yanni, who has a degree in psychology, I entered into an anthropology program, which gave strength to that belief.
Unfortunately I made a series of decisions that led to me burying my desire to be inclusive, accepting and loving of humanity. Instead I started following rules that aim to be divisive. Lovingkindness gave way to judgment. My social circle became quite small so when I finally removed myself from that situation, my life was empty. Looking for solace, I began listening to Yanni again and it was more than his music that heals me.
Having watched a few concert videos on youtube, I searched for more so that I could hear him share his thoughts since I found them wise. What an incredibly kind, gentle, and loving spirit I had discovered! One that I used to possess and one that I chase after again.
Yanni takes a humble approach to dealing with others. “I’m very approachable and tend to be humble. I treat everyone equally. I believe if you spend time with people to make them comfortable, then you’ve served your purpose in life.” Others before self leads him to experience a very deep connection among human beings. In fact, Yanni’s statement on unity was one of the first I heard him make. It brought tears to my eyes when he spoke these words:
“As our population increases, our planet becomes smaller and smaller. It’s therefore very important that we learn how to love and accept each other. Whenever that’s not possible, let us at least learn how to tolerate one another.”
Love is an oft recited theme in Yanni’s life. Growing up in Greece, he experienced a simple life in a loving family that encouraged him with their unconditional love. “Of all the forces that are exerted on us over our lifetime, at least for me, love has been the most powerful of all,” says Yanni as he recalls moments in his life. The love he gives to all his fans is a reaction to the love they show him and is reflected when he talks about his faith in humanity. “I truly believe greatness is in all of us. Don’t let anyone talk us out of our truth.” “Everything great that has happened to mankind, since the beginning, has begun as a single thought in someone’s mind, and if anyone of us is capable of such a great thought, then all of us have the same capability, because we’re all the same.”
His belief in the shared heritage of humanity enables him to transcend religion to find wisdom and connection in independent thought:
"By nature I’m an artist and by schooling a psychologist. The people I admire are not necessarily musicians, but all are original and independent thinkers: Christ, Buddha, Socrates, Leonardo da Vinci. Michelangelo had enormously focused creative energy and greatly inspired me. I felt connected to them all."
He acknowledges that "sometimes the knowledge you’ve been given in school or by an elder - ‘this is just the way it is’ - keeps you from accomplishing because it traps you in a box in your mind and limits your freedom to deliver."
In his autobiography, Yanni in Words, Yanni makes a statement that felt like an arrow in my heart when I read it. “My father once said, ‘If the whole world wants to go left and you feel like going right, go right. You don’t have to follow. You don’t have to make a big deal about which way you’re going. Just go. It’s very easy.’” You see, I have always been the one to go right when everyone else is going left which has caused strife between myself and those around me. Why? Because I always made a big deal about it. It never occurred to me that not doing so was just as, if not more, honest.
Learning about Yanni and his philosophies propels me towards a time where I can accept my life and choices so I can love me as I am in the moment. So someday I can truthfully quote Yanni when he says:
"I wouldn't change my life. I have no regrets. I'm not proud of all my choices, and I've made mistakes, but most of what I've done has been for the good, and all of it makes me who I am today. I can't change even a small part and remain who I am."
