GUEST POST: Childhood Eyes

Do you see beauty around you? What is blinding you?

The other day I was walking about the city that I live in, Philadelphia. Honestly, I was not in the best of moods at first. It was one of those days when I felt internally as though I had woken up on the wrong side of the bed, and from one thing to the next nothing was going as I had planned. As I made my way from block to block, I passed numerous people and not a single person was smiling.

I realized that the negative mindset that I was in, coupled with the negativity I felt around me was blinding. I honestly couldn’t get myself into a happy place. It was at that very moment that I heard the laughter of a young child. I looked over and saw a little girl walking with her mom. She was gazing all around. One moment she was looking up at the sky, the next across the street, then over at blooming flowers in a window box, and some frisky squirrels scampering up a tall tree. She was seeing and experiencing a completely different world than I was in that moment. In her eyes, the eyes of a child, she was seeing the beauty of a summer day in all its glory, and nothing was going to take that sunshine away.

In that moment of seeing this child, I was able to step back and see what beauty there was all around me. Why was I feeling so blue? Why not allow the loveliness surrounding me envelope me and take me to a happy place?

What would it be like to return to the eyes you had as a child? Remember when the world was a wonderland for you to explore and delight in? Maybe, just maybe, you can try and reopen your eyes to the beauty of the world around you and reawaken your childhood eyes.

In the hopes that I can help you make that journey today, please take a moment to watch and listen to A Summer Embrace, an original song of mine co-written with Paul ‘Mabzi’.

As a creative spirit, music has always been the part of my life that makes me happy. Most recently, I have been blessed to connect with my passion and courage to pursue singing and songwriting as a central focus in my life.

I’ve always dreamed of being a professional singer from the time I was very young. I was fortunate to grow up in a musical family. My mom is a classical pianist, vocalist and organist, in stark contrast to my paternal grandfather who played the accordion completely by ear in taprooms. Lucky for me, I think I got a little bit of both of them in me.

From the age of 2, I was singing and playing the piano, so my mom naturally decided to send me for traditional classical instruction. I sang in church choirs, school performance groups, was a soloist for special occasions and the list goes on. Honestly, there was never a time of my life that I wasn’t singing somewhere or somehow.

The rigidity of classical training never fully sat with my free spirit. As I got older, I began exploring new musical genres, becoming a praise leader in a contemporary Christian rock band and singing at piano bars and open mics.

In what I like to think of as my former life, I graduated with a BA in Communication Science from the College of Allied Health Professions, Temple University as class Valedictorian. I worked in the health care industry for 10 years in sales and marketing. Furthering my dedication to health and wellness, I became a Nationally Certified Massage Therapist and Certified Pilates instructor. My hobbies include, distance running, hatha yoga, gluten free cooking, and creative writing.

If you are interested in reading more, I have my own blog that you can visit here: VIOLETALEXANDRE.COM. I hope you will take some time to listen to my music too. You can find my music on my you tube and also on my band website.