Hi everyone.  Hope you are all well and continue to stay that way during this global health crisis we are facing.  But in addition to protecting your physical wellness, what are you doing to stay mentally healthy today?

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I know we are in a serious situation, but I need a break from the gloom, doom and bullying by way of hoarding. Music has always been my refuge and watching those beautiful Italians singing to each other from their balconies reaffirmed my belief that music is the answer. So until the old normal returns, I am going to share a song I listen to that helps me escape the current state of things, if only for a few minutes each day.  And if this helps anyone else, even better.

On December 1, 1971 John Lennon released today’s song in the U.S. Ten years earlier on December 6, 1961 Brian Epstein became The Beatles’ manager. What transpired in the decade between those two milestones is how Lennon went from a mop-top Beatle to a man who celebrated his honeymoon with Yoko Ono by having two bed-ins for peace for a world torn apart by the Vietnam War (by 2020’s standards consider it the first virtual protest). If nothing else took place in that decade, Lennon’s presence in it still would have changed the world.

In October we celebrated his 80th birth anniversary. Today marks 40 years since we lost him. To think four decades have passed is unfathomable. But the fact that his music is still being played and revered today is proof of his status as a legend. The words he wrote almost 50 years ago have as much meaning today as they ever have. Happy Christmas, John.

“A very Merry Christmas
And a Happy New Year
Let’s hope it’s a good one
Without any fear“.

John Lennon & Yoko Ono during one of their bed-ins for peace in 1969. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

John Lennon & Yoko Ono and The Plastic Ono Band with The Harlem Community Choir: “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” (1971, written by John Lennon & Yoko Ono).

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.