I’m taking the lazy way out with this post, as the sun is shining and the outdoors are calling my name. I’ve chosen a few songs to convey a message that’s usually left to words, only this time I’ve solicited the help of a sound bubble to transport your thoughts to another time and place.

While words are incredibly powerful, the two greatest channels of emotional recall are aroma and sound. A certain aroma can instantaneously carry us back to our grandmother’s kitchen, as if she were there in front of us, stirring the saucepan that brought to life her delicious food, or hearing the first notes of a song that turns on a light to an etched memory. 

Slip on your headphones, take off your shoes, and let’s float off together in our sound bubbles.

THE FINDING YOUR WAY BUBBLE

It was a time of firsts and a time of wonder. If you’re a man, chances are your hair was 3” longer than it is now, and if you’re a woman, you’ll remember taking two hours to decide which pair of identical looking jeans to wear on a date.  It was a time when the strength of our bodies had to mask the weakness of insecurity that lay beneath the surface of blossoming adulthood. 

We were neophytes with freshly minted driver’s licenses, acting as if we had it figured out when in truth, we knew there was still much to learn.

THE EMERGING LOVE BUBBLE

The memories that embrace emerging love can bring us back to a time when first dates were elevated to linen tablecloths and after-hour nightclubs, and weekend getaways were a promise in the future.  It was a time when tumbling into passion was the easy part, and navigating future steps were left to a more level head.

Many men believe the way to a woman’s erogenous zones is through the whispering of sweet nothings in her ear and some smooth moves, and really, all that’s needed is the sound of a saxophone. 

THE GRIEF BUBBLE

I can’t type this paragraph without tears, for the first few notes of this beautiful instrumental pull me back to the mournful days of my father’s passing.  The grief bubble is one that stays with us for a lifetime, as time does not heal wounds, it simply brings acceptance of them. Grief is an inescapable emotion in every lifetime, for each of us will experience the loss of someone we love. 

The irony of grief is that it comes with instructions to move through it, yet the road through it is filled with holes that can swallow us into stagnation.   When grief enters your life, you must first introduce yourself, then ask for it to remain still as you progress with it, knowing it’s found a permanent home somewhere in your heart.

THE FOOT LOOSE AND FANCY-FREE BUBBLE

If you find yourself smiling in a mischievous way, it’s because this bubble resurrects a time when our bodies were an accomplice to our minds, keeping us fit and energetic while prompting a devil may care attitude that influenced many of our actions.  It was a time when all that seemed to matter was the twinkling of the starry night, not the morning sun that was to come.  Secrets were vaulted and trusted to a chosen few, and a sense of cool felt as natural as we thought we were. 

It was to know the feeling of a gambler on a lucky streak.    

THE RENAISSANCE PERSON BUBBLE

My first thought was one of Jeff Goldblum attempting to channel his inner Thelonious Monk, but I then realized this seasoned actor, who to this day disrupts my mind with memories of wire-like fly hairs emerging from his SFX-enhanced back, is simply in his renaissance bubble, a time in life when all of his talents are coming out to play in no particular order.  Pitching apartment rentals is not his final act. 

That’s the beauty of aging.  We get to color outside of the lines without fear of criticism, for if there is criticism, we typically don’t give a flying fig.  I get the sense Jeff knows this well.  I’m sure he has a pocket of troubles like the rest of us, only now, he chooses to jive at a keyboard, in between gigs of acting and being a commercial spokesperson.  Who knows, he may also make a mean marinara sauce. 

If you’re on the Back 9, take a page from Jeff’s book.   Let your restrained talents shine, with a flying fig-less attitude. And never allow anyone to burst your bubble.