"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."
- Albert Einstein
It doesn't take a genius to figure out the secret to a good life, but sometimes the simplest things are overlooked in the day to day grind of earning a living and you forget the most basic tools you have right at your fingertips. One of Einstein's most important discoveries was the power of Imagination.
I can bear witness to this simple truth...my life is the one I imagined...not the one I knew about. The power of knowledge is only important once you know what to do with it. The power of Imagination is limitless.
If I lived life strictly according to what I knew about life, then I would still be impoverished, sick, and certainly well over 300 pounds. I learned early that life was struggle, chaos, and drama...all of which could be alleviated (at least temporarily) with sweet, buttery, chocolatey things. My love affair with food began very early...my first word I'm told was "cookie" and despite years and years of knowledge about nutrition and the way my body works I still struggle. Knowledge only helped me when I finally saw my way clear through imagination.
Seven years ago I began to dream of a new body and a new life. I didn't know what would make me happy, but I became willing to find out. I wrote a few original songs and I started singing them in church...and most importantly, I reconnected with a dream from my childhood...to be a performer! Six years ago, at almost 300 pounds I stepped out on stage as a lead performer in a musical...it was scary, but I did it anyway. Five years ago I began singing with a few friends in my living room, and I dug up a few songs I had written in my early twenties.
Four years ago I performed two of my original songs and a couple of covers in between sets at a friend's back yard party with Dennis and P-Kill...we didn't have a drummer, or a name, but something inside me clicked and I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. Three years ago I began to put my ideas into action and embarked on a diet and exercise program. Connecting with my passion gave me the motivation to eat right and exercise, and put the extensive knowledge I had from a lifetime of struggle with my weight to good use.
Two years ago Nuclear Blonde made our debut as a garage band at a New Year's Eve party, and I was 40 pounds lighter. One year and another 40 pounds later and I'm playing in real nightclubs. I am now a real performer.
As I look back at 2006 it's not the pounds I have lost, but all that I have gained that excites me. I have a steady gig at a respectable night club in San Francisco, a great job as Creative Director of a really cool magazine, an almost-completed demo of EIGHT of my original songs and studio time booked for the first week in January, the greatest kids on the planet, a supportive husband of 17 years, a new son-in-law, and the most wonderful, creative friends both old and new. I have a band, a posse, and an incredible network of fabulous musicians that I have had the great privilege to watch and perform with. My plan for 2007 is not just to lose more pounds and finally reach my weight loss goal, but to also gain more knowledge via experience. If I had relied on my knowledge, or focused strictly on getting more knowledge, I wouldn't be here today.
My imagination has allowed me to lay a great foundation for a new life, and I have gained a lot of knowledge along the way, and now it's time to build, brick by brick, day by day, one beat at a time.
Namaste!