. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . where ImagInatIon comes to play

Friday 19 October 2007

Happy Anniversary to Me!

October 19th has become a day of celebration for me. You see, it’s the day I jumped off a bridge. Not an actual one - It was of the metaphorical kind - but I suspect it took the same amount of momentum and courage to dive. It was a cold, cloudy, rainy day three years ago, and the water was cold also, but only on impact. October 19, 2004, I stood alone on a bridge that would forever divide my life into before and after.

I had checked out the ‘other’ life in 2003, volunteering for a lay-off from a corporation I had dedicated most of my life to. And after passing by a 2”x 4” cardboard thingy pasted on my refrigerator door every day for a year, I finally stopped and answered its question:

If you knew you
could not fail, what
would you attempt?
KOBI YAMADA


Within 24hours, my networking led to making music again, and I didn’t stop singing until the day of my return to the corporation, whose name I still can’t get myself to put on paper, the inflictor of so much neglect and lack of appreciation, and, dare I say, abuse. A few months later I found my way to the door.

I signed their papers about media secrecy and a promise to never return. There was no thank-you, no gold watch. They took my security card away and I walked out one last time.


I gave up a ‘job’. I gave up a good wage. Faced with poverty, I gave up smoking, steak and the crisp scent of new books to add to my library.

I found freedom, and I gained me. Every day brought with it newly discovered skills, talents, passions and joy. And so, to those old cronies of mine who may stumble upon my blog and wonder if I’ve ever regretted, even for a moment...the answer is no. The 19th of October is so very important to me because it is the day I listened to my heart and concluded that what it had to say was more important than anything I’d ever heard before that day. It was the day I said YES!


Often people attempt to live their lives backwards:
they try to have more things, or more money, in order to do
more of what they want so that they will be happier.
the way it actually works is the reverse.
you must first be who you are, then, do
what you need to do,
in order to have what you want.
MARGARET YOUNG

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Marjo

Your blog is looking, and reading, better all the time! And, Happy Anniversary.

Penny

Polly said...

Yay youuuu!!

I'm a little late to the anniversary party, but heartfelt congratulatory wishes to your brave self!

ERYAN said...

Des nouvelles de Monique Jeannotte

Marjolaine Hébert said...

Monique..On se connait du Collège? Ou est-ce la Corp.?Je suis vraiment désolée(!), mais malgré que ton nom me dit de quoi, je n'ai pas de visage qui va avec dans ma mémoire...

Marjolaine Hébert said...

HA! J'ai parlé trop vite, peût-être? C'est toi, l`écrivaine? Si c'est bien ça, je dois dire que lire ton histoire, c'était un peu comme lire celle de ma grand-mère, mais sur la page. Pas tout-à-fait, mais assez que c'est devenu personnel pour moi pas loin dans la lecture. Ay..merci de ton 'allô', Monique. C'est un plaisir.

Nereo II said...

you've been added to the group of admirable people who inspire me. thanks for being brave

Marjolaine Hébert said...

Thank You, nereo..you just put a lump in my throat.
As an admirer of yours, your words mean a great deal to me.