My favourite things

By Lisa Seppala, MBA, BComm, ACC, PHS (Adv Cert)

Where I live, the holiday season is upon us, and it’s time for me to limber up my mind and fingers on the piano in anticipation of carol sing-a-longs with family and friends.

To add to the pressure of being an infrequent pianist, I’ve been invited to play at a large house party. (Did I really say yes to this?) I think I’m either the warm-up or the closing act for one of the hosts, a professional musician.

My instructions were to play only lively tunes to maintain a festive atmosphere and not lose the audience. So, I dug through music books to find upbeat songs that people would find familiar.

To my surprise, because I never considered this song seasonal, I found ‘My Favourite Things’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IagRZBvLtw in one of my music books, that song from the much-loved musical in the ’60s, The Sound of Music. https://www.sound-of-music.com/sound-of-music/the-movie/ I’ve watched the movie many times, and as a kid, I learned the lyrics to this song by heart.

This time though, as I was refreshing my mind and fingers on how to play it, I took a good hard look at the lyrics and realized that they are all about thinking positive thoughts. It is a song about using your mind and imagination to focus on something that will make you feel better, even in the face of adversity. “When the dog bites, when the bee stings, when I’m feeling sad, I simply remember my favourite things and then I don’t feel so bad.”

As a coach and someone who practices affirmations and gratitude, I know how powerful your mindset can be in lifting you and changing your perception of your situation. And I suddenly saw the messages conveyed in this song in a new light.

Seeing something familiar in a new, appreciative light is one of my favourite things!