We Need a Little Christmas – all year

I don't know about you, but the holidays were just a little bit strange this year.  My family and I traded gifts in parking lots and then opened them over Zoom.  And an annual Christmas Eve celebration with my friend Ruth and others was Zoomed too.  Not at all like the usual celebrations.

2017 Thompson Christmas
2019 Thompson-Alumbaugh Christmas

2019 Thompson-Alumbaugh Christmas

Ruth and I talked about what we had missed: cooking and eating together, and laughing as we popped our Christmas crackers and read the jokes.  We also realized that so many had gone all out with decorating this Christmas.  They put up lights earlier, even added more.  Trying to bring joy into a dark and sometimes lonely time.

So we decided to keep that Christmas spirit going throughout the year.  Cebrate Christmas on the 25th of every month during 2021.  And since we're musicians, we're doing it in song.

Every month on the 25th at 8:30 pm Eastern Time, a YouTube music video will premiere.  It will have an arrangement of a song for that month, along with “We Need a Little Christmas”.  The songs will be a mixture of fun, serious, and surprising.  And we might even bring props!

Because the spirit of giving is more alive at Christmas, we're featuring a charitable organization each month too.  So you can share in the giving.

The video for January is already available for viewing.  And if you join us on the 25th of February at 8:30 pm, you can join in a live chat with us.  Celebrate Christmas together apart.

The link to the We Need a Little Christmas page is here.

Whether you join us on the 25th or watch any other time, I hope you carry Christmas in your heart all year too.  It might just help remind us that brighter days are ahead.

Episode #137: Emotional Intelligence – How to Use Your Imagination for Good

We humans have an amazing capacity to imagine a future and then create it.  How often does our imagination run amok?  Imagining the worst-case scenario.  One that’s hardly likely to happen.  Is there a way to channel that creative imagination for good?  Yes.  That’s what we’re talking about on this episode.

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Episode #136: Emotional Intelligence – Let’s Call it What it Is

How big is your emotional vocabulary? The average is 3 words: mad, sad, and glad. One hallmark of Emotional Intelligence is the ability to identify and handle a wide range of human emotions in yourself and others.  On this episode we talk about that, and specifically relating to how we’re feeling right now in the midst of a pandemic.

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What Do You Miss?

I woke up yesterday morning with such longing.  I could feel it in my heart, and every part of my body.  Longing for “normal”.  For things I miss.  Wishing I could go out.  See anyone in real life, and not on a screen.

(c) AdobeStock Photo

You just might feel that way too.

Episode #135: Emotional Intelligence – Living and Leading in Uncertainty

The world has turned upside down.  Some of us are fighting a very real battle every day.  And some are practicing social distancing to help in the cause.  We’re all feeling it in one way or other.  The world looks very different from how it did a few short months or weeks ago.  So now what?  Is it okay to grieve?  And if we do, then what?  That’s what we’re talking about on this episode – how to live and lead with uncertainty.

(c) Photo by Sasha Freemind on Unsplash

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What Do You Do When Words Aren’t Enough?

A sunset that takes your breath away.  Love that’s passionate and deep.  Grief that reaches to the depth of your soul.  Even to your bones.

There are no words.

Oh sure, you try.  Try to explain how you feel.  What you see.  Taste.  Smell.  But the words just aren’t enough.  They don’t express the deepest Love.  Laughter.  Longing.

(c) Adrian Korte for Unsplash

That’s why we have music.

Episode #134: Emotional Intelligence – Communicating in Crisis

What happens when things change, are challenging, or even become a crisis?  We often hunker down, avoiding each other.  Yet, it’s exactly in these times that someone with emotional intelligence will communicate more rather than less.  Here’s how to navigate the times of difficulty and communicate with honesty and empathy.

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