ELENA'S NEWSLETTER - 2024 No. 12

Dedicated to Entertaining * Educating * Enlivening

Elena Greco

Dec 23, 2024

Photo by Elena Greco©, Notre-Dame de Paris, May 2017

Note: It is recommended that this Newsletter be viewed on a laptop or tablet.

In this issue:

Introduction: Know Your Audience

UNITY and COMMUNITY (new segment!)
Strength in Unity, Support in Community
* The Abracadabra Community - NEW!
* The Creative Women's Group

CREATIVE CORNER
Behind the Scenes

WELL-BEING
* Reflect, Dream, Become: A Magical Year-End Journey - video class!
(Saturday, December 28, 2024, at 2:00 pm Eastern)
* Life in Balance: Your Cold and Flu Kit

RECOMMENDATIONS
* Some beautiful music from the inspiring Notre-Dame reopening

December 21, 2024

I was so moved to witness the reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris. It’s an example of what the combined generosity, skill, and will of a people can accomplish, of humans choosing collaboration and creativity instead of division and destruction. I’m reminded that we always have that choice, that it’s a choice that has been with us since the beginning, a fundamental paradox of the human experiment.
Yo-Yo Ma

As Yo-Yo Ma says, the choice between using our abilities for positive or negative is a constant for human beings. Now, at a critical time in our national and global history, it seems crucial that we remain keenly aware of that choice. What do we stand for? What choice will guide our actions?

I’ve asked myself that question, and I know that I stand for “collaboration and creativity.” The theme I mentioned in my last newsletter, Unity and Community, will be my personal theme, and that of this Newsletter, for the next year. And the promotion and celebration of creativity has always been my guiding light. I strongly believe that creative expression drives human evolution and therefore deserves and requires our respect and support, and that sharing our creative arts is a simple but extremely powerful means of enhancing communication and understanding.

The Notre-Dame reopening ceremony, celebrating the completion of the restoration of the great cathedral after a massive fire five years ago, was a truly glorious and inspiring demonstration of the power of the human spirit. I’ve added a few links to some of the beautiful music reverberating in the cathedral in the Recommendations section below.

A related video online about that music caught my attention. The speaker, an organist, talked about the inappropriateness of that ceremony's opening organ program (I agree with him on that). His discussion about the reason that it was inappropriate brought up a topic that might serve many of us: know your audience.

That immediately brought to mind an experience I had while working at a particular law firm. Part of my job of many hats in IT Applications there was sending out a weekly “tech tip” to the firm. The firm consisted of several types of users—attorneys, paralegals, support staff and administration—so the tips needed to be mostly non-legal in their application. Each week I labored to come up with a new tech tip, one which I believed most people did not know of or which might ease their work challenges.

One week when I was short on both time and inspiration, I sent out a tip that was perhaps too basic, or so I thought. I was amazed, then, that several attorneys stopped by my office that day and thanked me for that tip—for the first time ever—telling me that it was a great tip that had made their job easier. I was puzzled at first, since I had thought that my tip was substandard because it was so elementary. Why did this particular tip evoke such a positive response? I wondered.

I shared my experience with a seasoned colleague, who nodded wisely and said, “Know your audience.” Ah. My audience did not need what I assumed they needed. That completely changed the way I approached my job.

Watching that video about the organ program and remembering that event while thinking about this month's Newsletter, which I was about to write, prompted me to think, “Do I really know my audience?” My audience, of course, is you. If you’re reading this Newsletter, you’re one of my “audience” of readers. I know almost all of you personally, through the various roles I’ve played in life. But do I know what interests you, what inspires you? How might your needs or interests have changed over the twelve years I’ve been writing this Newsletter, during which time our world has changed, and is changing, tremendously?

Some of you I know as clients or colleagues in my role as a coach/counselor. (I have a degree in Counseling and Human Development, certification in facilitating support groups and individual transformation, and 50 years of research in nutrition.) Some of you I know from my days in the legal IT/user support world; you’re lawyers and techies. Some of you I know as musical colleagues from my days in the classical world as an opera singer. Some of you I know as musical colleagues from my current persona as a jazz and cabaret singer (totally different world!). Some of you I know as fellow writers or visual artists. A few of you I know from the distant past. You are a diverse audience! I feel privileged to have acquaintances from such a wide range of experiences.

I write what the creative drive impels me to write. But what I choose to present in this Newsletter really is for you, curated from a tangled web of writing from the past and present, current events, and things that might have piqued my curiosity or entertained me over the last month, in the hope that some of it will be relatable, enjoyable or beneficial for you. Once I’ve chosen my theme for the Newsletter (or it has chosen me), I think about what might interest, entertain or serve you the most within that theme that I’m able to share in some simple way.

I’m currently planning to write about things that will likely be relevant for many of us in the next couple of years, such as activism for busy people, elderhood, life strategies, culture, and current events, and I’m also beginning work on my memoir, which tackles the topic of trauma, something that reverberates not only in the lives of many of us personally, but throughout the world now. I’ve expanded from writing on my own website blog to joining the world of Substack, which is growing exponentially and exposes my writing to a new and larger audience.

That’s a rather long way of saying that I hope you won’t mind terribly if I ask you to take no more than a few seconds of your precious time to click a few times on the attached Google form (click to fill out) to let me know what your interests are. I really want to know! (Click on the Google form here .) I've timed the form to take no more than one minute of your time. While it certainly isn't your job to help me create this Newsletter, I do want it to serve you as much as possible.

And while you're there, I'd love it if you'd tell me what you're up to these days, maybe in the Notes section at the bottom.

Also, I’m looking for a new name and tagline for the Newsletter. Although I can write a thousand words instantly at the drop of a hat, I’m frequently stymied when it comes to titles. I don’t know where my creativity goes, but I’m often clueless about what to call the thing I’ve just written. That’s why my Newsletter is called Elena’s Newsletter and my Substack is called Elena’s Substack (smile). Now that I’ve observed first-hand how things work on Substack, I see that the Newsletter needs to have a name more reflective of what it is, or what it’s about, if I hope for anyone to find it. If you have an idea, even a word or two, of what you think this Newsletter is about or might be called, I would be beyond grateful, and I'll bet you'll have much better ideas than I do! If I choose your title, I'll mention you in the next Newsletter (unless you'd prefer I didn't)!

I love this time of year when people come together to celebrate hope and love and make beautiful music. Please have a wonderful, warm holiday, whatever you celebrate and wherever you do! I'll be thinking of you....

New segment!
UNITY and COMMUNITY

Strength in Unity, Support in Community

The Abracadabra Community™

The ABRACADABRA COMMUNITY™ fosters real community and support, something we’ll all need in the next couple of years to stay strong and focused! And it provides an underlying current of support and inspiration in expressing yourself creatively and manifesting your dreams in a sustained way, particularly for those who have big dreams and creative goals.

The COMMUNITY also reinforces the tools learned in the Abracadabra! workshop and the book and goes beyond them to address the ongoing life challenges we all face so that they no longer need to be obstacles to achieving your intentions.

The ABRACADABRA COMMUNITY opens its doors on Saturday, December 28, 2024, at 2:00 pm Eastern time, with a FREE mini-class! Everyone can attend the class, even if they’re not signed up for the Community. Prior registration is required, though. Go HERE to sign up to attend this mini-class. (See more about it further down the Newsletter.)

COMMUNITY OFFERINGS

1. There'll be a short video class or group each month. The first two of these are free and are open to the public! After that, there'll be a $10 charge for those who want to participate.
This transformative online series is designed to provide meaningful connection with a like-minded community and support your inner exploration, personal empowerment and productivity.

Everyone can attend the first two classes, even if they're not yet part of the Community. Prior registration is required, though.

Click/touch HERE to sign up to attend the first free mini-class.

2. We'll have two free online work-together sessions each month (days TBD)!

3. There'll likely be other spontaneous offerings.

REQUIREMENTS

The Abracadabra Community™ is open to those who have completed an Abracadabra! workshop OR who have purchased the ABRACADABRA! Book.

If you want to try out the Abracadabra Community, but you haven't completed an Abracadabra Workshop or purchased and read the Abracadabra! book, you can join us simply by purchasing the book! Just send me an email 1) letting me know you've purchased it, 2) telling me a little about yourself and what you're hoping to get from the group and 3) how you heard about it, and 4) let the magic begin!

The Creative Women's Group

The Music Room - Edward Gordon

The Creative Women's Group is a community of creative women.
It utilizes elements of sharing, expressive writing, and encouragement,
together with a monthly online group chat.
It provides a powerful and enjoyable support for creative women.

It works like this: Everyone emails the group on Mondays to share about their creative endeavors and their lives as creatives (no writing skill required!). Every month we have a half-hour online group chat (the time works for all North American and European locations.) The rapport of other kind, creative women provides a wonderful support.

There is no fee and no commitment. If you are creatively inclined, are a woman or plan to be, and think you might like to be a part of this group, or if you have questions, let me know by Replying to the writer (Elena Greco).

CREATIVE CORNER

All things related to creativity and the creative arts

BEHIND THE SCENES (click to read) is a peak behind the curtain of self-producing an album. The stories and information are relevant to almost any music production, whether recording or performing. Subscribers (it's free!) receive the latest series posts on alternate weeks.

WELL-BEING

All things related to health and healing

Reflect, Dream, Become: A Magical Year-End Journey

An Abracadabra Community Class

This transformative online series is designed to provide meaningful connection with a like-minded community and support your inner exploration, personal empowerment and productivity.

Join us for a magical video class on Saturday, December 28, 2024, 2:00 pm Eastern time.

You’ll get a bird’s eye view of your life and use expressive writing (no writing experience or talent is required!) and visualization to set yourself up for a great New Year by bringing this one to a close in the most auspicious manner!

To join us, click/touch here or below to add your details to this form, and you’ll receive an email with the event link prior to the event:

Reflect, Dream, Become – register or request information

Life in Balance - Your Cold and Flu Kit

We'd all rather not get sick ...
but if you do, be prepared and pamper yourself in the healthiest way possible!

Life in Balance: Your Cold and Flu Kit

ABRACADABRA!
A Manual for Making Dreams Come True

In these challenging times, we need a strong foundation and an easy yet effective strategy for accomplishing our goals. This book will give you that!

Also, proof of purchase of the book allows you to participate in all future Abracadabra work-together groups for free! You'll also be eligible to join us for monthly video classes and support groups.

Would you like to be more effective at translating dreams and ideas into reality?
The chapters of this book are a blueprint that will accompany and support you on your personal journey to making your unique dreams come true. Most importantly, if you do the work of this book, it works. Go ahead. Reach for the stars ... and grab them!

ABRACADABRA!
A Manual for Making Dreams Come True

RECOMMENDATIONS

Some inspiring music from the Notre-Dame de Paris reopening celebration
showcasing wonderful musicians and the star of the show, the glorious cathedral!
(Gustavo Dudamel conducting in all except P. Williams)