Since the start of 2025, I’ve been going through what feels like an extreme shedding of my old ways of thinking about myself and my circumstances. It's been both challenging and therapeutic to release the things that I have believed as truth for most of my life. I had to realize they were no longer serving the current version of me. These beliefs mostly stem from a lack mentality and the fear of the unknown.
I've let money, and what I've perceived as the lack of it, dictate my decisions. It's caused me to hold back on pursuing my dreams for several years. Although it is always wise to be responsible with our money and not spend it frivolously, there are many ways to make things affordable. For example, if your dream is to travel abroad and it seems too expensive, some travel agencies allow you to pay a deposit and then make monthly payments leading up to the day of your trip. If we break things down into simpler steps, and in this case, smaller amounts of money, it doesn't seem as daunting anymore.
For years, I haven't fully believed in myself and my abilities to achieve all my dreams. I often told myself that I wasn't talented enough or my dreams were too big to accomplish. Then when I did start to believe in myself, the fear of the unknown crept in with the reminder, "what if you try and fail, or even give up, when pursuing your dreams?" All of these thoughts no longer hold any value to me because I've discovered they're not true. They've never been true. So, for the first time in my life, I’ve decided to really believe in myself, that anything, and everything, is possible! It's an assurance I've never allowed myself to have before, and I've been determined to keep the momentum going.
About a month ago, this Carpenters song became the soundtrack for my transformation: "Leave Yesterday Behind." This song is another newer discovery for me. I listened to it last year for the first time, but then came back to it again recently. And it's been on repeat ever since!
The Carpenters first recorded the song back in 1978 for a TV movie with the same title. Fun fact: Fred Karlin is the songwriter and he also wrote, "For All We Know," another song from a movie (Lovers and Other Strangers), that the Carpenters recorded and released in 1971. Surprisingly, "Leave Yesterday Behind," was never used in the TV movie. It was considered an "outtake" for decades until Richard Carpenter completed the recording in 1999 by adding in orchestration and background vocals. He included it on the Japanese version of the 2001 album, As Time Goes By.
I know I'm not the first to acknowledge this, but all of Karen's vocal recordings, even the ones considered, "outtakes," are near perfection. So, for this song, there is not even a hint of it sounding like a rough vocal. In fact, I'm going to be bold and say that it may be one of her best vocals I've ever heard! She performs the song with a delicate, gentle ease and it creates a hopefulness in her vocals that is out of this world. I could hear the nurturing in her ethereal and angelic voice. She became the bright voice of encouragement I needed as I was stepping into,"the promise of a brand new kind of world" that I was creating from within.
With my newfound and unwavering belief in myself and my dreams, I've been pursuing a project that's been two years in the making. I'll reveal more in a few more months once I'm ready to share it! What I've learned is that the impossible is indeed possible. And you know what? It's been a smooth and collaborative experience and it's not breaking the bank! Not everything we work towards has to be difficult and overwhelming.
While recording my cover of "Leave Yesterday Behind," my microphone, and my 2012 Macbook, were both making it very clear to me that they were on their way out! I decided to power through and pivot from recording on my microphone to my phone (on the Voice Memos app). Luckily, I was still able to play the background track on my Macbook while I sang along. However, since I was recording it all together on my phone, I could not re-sing parts of the song and add them into Garageband to edit further. I had to sing the song a few times through until I was happy with one version. Then, I dragged it into Garageband and all I could do was add a little bit of vocal ambiance. So, my vocals do sound a bit like an outtake! I am sharing all of this because it was a good learning experience for me as I was shedding my old ways of thinking. Vocals do not have to be 100% perfect to be good enough to share. The song's message aligns with my soul and what I have been going through, so I didn't want to wait to share it until I got a new microphone and laptop. I felt that if it the song was helping me, it may resonate with some of you too.
When we actually step onto the path of believing in ourselves and our dreams, it feels like the second line of lyrics in this song: "a magic show before your very eyes." We view ourselves and our circumstances with a newer and brighter perspective. Everything seems to harmonize, even the aspects that don't make sense yet because we believe wholeheartedly in the excitement of what's to come. And we allow ourselves to let go and unlock our minds. The more we unwind and release our old ways of thinking, the more room we have to make space for our heart's desires. We are getting rid of the noise and becoming who we are meant to be!
And I can’t think of a voice more encouraging and nurturing than Karen’s to tell us to keep going and leave the old thoughts of yesterday behind.
Keep shining, friends!
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