A Ukulele, Ian Somerhalder and Saving the World

"You want to play the what?" my friend said with a laugh.  "The U-KU-LE-LE!" I said.  "Um. Why?" she said.  "Um.  Why the heck not?" I said.  And so, the adventures with the Ukulele begin.  I actually found a local Ukulele group that meet once a month and I know one of the ladies who attends the group.  She is the one that promptly invited me when I mentioned the daring word, Ukulele.  She had a spare Ukulele and got me started with learning a few chords.  You see, I've always had a dream, hanging out in the back of my head, to play the guitar.  I have borrowed guitars and borrowed music and youtube-d the "How-to's" for beginning guitar, but it was frustrating, because I have short stubby fingers and couldn't manipulate them enough to reach certain chords.  And only until recently did I put together the cheery sound of a Ukulele with the fact that they are smaller and my stubby little fingers could maybe, actually, form a chord.

How do you feel when you hear "Somewhere over the Rainbow" played and sung by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole?  Or Matthew Morrison (from Glee) demonstrating his mad Ukulele skills? Or when Jason Mraz sings "I'm yours"?  Oh sure, we remember (if you're old enough) Tiny Tim and his trademark Ukulele singing "Tiptoe, Through the Tulips", but it seems that the Ukulele is making a comeback into many songs or maybe the ukulele has always been there, but now we have recognized it as cool, hip and happy.  Personally, it reminds me of Dole Whips before entering the Enchanted Tiki Room, but that's another blog post for another day.  Either way, I decided I needed to bring a bit of happiness back into my life (did I mention being a pastor's spouse is sometimes not so happy?).  I think learning a new instrument that can bring happiness of a tropical oasis, and makes any song sound uplifting is a good thing in my book and should be tried at least once in your life.  I found out on Wednesday that my fat, stubby fingers can fit around the neck of the Ukulele perfectly and I've already learned about 5 chords. I have been able to play a few songs even with only trying this out for 3 days. "On Top of Old Smokey" has never sounded the same since! No, that's a good thing!

I highly recommend learning something new and trying it out and making a new change.  It's refreshing and can be fun.  If you've always wanted to dance, take a dance lesson.  If you want to learn a new language, find a community class.  If you want a new way to exercise, might I suggest Zumba?  You're never to old to learn something new!  Take a chance and make yourself happy, today, right now, right this minute! 

On the same topic of learning something new and doing something that makes me happy, this Sunday is Earth Day.  OK, that part wasn't really new, but if you forgot or if you didn't know about Earth Day, it is April 22nd.  Last December, I learned of a wonderful non-profit group, the IS Foundation.  Their Mission Statement is as follows:

"The IS FOUNDATION aims to empower, educate and collaborate with people and projects to positively impact the planet and its creatures."  

Now if the above statement is something you believe in and/or agree with, I highly recommend you check them out.  I have chosen this foundation as one that I will continue to support in my life by educating myself about our planet, environment and all of God's creation and trying to make it a better place little by little every single day.  Ian Somerhalder is the founder of this foundation and I learned of his organization through my vampire obsession.  Yes, he's a vampire on the Vampire Diaries and some of you may even remember him from the TV show "Lost".  We will most likely put people on the planet Mars before we find out the cause of women and their vampire obsessions, but anywho, by watching the show, it led me to his foundation.  The IS Foundation is on facebook and their website is (http://www.isfoundation.com/) and it has all the latest news about legislation, volunteering and getting involved in your community to help our planet flourish for years to come.  Check them out and learn something new today! 

Ian Somerhalder is my hero and I'm so happy to be a supporter of his foundation.  He is saving the world little by little, every day, and I get to help.  And while I've never met the man (maybe one day I will get to and I would most likely squeal with joy or die of embarrassment, because I might or might not have fainted) what he has created in his foundation and seeing the energy that he has to changing our planet for the better, and he will always be an inspiration for me to do the same. 

Now that is something we can be happy about <cue in the Ukulele music>!