No Man Left Behind!

"No Man Left Behind!"

According to the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia, 969 missing service members have been accounted for since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, while the whereabouts of 1,611 remain a mystery, updated from a count of 1,642.

I wrote, “There’s A Knock on the Door” to keep sending out the message of those still lost and unaccounted for, not only in Southeast Asia, but across the globe, shipped out from the land of the free and home of the brave who never came home.

The World War II motto was “No Man Left Behind!” If you stand by the principle that these Americans made the ultimate sacrifice for OUR freedom, please participate by sharing the stories, get actively involved in the search for their remains and pray for their families. 

YOU, ME, WE are the Key!

The Wall that Heals

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall celebrates its 35^th Anniversary this year. Many say it’s “The Wall that Heals”. 

To date, there are now 58,315 names of our service members inscribed in honor of their sacrifice for our freedom. If you have the opportunity to visit during this Memorial holiday, The Wall is located at 5 Henry Bacon Drive NW in Washington, D.C. It is open 24 hours per day.

You are the Key and Celestial Voices send out a plea across the USA for prayers of peace. God bless all of our veterans! TheWall-USA.

Any way we can love, pray, hope and honor, each and every one of us is the Key!

“The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.”
                                                             . . . Five-Star General Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964)

What Inspires YOU?

Inspiration is everywhere. Here’s a list of ten sources of inspiration off the top of my head: 

Nature, poetry, music, silence, beauty, an author/speaker, new invention, art, new challenges, prayer. 

Now, you design a list of what inspires you. C’mon!

With social media stealing away our attention, it’s important to shut of the phone or laptop and pay attention to everything around us. What will we discover about our world and about ourselves? Think of the possibilities!

Trying to be in the present, reflecting on the past or dreaming of the future is filled with inspiration.

After I finished a music program yesterday, I loaded my gear into my car and began to drive away. It’s warming up now in the latter part of April in Ohio and I put all the windows down to enjoy the air driving home. Suddenly, the wind blew something into my car and it landed on my lap- a tiny seedling from a tree. So, green, with tiny oak-shaped leaves and a tiny string of seeds, like a string of green pearls. I held it in my hand all the way home and it’s now floating in a dish of water on the windowsill. What a gift, an unexpected, spontaneous moment of inspiration!

At this moment, as I am writing my blog, my cat, “Mia”, is doing everything she can think of to distract me. Lesson learned! It’s time to stop working, take time to enjoy life with her and get inspired!

To learn more about You are the Key, my Self-Discovery Course and Self-Discovery Lecture Series, discover it all at: http://YOUaretheKey1.com

Share You are the Key with those you love, admire and mentor. If you prefer the eBook version, link to Amazon Kindle:http://www.amazon.com/YOU-are-Celeste-Reichert-Friedman-ebook/dp/B01CPUHDQQ/

Also available in Nook Books! http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/you-are-the-key-celeste-reichert-friedman/1123890618?ean=2940158220609

“The unexamined life is not worth living.”

                                                          . . . Socrates

YOU are the Key!

Chart Your Course

Daily, we are experiencing the current changes, challenges and atrocities across our world. Many of us feel as though we’re drowning in sadness and despair. Many press on with hope and prayer. Many are losing hope.

How do we rise above the negative and dark forces? How do we lift others? How do we get active in our communities? What are we each doing to achieve peace globally?

How do we chart a course toward making a difference?

As a singer-songwriter and author, most of you know me to reach out through my music and writings, volunteering and fundraising. If you read this, thank you for taking the time and allowing me the chance to reach out to you. Social media has opened countless opportunities for all of us to take some form of action, whether it is at the local or global level.

The following are just a few of the answers on YouTube I have received to my question and title of my song, asking the world, “What Would John Lennon Say?”

“I think he'd tell us to keep going.”
“Keep believing.”
“Be the good you want to see in the world.”

YOUTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Nbk3Lwkz-w

What do you think John Lennon would say if he were here today?

As you chart your course for setting goals today and beyond, have you included what you would like to do to make our world a better place?

You don’t need a map to chart your course toward peace. Look inside your heart.
You are the Key!

Wishing you a peaceful HolyWeek.
Blessings,
Celeste

A Part of the Journey

On New Year’s Eve of 2016, I posted my blog titled, “The Next Journey Around the Sun”, after hearing a television news anchor say that “we’re approaching the beginning of our next journey around the sun.”

Wow, this journey for me, so far has been amazing, exhilarating and hopeful. 2017 began with an appearance on American Public Television’s Songs at the Center, followed by a flurry of Celtic performances in March and tribute programs to the Broadway production of Oklahoma!

This week, it’s an appearance at the Licking County Library Author’s Fair on Saturday, April 8 from 1:00 to 4:00pm I’ll be there to sign, meet and greet and feature “You are the Key”, celebrating its recent release in paperback.

To learn more about YOU are the Key, my Self-Discovery Course and Self-Discovery Lecture Series, discover it all at YOUaretheKey1.com

Share YOU are the Key with those you love, admire and mentor. If you prefer the eBook version, link to Amazon Kindle. Also available in Nook Books!

You’ve heard me say it hundreds of times, “If your dream grabs the keys and heads out the door, will you be ready to accompany it? If not, will your dream find another dreamer?” So far this part of my journey around the sun is going at warp speed. My dream has the keys and I am living my dream!

More amazing opportunities coming in May. Watch for details!

"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment." . . . Ralph Waldo Emerson

Music and Healing

I am so honored to share the Songs at the Center stage with composer David Tolley, singer-songwriter Megan Palmer and singer-songwriter/host Eric Gnezda, along with David’s guest vocalist Jo Ellen Harris for the Premiere of the “Music and Healing Series” on Saturday, March 25, 2017 at 11:00pm EDT on WOSU TV 34.1 in Central Ohio.

In the first of two episodes of “Music and Healing”, I perform my single, “Sobreviva”, originally composed in 2005 for the short film, On the Brink, also found on my 2010 album, The Road to Santiago.

These special episodes are made possible by a grant from The Academy of Country Music’s “Lifting Lives” program and sponsored in part by The James Cancer Hospital and The Ohio Arts Council.

There are so many to thank for their love and support!

On WOSU’s “All Sides with Ann Fisher”, Ann interviewed Eric Gnezda and I in January on WOSU Radio 89.7FM and WOSU TV 34.2 to spread the word about music and how it changes lives.

Thank you to our live audience who supported us during the taping of these episodes, braving a cold January night and packing the house to standing room only at the McConnell Arts Center in Worthington, Ohio. In the audience that evening were former band mates of mine- bassists Chip Cogswell and Rick Unger; singer-songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Larry Ramey, Barry Weaver and Sarah Goslee Reed, who have accompanied me on Nashville’s Bluebird Café stage over the years; Roberta McDonald and Angie Smith, who were there behind the scenes and by my side behind the cameras. What a night to share with all of you!

Thank you to Songs at the Center host and singer-songwriter Eric Gnezda, Executive Producer Jack Fitzgerald, WOSU PublicMedia and the team of 150 affiliate stations across the USA, distributed by American Public Television. Please check your local listings!

Those of you who have a chance to view these “Music and Healing” episodes, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for supporting not only public television, but the arts in our communities!

Whenever you need comfort and assurance or know someone in need, music is a powerful healer, share this phenomenal universal language. YOU are the Key!

Blessings,
Celeste

COMING IN APRIL!
My book, YOU are the Key is now in paperback. I’ll have copies to sign and available for purchase at the Licking County Library Author’s Fair on April 8.

In May, I will be a guest on Local Lix Radio with host Pat McLoughlin. More details on the way!

The Power of A Dream

As a writer, it is inevitable that once I move forward with an idea or inspiration, it takes control and guides me in the direction where it wants to go, as well as what it wants to say.

You are the Key continues to reach in a variety of directions and is now available in paperback, soon to be released online and available for book signings and author events. You can purchase your copy in advance for $12.95. Shipping is free!

As I’ve stressed before, my dream can grab the keys and head out the door at any time in any way, shape or form and I’m always challenged with the curiosity that should I not be ready to follow, my dream may find another dreamer.

I certainly understand that my dream will only be satisfied when there are no limitations and You are the Key has been published only in eBook form for one year now. Many You are the Key readers and website members have asked for paperback copies, those who love to hold a book in their hands. So, here we go!

The official release date on Amazon is soon to be released and I’ll let you know ASAP.

To learn more about YOU are the Key, my Self-Discovery Course and Self-Discovery Lecture Series, discover it all at http/YOUaretheKey1.com

Share YOU are the Key with those you love, admire and mentor. If you prefer the eBook version, link to Amazon Kindle: http/www.amazon.com/YOU-are-Celeste-Reichert-Friedman-ebook/dp/B01CPUHDQQ/
Also available in Nook Books! http/www.barnesandnoble.com/w/you-are-the-key-celeste-reichert-friedman/1123890618?ean=2940158220609

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sail. Explore. Dream. Discover." 

                                                                                                                 . . . Mark Twain