Be Better Friends

Greg Larsen

Thank you so much for stopping by Be Better Friends.

I have moved the Better Friends project to my main website:

www.happyashumanlypossible.com

The Better Friends healing experience (book, DVD of music video, CD of song, and guided visualization) is now available at Happy as Humanly Possible, plus all the services and tools I provide for inner and outer transformation!

Thanks again for stopping by and let me know if you have any questions.

Have a brilliant day.

Greg
greg (@) happyashumanlypossible (.) com
310-971-7223

Sean and Sheila

Editor’s Note:  This is a guest post from Sheila O’Donnell of www.sheilaodonnell.com

(Sheila sings the backup vocals on Better Friends and provides the female vocals on the duet)

When I think of my Dad, I am painfully aware that Sean O’Donnell will not be around forever. I am the eldest of seven children he and Mom raised in a home they built from scratch in Woodstock, Illinois. His story, their story, our story is a love story.

In 1936, my father was the 5th born to James and Cassie, poor farmers in Kilcar, County Donegal, Ireland. He walked shoeless to a one room school house that included all the grades much like the one on “Little House on the Prairie.” He often ate only one potato a day.

His stories of Ireland are filled with his love of music, love of his family, and special treats like the Christmas he received an orange for a present. At 10 years old, he’d had never even seen, smelled, or felt such an exotic, rare, and precious gift as they are not grown nearby. “It was the most delicious thing I had ever tasted and I savored every sweet golden bite.”

My dad finally made it to the shores of America at age 22, to play accordion in a big band. He lived in New York City. But it wasn’t until he returned to Ireland for a visit that he met my mother. She was traveling through Europe after graduating from College and for him it was love at first sight.

Their story of forty plus years continues with my Dad being the life of the party and playing accordion. I grew up with music in my blood. I was taught to sing before I could talk.

I have childhood memories of my talented Dad playing bagpipes in the fields of Ireland and going swimming at the ocean together. This fall, I had the priceless opportunity to revisit some of those memories and fields with my father. (more…)

Have you asked yourself this question lately: how can I be better friends with my dad? If you feel that tug from within to be closer with your dad, but have no clue on how to take that first step, I would encourage you to begin by asking this question.

James and George

I’ve heard it said that if you live the questions, life moves you into the answers. By living the question, what that really means is to reflect on the question daily (or at least often) knowing that the reflection will lead to the answer.

If you ask just once and nothing comes, you may be inclined to give up and disregard the process altogether. But this process isn’t designed to provide the answer you already know, it’s designed to give you the answer that is unknown, possibly beyond the scope of your imagination.

There is a specific path for being better friends with your dad and the best way for you to get the answers that you are looking for is to ask. Then as you go about your day flashes of insight or new ideas fall out of the clear blue sky. Or you maybe in a conversation with a friend and they mention a trip they took with their dad and it sparks an idea for you. (more…)

Tina and Dad

Editor’s Note:  This is a guest post from Tina Gemoets of My Campus Life Coach.com

(Tina also plays the photographer in the Better Friends music video and she is my life coach)

“Better Friends”….you could definitely say that. My father and I have been through a lot together. Mostly, he was doing the best he could with a daughter that seemed to always learn things the hard way. I was doing the best I could by controlling everything, especially people and situations that I had absolutely no control over. I swore up and down that I must have done something horrible in another lifetime to deserve the way I was treated by my father. I felt like I could never do enough to make him proud of me. If I brought home a report card with A’s and B’s, he would ask why I didn’t get all A’s. He thought if he yelled at me because I talked back to my mom, it would really get the point across. I’m not going to get into all the details about my adverse childhood, let’s just say it was way more than a kid should have to endure.

(more…)

As a songwriter and singer, I know how powerful music can be in touching the heartstrings. Better Friends is a perfect example of such a song. So I will be sharing “Inspiration” with you from time to time in the form of a song that I find touching, emotional, inspirational, and one that invokes a moment of deeper reflection about our fathers. This guitar performance from Andy McKee does just that.

I really enjoy the beauty of expression in these videos by Andy. He is a perfect example of being an instrument for the song and allowing the music to flow from that deeper space of authenticity. There is no strobe lights, playing to the camera, or slick edits. Just a man and his guitar, sharing his gifts and talents. And the fact that this message to his father is communicated just through the guitar leaves it open for our own interpretations. (more…)