The Beat Goes On

This past week was one of the brightest highlights of my entire life, when Lady Blaga hosted a nationwide hospital give back called Eats&Beats. In an effort to give back during this insane time of COVID19, the aim was to let our superhuman front liners know that they are seen, loved, and appreciated. What has been asked of every first responder and hospital staffer throughout this time has been completely crazy. From security guards and janitors to doctors and nurses, they have been putting their own lives at tremendous risk to fight the war on this deadly virus. They don’t have the luxury of staying home in quarantine and waiting for Amazon and Instacart deliveries. This pandemic is extremely physically and emotionally challenging for every human on earth, but to the medical community it’s next level scary. With the Eats & Beats mission, we so badly wanted to give joy, strength, and encouragement to as many front liners as possible. This mission was born on a phone call with the idea to help, pure and simple. It was a grassroots concept put together by two harried, stretched way too thin moms (me and Tzvia) who were intent on using our resources to spread love and light. Giving back has always been part of the Lady Blaga framework. This brand is a direct representation of who I am as an individual, and I feel grateful that my giving nature has always shouted loud and clear. Our goal was to enlist hospitals who would want to receive lunch, masks, and virtual entertainment for roughly 300 staffers in each facility. We had so many bumps and roadblocks. At times I doubted to myself if this was going to work. It didn’t feel so daunting at first, but things kept snowballing into an overwhelming amount of details and technicalities. Many doors were slammed in our faces, from family, friends, and contacts alike who we really thought would help. It was very disheartening but we kept going, believing all would unfold as it was meant to. Trust isn’t a one way street. We don’t get to say we trust only when things work out the way we want them to. It’s easy to thank “the Universe” when we win the lottery. It’s much harder to test the trust muscle when things are falling apart. Flexing that muscle has been what has gotten me through every hard time and situation, from the minor to the major. I did ask Source through the rocky planning of this event if it was going to work out. The answer was always a resounding yes, but so many factors were just not pointing in the direction of success. At that point there was nothing to do but surrender to the process and just do my best, regardless of the outcome. Zoom is a terrific platform that has been keeping the world afloat during lockdown, but it’s meant for meetings, not for music. It actually compresses sound, and much is required on the back end in order to get clear sound transfer. Each DJ has a different mixer setup to facilitate this. I don’t have a mixer at home yet, so we were attempting this all through other means. Every rehearsal involved a heart crushing amount of static. I worked so hard on curating an uplifting, positive, joy infused set. I just wanted to make the hospitals happy. Letting them down was terrifying to me. Until the moment I pressed stop at the end of the event, I had no idea how it was going to play out. I had every reason to expect tech hiccups. We had a plan for that but still; I just wanted all to go so well. This was my gift to the world at this time. When our need to give is stunted or blocked there is an emotional disconnect. I committed to doing my best as I always do, and that was all I could offer. That had to be enough. Looking back, I see how every single problem and complication was all part of my personal curriculum in letting go. In trust, in surrender, in brushing off my individual expectations and needs for how “things should be”. At one point I literally saw guru Neem Karoli Baba sitting on the bed next to my DJ setup, laughing at me when I was annoyed about something. As in, “oh yeah? You’re going to let THAT throw you off your game??” It helped me immediately release all the built up tension and constrictions that had been piling and hardening. As soon as that happened, which was right before I had to start, I surrendered to the moment. AND THE ENTIRE HOUR AND A HALF WENT PERFECTLY AND FLAWLESSLY. Tzvia, Esquire (who ran tech), and I could not F ing believe it. Ten minutes into playing, after the celebrity montage of well wishes we put together played, I burst into tears at seeing the nurses, doctors, cafeteria workers, and various other staffers dancing and singing. The true meaning of the event came crashing down on me and I forgot everything except who and what I was playing for. Each hospital brought the moves, the enthusiasm, and the love. I could not have done this without their magnificent participation. Giving through a screen cross country is a curious thing, but it worked. I was overcome with a fierce emotion that drove me song after song. Our zoom screen looked like a feel good, choreographed commercial about this time in history. Each time a certain hospital was featured in the middle of the screen, they erupted with dancing and cheering as if on a Jumbotron. It was wonderful, and I felt so blessed to be captaining the ship. I closed with Pride by U2. As I finally removed my headphones and danced like a maniac to the lyrics “in the name of love”, it was this clear awareness of the vast importance of the moment. I’m still processing it all. We were featured in magazines and on the news. I hope this encourages others to be inspired and pay it forward. It’s all part of walking each other home. My exercise teacher asked me the other day who we partnered with to do this. “No one, we did it all ourselves” was a statement that made me realize what we accomplished. I am so proud of myself and of my amazing team. I am endlessly grateful to all who allowed me to give on such a huge level. I want Eats&Beats to be the Lady Blaga mission statement. There will always be folks who need food, love, encouragement, and music. Providing that music and energy is one of the reasons I became a DJ. Every moment of my life, every trial and tribulation led to this moment. Every hardship, doubt, frustration, and fear. I trust each was a necessary part of my path. There will be more hardships, more fears, more difficulties. And yet the beat will always go on.