Peter Alsop‘s SONGS TO CHEW

    Today's SONG TO CHEW is called COURAGE.  We'll listen to the version I recorded for my live “Wake Up!” video with John Ritter, and my friends Irene van der Zande and Timothy Dunphy from Kidpower.  They have an organization that teaches kids and families how to keep safe, and out of dangerous situations.  We need 'courage' to face something or someone who scares us.  'Courage' comes from the french word 'couer' which means 'heart'.  If we pay attention, our heart tells when we're scared, sad, happy or angry!  Out heart reacts when we feel danger, and sends a message to our brain to decide if we're gonna fight or run away!  Sometimes when we feel scared, we're not sure if we're really in danger, like when someone is being abusive to us.  Usually it's best to leave when that happens, but if we have courage and decide to stay and listen, even though it's uncomfortable, sometimes we can talk things through, and our heart calms down and things don't feel so scary!  Click the link below to listen, and if you want to see this live concert, go to YouTube.com, type in 'Peter Alsop Courage'!  I'll be back next week with another ‘Song to Chew’!
~ Listen and subscribe to my Songs To Chew podcast = https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/peter-alsop-s-songs-to-chew/id1446179156 
~ CAMPING WITH DADS = https://www.amazon.com/Camping-Dads-Peter-Alsop/dp/B08CS871QW/ref=sr_1_1
~ www.FaceBook.com/WeLikePeterAlsop
~ www.Youtube.com/peteralsop  = videos
~ www.Patreon.com/peteralsop  = support my music & other artistic endeavors
~ www.peteralsop.com/music  = CDs & downloads

    This week’s SONG TO CHEW is SLAP HANDS, from my “Wha’D’Ya Wanna Do?” album.  Giving someone "five"; slapping hands with them is an extension of the more formal 'handshake' between two people.  It comes from the age-old practice of offering another person our hand, empty and extended in friendship, to show that we're not holding a weapon and have no intent to harm or injure them.  We 'shake hands' to confirm or seal an agreement with another person.  It's been used for centuries as a way to show our personal bond to them, and to give our word that we will keep our promise.  It's normal to feel a bit afraid to interact with new people or new situations.  Fear of new things is a self-protection response, and it goes away as we spend time and become more familiar with things.  We feel safer as the 'newness' wears off.  This song also gives us a chance to talk about shyness.  I don't feel shy very often, but I notice people who look uncomfortable in a group.  I love getting my audience to sing-along, because I think reaching out to meet new people is a wonderful way to learn that 'differences between us' provide us with a rich opportunity to grow.  Every new experience we have, colors our interactions with other people for the rest of our life!  You can follow this podcast and listen to all my other episodes!  See you next week, with another ‘Song to Chew’.
~ Listen and subscribe to my Songs To Chew podcast = https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/peter-alsop-s-songs-to-chew/id1446179156 
~ CAMPING WITH DADS = https://www.amazon.com/Camping-Dads-Peter-Alsop/dp/B08CS871QW/ref=sr_1_1
~ www.FaceBook.com/WeLikePeterAlsop
~ www.Youtube.com/peteralsop  = videos
~ www.Patreon.com/peteralsop  = support my music & other artistic endeavors
~ www.peteralsop.com/music  = CDs & downloads
 

    This week’s SONG TO CHEW, from my “Chris Moose Holidays” album is 'I BELIEVE YOU'.  It models how to be a safe place for loved ones and anyone else who might need 'a good listening to'!  Did someone ever say to you, "Don't be scared!"  Did that really help?  It never worked for me!  I just knew that person wasn't a 'safe person' to talk to about my fears.  I certainly want to be a safe place for my family and friends when they're upset.  I learned that if I just listen and BE WITH THEM; give them SUPPORT, they usually figure it out themselves!  With a little support, we explore different options, and eventually we find what we need to do to feel better!  Sometimes we can ask for suggestions, but when we come up with our own answers, we build up confidence in ourselves for the next time we're upset.  It's difficult to know what to do in our lives sometimes, and it really helps to have someone listen and believe us when they hear our story.  In order to hear this song and 'chew on it' a bit, just click the link to listen and subscribe!  I’ll be back next week with another ‘Song to Chew’.  Bye for now!
~ Listen and subscribe to my Songs To Chew podcast = https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/peter-alsop-s-songs-to-chew/id1446179156
~ CAMPING WITH DADS = https://www.amazon.com/Camping-Dads-Peter-Alsop/dp/B08CS871QW/ref=sr_1_1
~ www.FaceBook.com/WeLikePeterAlsop
~ www.Youtube.com/peteralsop  = videos
~ www.Patreon.com/peteralsop  = support my music & other artistic endeavors
~ www.peteralsop.com/music  = CDs & downloads

    Our SONG TO CHEW this week, USE IT AGAIN, is from my “Grow It At Home" album.  Scott Walker, a social activist from Santa Barbara, called me to see if I had any songs about 'stopping the use of plastic bags in stores'.  The City of Santa Barbara wanted to pass a law to eliminate the use of plastic bags, and encourage shoppers to bring our own cloth shopping bags to the store.  Waste from plastic bags creates serious environmental danger for humans, animals and even plants!  They block stormwater drains and cause flooding during rainstorms.  In landfills they take 400 years to degrade!  Animals get tangled up, and can drown from plastic bags.  Nearly 100 million marine animals die each year directly from eating plastic waste.  Plastic is made from oil and making them uses even more fossil fuel, which adds to our climate problems.  And when plastics break down in our soil, they release harmful chemicals like BPA, that harm the natural microorganisms that many of our plants depend on for survival.  For years we used disposable plastic shopping bags because they were convenient.  We didn't understand how dangerous they were for all of us.  Fortunately, many cities and states have stopped offering plastic bags to shoppers.  Click this link to listen, and please subscribe!  See you next week with another ‘Song to Chew’!
~ Listen and subscribe to "Songs To Chew" = https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/peter-alsop-s-songs-to-chew/id1446179156 
~ CAMPING WITH DADS = https://www.amazon.com/Camping-Dads-Peter-Alsop/dp/B08CS871QW/ref=sr_1_1
~ www.FaceBook.com/WeLikePeterAlsop
~ www.Youtube.com/peteralsop  = videos
~ www.Patreon.com/peteralsop  = support my music & other artistic endeavors
~ www.peteralsop.com/music  = CDs & downloads

    Today’s SONG TO CHEW is “YOU’RE OKAY!” from my “Stayin’ Over” album.  Each of us have been teased and told that we have something ‘wrong’ with us.  Usually when people say "wrong" they mean "different".  Most of us want others to like us, but we're afraid that if we're different, other people will avoid us.  We'll be ridiculed and isolated, so we try to hide our differences.  It's wonderful to be accepted the way we are!  The things that embarrass us are the same things that others feel self-conscious about themselves!  Each of us have little distinguishing marks and uneven ears or eyes or teeth.  We’re human, and the longer we live, the more our bodies change and grow at different rates in different parts.  When we hear frequently that there’s 'something wrong’ with us, we internalize this label of being ’wrong’.  But when we realize that we’ve been taught to believe these negative ideas about ourselves, we seek out safe healing people and places where we won’t be criticized; where we feel accepted, and can share our struggles. We find support to go on!  We're each on our own path through life, and when some critical person needs to point out what they think is "wrong" with us, it only demonstrates their inability to appreciate our differences, don't you think!? 
~ LISTEN & subscribe to 'Songs To Chew' = www.peteralsop.podbean.com
~ www.FaceBook.com/WeLikePeterAlsop
~ www.Youtube.com/peteralsop  = videos
~ www.Patreon.com/peteralsop  = support my music & other artistic endeavors
~ www.peteralsop.com/music  = CDs & downloads
 
 

    This week’s SONG TO CHEW from my “Stayin’ Over” album is BIGGER, BIGGER, BIGGER.  In our families, the ‘big’ people are the adults, and the ‘little’ people are the kids.  ‘Big’ people have more power and we often use it to make the ‘little’ people do what we want.  But before long, all ‘little’ people get to be ‘big’ people, and we start pushing the new ‘little’ people around.  More and more these days, we see ‘big’ people pushing their version of the world onto the ‘littler’ people around them.  The same dynamics that happen in families, also happen in organizations, and societies and globally.  So the more us ‘big’ people can learn about how to manage being ‘fair’ in our families; about how to listen to ‘little’ people better, the more skills we gain that help us better manage ourselves as members of one of the groups in our human community here on this planet of ours.
~ Subscribe to my Songs To Chew podcast = www.peteralsop.podbean.com
~ CAMPING WITH DADS = https://www.amazon.com/Camping-Dads-Peter-Alsop/dp/B08CS871QW/ref=sr_1_1
~ www.FaceBook.com/WeLikePeterAlsop
~ www.Youtube.com/peteralsop  = videos
~ www.Patreon.com/peteralsop  = support my music & other artistic endeavors
~ www.peteralsop.com/music  = CDs & downloads

    This week we'll ‘chew’ on a song from my “Stayin’ Over” album, I WANNA TRY IT.  This song was prompted by one of my ‘parental learning moments’.  It was a holiday, and I’d purchased a toy for my daughters, who tore off the wrapping paper, but they couldn’t get the box open.  It was stapled shut.  I heroically took out my Swiss Army knife and told them to “Stand back!”  I removed the staples, opened the box, cut the bags, and poured the pieces onto the rug.  I searched for corresponding numbers on the large diagram of directions.  As I pushed one of the plastic parts into place, it split into two pieces!  Both girls inhaled loudly and I remember thinking, “Oh No!  I BROKE THEIR TOY!  It’s the same thing my Dad did to me!”  I remember seeing my therapist about that!  I finally got it out of my system by writing this song!  Teachers, parents and older siblings often show younger children how to do things, and we forget to let the little ones have, a "hands on" experience.  When we do things for others that they can do for themselves, we deprive them of the chance to empower themselves, to learn to be self-sufficient.  People grow much more by doing, than by letting others do things for them.  Thanks for stopping by!  Please subscribe and invite your friends.  See ya next week for another SONG TO CHEW!
~ Subscribe to my Songs To Chew podcast = www.peteralsop.podbean.com
~ CAMPING WITH DADS = https://www.amazon.com/Camping-Dads-Peter-Alsop/dp/B08CS871QW/ref=sr_1_1
~ www.FaceBook.com/WeLikePeterAlsop
~ www.Youtube.com/peteralsop  = videos
~ www.Patreon.com/peteralsop  = support my music & other artistic endeavors
~ www.peteralsop.com/music  = CDs & downloads
 

    This week’s SONG TO CHEW comes from my “Family Roles” album, recorded live with my daughter Willow at our presentation for about 600 human service professionals at a national “Laughter & Play” conference.  The song is called LOGICAL.  Us parents do our best to use this with our children, but sometimes, us ‘logical thinkers’ get carried away trying to convince others that our ideas are the best ones.  When we do this, we can miss that other people’s input needs to be considered and validated, even if they disagree with our logical conclusions.  Even if they’re children!  We will be much more successful in resolving disagreements, when we pay attention to ‘how’ we use logic when we explain things.  Attacking someone else’s position doesn’t work well for finding ways to proceed together successfully.  Logic works best as a tool to help us navigate through the context of our larger, often confusing lives.  The easiest path to a successful conclusion becomes clear, when all parties are included in the process in a caring way.
~ Subscribe to my Songs To Chew podcast = https://peteralsop.podbean.com
~ CAMPING WITH DADS = https://www.amazon.com/Camping-Dads-Peter-Alsop/dp/B08CS871QW/ref=sr_1_1
~ www.FaceBook.com/WeLikePeterAlsop  
~ Youtube.com/peteralsop = videos
~ Patreon.com/peteralsop = support my music & other artistic endeavors
~ www.peteralsop.com/music  = CDs & downloads