My favourite December tradition is to go to Strawberry Fields on December 8th and sing around the Imagine mosaic.  This year’s crowd was as chill as the weather and I barely noticed that I spent nearly two hours outside in the cold singing allllll the hits, up to and including the entire B-side of Abbey Road. 

Apologies for the poor quality of this video – I always get really hyped for “Hey Jude,” and yes, that’s my nasal off-key voice “NA”-ing at the end:

Just watching this video days later reminds me of the peace and beauty of everyone coming together to live out John Lennon’s vision of peace and joy.  I got emotional at times, and I was so glad to have the opportunity to go this year.  I wish with all my heart that the message and the feeling of this magical time could last all year, but until then, I’ll keep this video of my overenthusiastic crooning on my phone to remind me of how truly beautiful life can be, even at those darkest moments.

Thanks for giving us a soundtrack for our hopes and dreams, John (and George and Paul and Ringo).