Superwoman (Where were you, when I needed you) is a 1972 song by Stevie Wonder and one of my favourites from his vast repertoire. Musically complex and refined, the long history of loss and resentment speaks straight to the heart, as is often the case in the work of this genius musician.

The love story cut short because “Mary wants to be a Superwoman” and the pain-filled, resentful acceptance that follows also seemed like an interesting parallel to the plot twist of last week.

After weeks of hard work, everything seemed to go as planned: I had drawn up a long, detailed work plan for the month and stuck to it, much to my delight. Such a success had not been achieved without effort. I had not slept properly for days, my meal breaks were no real breaks and in the last 48 hours I had not even had time to comb my hair, which gave me the looks of an abominable tropical woman, but did I manage to follow my plan!

I was really feeling like a super woman (resting is for the weak!), when the harsh reality reminded me that even super women need to take care of themselves. I caught a cold, which while far from being a tragedy, can change your productive capacity overnight, not to mention the immediate effect on the voice and singing capacity (after all, singing is air, remember?).

In other words: to fulfill a previously established work plan, I put the final activity (singing) at risk. Seeing it that way, my over busy routine did not make much sense.

Regardless of your area of expertise, I am sure that you, like me, often feel in the middle of a race. Well, we are not. Do not know which practical use these words will have in your life. Probably none, but if you can make room in your heart for things that have no practical use, then maybe someday this statement will be of great value.

Being always busy, running from task to task will not make you live longer, or better. Maybe we should try to weigh more often whether the ends really justify the means. Sometimes the answer is yes, so go for it, and other times it is just not worth it.

Take my superwoman word on that.

Be seeing you!

G. F.