Hennie Bekker

New Year’s Eve is usually hectic — parties, dinners, commitments… However, the passing of 2009 and the birth of 2010 was somewhat of a change to our regular routine. We found ourselves in Ixtapa Zihuatanejo, situated on the west coast of Mexico, which was was perfect for this ‘Snow Bird’ (Canadian) to migrate to during the brutal Canadian Winter. New Year’s Eve was a time for relaxation — and a little experiment.

At six in the evening, the camera was planted on the beach and left to run and hence the magic was captured. I don’t like to use the word ‘Spiritual’ as I feel that it has too many different connotations to different cultures and beliefs, but just sitting on that beach at that time of day was food for the soul.

After returning to Canada, I fell back into the daily routine. However, I found myself being drawn back to this video. I felt an urge to put my mark on it, combine it with music and capture the essence of the moment. I thought the reason I was being drawn back to it was to rekindle the memories. It wasn’t.

I listened to a number of my CDs sometimes with the video playing and sometimes without. Many tracks blended with the video — especially tracks from Exotic Spa and Music To Promote Sleep. It was, I came to realize, the need to relax — feed the soul — that kept bringing me back to to the video.

While listening to the CDs without the video running, I found that the music induced a similar feeling of relaxation. You can experience it, too — at home. I chose the title track Journey On from the Exotic Spa CD because Exotic Spa can help you create your own relaxing environment.