The chorus of "All God's Critters" by Bill Staines:
All God's critters got a place in the choir
Some sing low, some sing higher
Some sing out loud on the telephone wire
And some just clap their hands, or paws
Or anything they got now.
It reminds me of the philosophy of time-banking -- that everyone has something to contribute.
It also reminds me of my own struggle. I can't figure out what is my place in this world. Am I one to sing, one to clap my hands, or one to clap my paws? Or is there something else I can do?
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Monday, May 12, 2014
A house concert and the cycles of life
The birth of my nephew inspired me to do a radio show with a theme of family. I played songs about a number of things related to this theme, but one song that was particularly in honor of my nephew's birth was "Child of Mine" by Bill Staines.
Four and a half years later, I was in a room in which Bill Staines was singing that song while my nephew frolicked about, ignoring the music. He was making a loop, jumping off the bed onto a futon on the floor, through a folding chair, and back to the bed again.
It was a house concert, attended by maybe two dozen people, mostly friends and family to each other. As I sat there seeing the children frolicking, it struck me that people have been gathering together for music in the evening for millenia. Some things change. It was not always the case that people were invited to such gatherings by way of Facebook. It was not always the case that my nephew was one of the frolicking children. His father was born when I was 15, so he was the one who was the frolicking child when I was in my teens and 20's. And before that, when I was about 4 or 5, I was the one dancing about while the grownups sat.
This time of year, the new green leaves appear on the trees. Each autumn, the leaves fall and die, but each spring, new life awakens. These are not the same leaves that were on the trees last year, but the follow the same patterns. And so too do humans follow the same patterns -- birth and death, joy and sorrow, childhood and old age. The cycles stay the same year after year, but the faces change -- each generation, different individuals go through these cycles.
The morning after a concert, I went to a cafe for coffee and a scone. I went to that cafe once before, two years ago. It was my brother who found it. I don't live near it, but I had traveled to the area for the concert, so I took the opportunity to pay the cafe a visit. I sat in the same seat that I sat in two years ago. Two years ago, my brother sat across from me. He never will again. He has left this earth. I stared out the window so the people in the cafe would not see my tears.
The cycles of life are eternal, but each individual who passes through these cycles is unique and irreplaceable.
I want to record people's stories so that we can remember those who have gone before.
Four and a half years later, I was in a room in which Bill Staines was singing that song while my nephew frolicked about, ignoring the music. He was making a loop, jumping off the bed onto a futon on the floor, through a folding chair, and back to the bed again.
It was a house concert, attended by maybe two dozen people, mostly friends and family to each other. As I sat there seeing the children frolicking, it struck me that people have been gathering together for music in the evening for millenia. Some things change. It was not always the case that people were invited to such gatherings by way of Facebook. It was not always the case that my nephew was one of the frolicking children. His father was born when I was 15, so he was the one who was the frolicking child when I was in my teens and 20's. And before that, when I was about 4 or 5, I was the one dancing about while the grownups sat.
This time of year, the new green leaves appear on the trees. Each autumn, the leaves fall and die, but each spring, new life awakens. These are not the same leaves that were on the trees last year, but the follow the same patterns. And so too do humans follow the same patterns -- birth and death, joy and sorrow, childhood and old age. The cycles stay the same year after year, but the faces change -- each generation, different individuals go through these cycles.
The morning after a concert, I went to a cafe for coffee and a scone. I went to that cafe once before, two years ago. It was my brother who found it. I don't live near it, but I had traveled to the area for the concert, so I took the opportunity to pay the cafe a visit. I sat in the same seat that I sat in two years ago. Two years ago, my brother sat across from me. He never will again. He has left this earth. I stared out the window so the people in the cafe would not see my tears.
The cycles of life are eternal, but each individual who passes through these cycles is unique and irreplaceable.
I want to record people's stories so that we can remember those who have gone before.
Monday, December 23, 2013
Wrapping Christmas presents
Wrapping Christmas presents. Doing it the way my family has done it as long as I can remember. We re-use the paper year after year. To make it re-usable, we don't use tape, just ribbons, which of course are also re-used year after year. Labels can also be re-used, or can be made from old Christmas cards. You use a hole punch to make a hole in the label, and then you put the ribbon through it.
It was nice, wrapping with care something chosen for a particular person.
I've been so harried. It has been a long time since I've done anything like this.
I like to put attention into doing something for others.
I used to have people over for dinner sometimes. That was the same sort of thing.
Also, it brought back to me that when I was a kid, I always liked to have on hand things like construction paper, glue, glitter, stickers, markers, crayons, and hole punches. There always seemed to be a need for them.
Now I never use such things. I think that at some point I learned that I am not good at that sort of thing.
It's a shame that we are not supposed to do things we aren't good at -- crafts, drawing, cooking, singing, dancing. People who do such things with no skill get scoffed at. But the purpose of doing such things should not be to demonstrate skill. The purpose of doing such things should be to spark joy and imagination in the person doing them.
My mother loves to sing, especially around Christmas. She feels she can't sing around my brother and sister-in-law, because they are professional musicians.
It's sad, when singing is silenced.
After wrapping presents, I visited the computer. On Facebook I saw a photo of presents which my brother and sister-in-law were wrapping for their kids. I wrapped presents for their kids tonight. My presents can never be as good as theirs, because they are with their kids all the time so know best what to get them.
I want to give gifts, prepared with care. But it's sad to know that my gifts will always be inferior.
I think my parents at least will like the gifts I give to them.
It was nice, wrapping with care something chosen for a particular person.
I've been so harried. It has been a long time since I've done anything like this.
I like to put attention into doing something for others.
I used to have people over for dinner sometimes. That was the same sort of thing.
Also, it brought back to me that when I was a kid, I always liked to have on hand things like construction paper, glue, glitter, stickers, markers, crayons, and hole punches. There always seemed to be a need for them.
Now I never use such things. I think that at some point I learned that I am not good at that sort of thing.
It's a shame that we are not supposed to do things we aren't good at -- crafts, drawing, cooking, singing, dancing. People who do such things with no skill get scoffed at. But the purpose of doing such things should not be to demonstrate skill. The purpose of doing such things should be to spark joy and imagination in the person doing them.
My mother loves to sing, especially around Christmas. She feels she can't sing around my brother and sister-in-law, because they are professional musicians.
It's sad, when singing is silenced.
After wrapping presents, I visited the computer. On Facebook I saw a photo of presents which my brother and sister-in-law were wrapping for their kids. I wrapped presents for their kids tonight. My presents can never be as good as theirs, because they are with their kids all the time so know best what to get them.
I want to give gifts, prepared with care. But it's sad to know that my gifts will always be inferior.
I think my parents at least will like the gifts I give to them.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Pete Seeger's seeds
Pete Seeger sang Turn! Turn! Turn!
I cried, because I felt how his season is turning toward its end. The next generation won't know this experience. My niece, born just over six months ago, won't know the experience of a Pete Seeger concert.
A little later, he recited the Gettysburg address.
That was my answer.
He told us again later, in Quiet Early Morning: "When these fingers can strum no longer, hand the old banjo to the young ones stronger."
It us up to us. He has sown the seeds in us. It is up to us to carry it on.
I cried, because I felt how his season is turning toward its end. The next generation won't know this experience. My niece, born just over six months ago, won't know the experience of a Pete Seeger concert.
A little later, he recited the Gettysburg address.
It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
That was my answer.
He told us again later, in Quiet Early Morning: "When these fingers can strum no longer, hand the old banjo to the young ones stronger."
It us up to us. He has sown the seeds in us. It is up to us to carry it on.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Idealistic unamplified music
I have a friend who is concerned about amplified music. I do see the merits of having a sound system. I've been at a concert with a sound system that sounded good, and then because it was a small folk concert, the performer did one song unamplified. It did not sound good when the sound system was turned off. But it is true that unamplified is more druidly. For one thing, druids care for the earth. Using electricity uses up the earth's resources. For another thing, druids value creating things with our own hands.
Morris dancers dance to unamplified live music. But Morris dance is a performance by six or eight people.
For me, the most idealistic thing would be participatory music and dance, in which people of the community come together and everyone dances, sings, or plays a musical instrument.
The magic of music and dance
Of course I love music and dance just for the sheer pleasure of them, and that alone would probably be enough, but philosophically, it's also incredible the way they can knit people together.
I have felt for much of my life, that my purpose (like God's purpose for me, but without the God part) is:
I have felt for much of my life, that my purpose (like God's purpose for me, but without the God part) is:
- To knit people together into communities.
- To shine a light on people's strengths, and in so doing, to help those strengths to grow.
- To sow positive feelings in a way that will have a ripple effect -- like my being kind to others will inspire them to be kind to everyone they encounter.
And music and dance have the power to do that stuff. They are magic.
Bruce Jackson did a good job of describing Pete Seeger's magic. You can read the longer version at The Great Conspirator Turns 85, or the shorter version at Bruce Jackson on Pete Seeger. I recommend the shorter version. Or just read my quote from it, which is:
Maybe that’s Pete’s great gift to us: his ability to join a group of people who might not only be strangers to him but to one another as well and to leave them, however many hours later, with some feeling, some knowledge, that transcends the moment entirely, a feeling and knowledge about the things that bond rather than the things that rend, about what it means to be human rather than what it means to be brutal, about how we must and can get on together by conspiring in the best and most basic sense of that word: breathing together.
It's true. I have experienced it. I have seen Pete Seeger live quite a few times, and each time, it gives me the feeling that I love everyone present, and that I want to go out and make the world a better place. That's the power of music and dance. They may seem like frivolous, unnecessary activities, but humans living harmoniously together is a pretty big deal, and not easily achieved.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
White keys and black keys
When I learned to play piano as a kid, there were the white keys and the black keys. The black keys were the sharps and flats. If the key signature told you about any sharps or flats, then you automatically played those every time you saw that note. Or, if the note wasn't always sharp or flat, just sometimes, then it would tell you at the time the note turned up.
Now I'm learning to play the ukulele. What the ukulele shows is that all the notes proceed equally one after another. The piano is designed in the key of C. On the piano, F is a white key, but you know, if you are playing in the key of D, then F actually becomes a black key, a sharp or flat.
It's so cool when you see things as fitting into one framework, and then your mind expands and you can see things in a different way.
Now I'm learning to play the ukulele. What the ukulele shows is that all the notes proceed equally one after another. The piano is designed in the key of C. On the piano, F is a white key, but you know, if you are playing in the key of D, then F actually becomes a black key, a sharp or flat.
It's so cool when you see things as fitting into one framework, and then your mind expands and you can see things in a different way.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Manifesting beauty
Today at the farmer's market, I paused to listen to a busker. As I stood there, a man in a suit passed by, looking happy and competent in his role as a professional.
I was thinking the other day that maybe if I dressed more professionally, I would be treated with more respect at work, not only because of how I looked, but because I would feel more professional, and would comport myself more confidently.
I saw the man in the suit, and I saw the busker, and I knew the world of the man in the suit is not the world where I'm meant to be.
The busker is named Thaddeus Gaffer Venar. His life is not what I want either, but he does provide inspiration, in showing that there are lives out there beyond the models of success inculcated in me when I was in college.
One function of a druid is to be a bard. Many modern-day musicians are so highly commercialized that they don't fit with my druidry. (There is no One True Way in druidry, so I speak only of my own druidry. Others may have a different way.) Gaffer exemplifies my vision of a bard. He says, "It's all about manifesting beauty. And there's so many opportunities in the corporate world to manifest ugliness even without consciousness about it that finding an opportunity where I can feed a lifestyle that abuses no one and simply exists to put beauty back into the system is tremendously rewarding."
It's a beautiful sentiment. I admire him for "manifesting beauty" in his music. I also admire the organic farmers at the farmer's market, for food is essential to life. There are so many ways that people can support themselves doing something positive, such as growing organic food, building solar houses, making clothing, mentoring and teaching others, collecting and disseminating knowledge, and making music that inspires people. I have only a finite time on this earth. I want to spend it doing something good for humans and for the earth. But I also need to survive, and I'm still searching for a way that I can earn a living that is compatible with my vision for my life.
I was thinking the other day that maybe if I dressed more professionally, I would be treated with more respect at work, not only because of how I looked, but because I would feel more professional, and would comport myself more confidently.
I saw the man in the suit, and I saw the busker, and I knew the world of the man in the suit is not the world where I'm meant to be.
The busker is named Thaddeus Gaffer Venar. His life is not what I want either, but he does provide inspiration, in showing that there are lives out there beyond the models of success inculcated in me when I was in college.
One function of a druid is to be a bard. Many modern-day musicians are so highly commercialized that they don't fit with my druidry. (There is no One True Way in druidry, so I speak only of my own druidry. Others may have a different way.) Gaffer exemplifies my vision of a bard. He says, "It's all about manifesting beauty. And there's so many opportunities in the corporate world to manifest ugliness even without consciousness about it that finding an opportunity where I can feed a lifestyle that abuses no one and simply exists to put beauty back into the system is tremendously rewarding."
It's a beautiful sentiment. I admire him for "manifesting beauty" in his music. I also admire the organic farmers at the farmer's market, for food is essential to life. There are so many ways that people can support themselves doing something positive, such as growing organic food, building solar houses, making clothing, mentoring and teaching others, collecting and disseminating knowledge, and making music that inspires people. I have only a finite time on this earth. I want to spend it doing something good for humans and for the earth. But I also need to survive, and I'm still searching for a way that I can earn a living that is compatible with my vision for my life.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Reaching for the sun
The weather forecast for a particular day may be uncertain, but overall, the seasons follow a predictable cycle. Life does not. We know that we have times of darkness and times of light, but there's no guarantee that summer will come to our hearts on an annual basis. Though we don't follow a predictable cycle as the year does, at times, we can identify our place in life as being similar to a certain station on the wheel of the year.
Last night, I was reflecting on the spring equinox. Spring equinox is a time when we are half in light, half in darkness, but we are turning toward the sun. That fits with how I feel. In the past few days, I have been thinking of all the things I use -- car, computer, cell phone, clothing, food, etc. I try to choose organic, locally grown, fair traded, recycled, and re-used products. Sometimes I succeed, and yet so many of the things I use don't fit these categories. I try not to use too much energy, but in recent days, I have felt it necessary to turn on the air conditioner.
In the same way, I try to devote my time and energy to making the world a better place, but too often, it seems that just surviving exhausts all my time and energy. I want to reach out to others in kindness and love, but too often I find myself discouraged and irritable.
And so, I live half in light, half in dark. I can never achieve all that I apsire to, but I can continue to reach for the light.
There's a song, "Every Flower" by Peter, Paul, and Mary:
Every flower's reachin' for the sun
Every petal opens when the day has just begun
Even in the city where they grow up through the street
Every blossom needs the sunshine to makes its life complete.
Some are torn out by the roots and cast aside
And some might be arranged for a bride
A flower's just a seed when it's young
And every flower's reaching for the sun.
Some are bent by fears they cannot see
And some are touched by love and set free
A flower's just a seed when it's young
And every flower's reaching, every flower's reaching
Every flower's reaching for the sun.
Sometimes I feel torn out and cast aside. Sometimes I feel bent by fears. Sometimes I feel I'm just a seed, not yet a flower. But still, I'll keep reaching for the sun.
Last night, I was reflecting on the spring equinox. Spring equinox is a time when we are half in light, half in darkness, but we are turning toward the sun. That fits with how I feel. In the past few days, I have been thinking of all the things I use -- car, computer, cell phone, clothing, food, etc. I try to choose organic, locally grown, fair traded, recycled, and re-used products. Sometimes I succeed, and yet so many of the things I use don't fit these categories. I try not to use too much energy, but in recent days, I have felt it necessary to turn on the air conditioner.
In the same way, I try to devote my time and energy to making the world a better place, but too often, it seems that just surviving exhausts all my time and energy. I want to reach out to others in kindness and love, but too often I find myself discouraged and irritable.
And so, I live half in light, half in dark. I can never achieve all that I apsire to, but I can continue to reach for the light.
There's a song, "Every Flower" by Peter, Paul, and Mary:
Every flower's reachin' for the sun
Every petal opens when the day has just begun
Even in the city where they grow up through the street
Every blossom needs the sunshine to makes its life complete.
Some are torn out by the roots and cast aside
And some might be arranged for a bride
A flower's just a seed when it's young
And every flower's reaching for the sun.
Some are bent by fears they cannot see
And some are touched by love and set free
A flower's just a seed when it's young
And every flower's reaching, every flower's reaching
Every flower's reaching for the sun.
Sometimes I feel torn out and cast aside. Sometimes I feel bent by fears. Sometimes I feel I'm just a seed, not yet a flower. But still, I'll keep reaching for the sun.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
The power of music
I recently read Mad Maudlin and Music to My Sorrow by Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill. Both speak of the power of music. In these books, the musical people have magical powers which strengthen the effect of the music, but music can be powerful even without supernatural abilities.
In Mad Maudlin, some journalists visiting the homeless shelter gave candy to the children. It was naptime, but, having had too much sugar, the children are not in a napping frame of mind.
Sure enough, it looked like the aftermath of a tornado. The mats the kids were supposed to nap on were everywhere, and so were the kids. Rather than trying to get their attention, Hosea just settled into a corner with [his banjo] Jeanette, opened her case, tuned her quickly, and started to play, softly, a medley of old lullabies his grandmother had taught him. The banjo notes fell among the screaming, running, fighting children like rain. And, like rain, at first the music just ran off them without any effect. But as he willed calm and peace and sleepiness into the music, gradually fights broke up, kids dropped down onto mats, the noise quieted. Some of them looked up at him in suprise, as if they hadn't realized that he was there; others dragged their mats over to his corner and flung themselves down to listen. Yawns began, and yawning was contagious. Eyelids drooped, heads went down onto arms. --p. 296
Another character in the book, Ace, has the ability to influence people with her singing. Throughout her life, her preacher father has used her in his services to inspire people to donate money. Now a teenager, she has escaped this manipulation by running away from home and avoiding singing. Then there comes a situation in which a bad person has summoned a magical being who has killed him in front of about 2 dozen onlookers. Ace's companions have rushed to the scene to remedy the situation. They use music to soothe the onlookers, and Ace starts singing with them.
The song's words spoke of love, of endless forgiveness and healing, and as Ace sang, everyone in the room felt those things, blending into the magic, soothing the frightened panicky people, making it easier for the spell to do its work. --p. 420
Her companions had been unaware of her abilities, so afterwards, Hosea asked her about it.
"It's what I do," she said bitterly. "I can make anybody believe any kind of lie.""But you weren't lyin'," Hosea said. "You were helpin' them see the truth. Girl, ain't it true that there's love, an' love forgives? Ain't it true that God -- whatever name you want to call Him by -- don't want nothin' for us but what's right and good for us? It's a powerful Gift, if you use it rightly. Have you evern thought that if you were given a goodly gift, you could choose to do goodly things with it?" --p. 421
In Music to My Sorrow, the sequel to Mad Maudlin, Ace does choose to use her gift in a positive way. Her father once preached a message of love, but under the influence of an evil elfin prince, his message has become infused with hatred. He holds a concert for his followers, with a band which projects hateful energy. Ace and her friends sneak in and offer a competing performance. As Ace sings "Amazing Grace," the crowd responds.
...those thousands of listeners looked in the mirror of her song, and saw themselves....Saw, at least in this moment; and, at least in this moment, realized all the pain they were creating. Realized that the Grace that had sacrificed itself for them, had done so in vain, because in their hate, their fear, and their rejection of everything that was just a little different from them, they had turned away from that Grace, and into the Shadow....But it's never too late to heal, the music seemed to say. Let the anger pass when the time for it is done, and leave the hate behind forever....You have stood in the Shadow, now come to the Light, for the Light will still, ever and always, welcome you, forgive you, want you still. Flawed and ugly as your hearts and soul are, the Light wants you to come home and be made beautiful again. --pp. 304-305.
Reading these books inspired me to do more with music. I think music speaks to the soul. I'd like to choose songs for my radio show carefully, to choose songs which will minister to my listeners. I would like to plan religious services which use music. I would like to learn to make music. Learning to play a musical instrument seems doable. Learning to lead people in song seems impossible, since I can't carry a tune, and yet it seems much more appealing.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Three moods
I've been through three different moods in the past few days. I think I have something to learn from each:
- Late Friday afternoon, I got a call regarding the job I had applied for. It was a job that I thought I would love, and thought I was qualified for, but I told myself that that for all jobs, there are many candidates, so the odds of anyone getting a job they apply for are low. I was prepared for their choosing another candidate over me. However, that's not what they did. They found me so unsatisfactory that they decided to do another search rather than offer me the position. When I got the news, I thought of two other rejections I had experienced:
One was that two days before, I had been to tai chi class. My tai chi teacher always tells me to drop my shoulders. On this day, she also told me open up my collarbone. She pressed on the places she wanted me to adjust, to show me the posture I was supposed to adopt. She demonstrated exercises to practice at home. Unfortunately, my body does not know how to adopt and maintain the desired posture upon command. She seemed quite exasperated, and went into scolding mode. She said, "If you keep doing that, you'll get frozen shoulder and you won't be able to move your shoulders at all." I was a bit shocked. She has always seemed like someone who is patient with beginners, who knows that we can't be instantly perfect. I assumed that she teaches because she likes to teach. I take the class because I want to learn. In our society it is, unfortunately, considered acceptable for adults to scold children, and some supervisors actually seem think it is appropriate to scold employees, but in an adult education setting, when students and teachers are both there because they want to be there, why would scolding come into it? In scolding me, she deflated my interest in tai chi. I thought about quitting the class. I had been practicing tai chi almost every day, but after that day, I went for three days without practicing it.
The other thing I thought of after hearing about the job was something that happened some months ago, when I joined an e-mail list. I was excited about joining a new community. I fantasized that they would be impressed by the wisdom in my contributions. Instead, they hated my contributions so much that the moderators blocked my posting.
What these incidents told me is that no one wants what I have to offer. - Friday evening, I went to a friend's house. I enjoyed family time with a couple, their toddler, and their dog. The dog was very excited to see me. Being with them, I was restored to feeling like a normal person, rather than like someone no one wants.
In addition to enjoying the warmth of the chaotic family time, I also enjoyed the more reflective time I had talking with my friend's husband when my friend took the toddler upstairs to put him to bed. My friend's husband mentioned that he never had to look for a job. He has had two jobs since finishing school, and in both cases, someone told him, "Hey, you are needed over here. Apply for this job."
I know a lot of people in his career field, and I've always been jealous of how they are in so much more demand than people in my career field, jealous of how they are wanted, while I am not. But when he mentioned the way he had gotten his jobs, I didn't take it that way. The way I took it was that it's hard to get jobs by applying to them and being chosen from a pool of applicants, so hard that he's never done it successfully. And I also know that his wife came to him -- he did not have to learn the skill of courting, and apply it until he won someone over. She chose him first to be her boyfriend, and later to be her husband.
I felt that all that stuff -- looking for a job, looking for a mate -- is really hard, and I am not skilled at it, but here is someone who is also not skilled at it, and he has a good life, and he is not some loser that no one wants, so maybe there's hope for me too.
I left their house feeling inspired. I knew what I wanted to do. I realized that networking is the way that people get jobs, and that I should do things that get me out there involved with other people. I realized that everything I do, I do on an individual level. I don't work with others to create something together. At the community garden, I talk to the other gardeners, but they have their gardens and I have mine. At the radio station, I have made some friends, but they have their shows, and I have mine. At tai chi class, I talk to my classmate (there are only two of us in the class), but I'm learning tai chi for solo practice. It's not like a dance troupe where you coordinate with others. In my job, I do what I do, but no one is really a partner with me, and one one really understands what it is that I do.
After visiting my friends, I wanted to do three things: a) Get involved in the local sustainable living community to co-create something with others, b) Get involved in the professional association for the type of job I'm trying to move into. Participate in something related to conference organizing. c) Apply to graduate school. - Saturday, I was tired and depressed. I was fed up with doing chores all the time. I'm always getting groceries, preparing food, washing dishes, doing laundry, reading nonfiction for my druid studies, and trying to work toward doing something other than the job which is sucking the life out of me. I wanted to rebel against chores and indulge myself. I was standing in line at the library to check out a nonfiction book. I got out of line and headed for the fiction section. I checked out Fire by Kristin Cashore, and spent the rest of the day reading it. It was very good. What it conveyed was that life is difficult. We can't live the peaceful life we wish for, because we have responsibilities to fulfill. People get injured. People die. People we believed in turn out to be imperfect. Within ourselves, we have the capacity to hurt others, and to kill others. Life is difficult, but we get through it by loving each other, not only through romantic love, but through the love of friends and family, and family is not limited to our biological family. After reading the book, what came to mind were the words from the refrain of a traditional song:
The water is wide I can not get o'er
And neither have I wings to fly
Give me a boat that will carry two
And both shall row my love and I
What that means to me is that life is too hard alone, but love gets us through it. Also, the song has a captivating sadness to its sound, which expressed the sadness I was feeling when I finished reading the book.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
God is Love
The song "God is love" by Steve Gillette says
God is love, only love
Nothing more, nothing less
The song also says
Stories of faith sustain us
As long as we don’t claim that they’re true
(For the full lyrics of the song, go to http://abouttheman.com/wp/the-music/ and search for "God is.")
I believe in love. Sometimes it helps to conceptualize an abstraction by telling stories about a God, or about many gods. I think this can be useful. Any mythology or theology which inspires us to live a life of love is good in my book.
Today, one of my Facebook friends posted the question, "what do you think of a secular humanist, non-deist, who is deeply, and profoundly spiritual?"
My reply: "I don't care what someone's theology is. Whether it's monotheism, polytheism, pantheism, humanism, atheism, etc. people have done good in the name of every religion, and people have done bad in the the name of every religion. If a person's theology moves them to hate, that is bad. If it moves them to love, that is good. Like Fred Small said, "the only measure of your words and your deeds will be the love you leave behind when you're done."
God is love, only love
Nothing more, nothing less
The song also says
Stories of faith sustain us
As long as we don’t claim that they’re true
(For the full lyrics of the song, go to http://abouttheman.com/wp/the-music/ and search for "God is.")
I believe in love. Sometimes it helps to conceptualize an abstraction by telling stories about a God, or about many gods. I think this can be useful. Any mythology or theology which inspires us to live a life of love is good in my book.
Today, one of my Facebook friends posted the question, "what do you think of a secular humanist, non-deist, who is deeply, and profoundly spiritual?"
My reply: "I don't care what someone's theology is. Whether it's monotheism, polytheism, pantheism, humanism, atheism, etc. people have done good in the name of every religion, and people have done bad in the the name of every religion. If a person's theology moves them to hate, that is bad. If it moves them to love, that is good. Like Fred Small said, "the only measure of your words and your deeds will be the love you leave behind when you're done."
Monday, November 22, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
Religion as opening your heart to love
Tonight I was listening to "Rich" by Neal and Leandra. I used to think of it as a song about romantic love, but tonight I realized it could be a religious song. It says,
"Let the world go on believing
It can dry up all my dreams
Your love is the water
And I've waded into the holiest of streams"
It reminds me of "Morning Song," which I quoted in last night's entry. "Morning Song" says "I will go with beauty round me."
To me, both seem to be about finding an inner peace, regardless of what is going on around you.
It also reminded me of a blog post I read recently regarding how people who don't believe in God as a separate, sentient entity participate in Quaker worship. Using the concept "God is love" the author substituted the word "love" for "God" in a quote from George Fox (the founder of Quakerism), "that is it which must guide everyone's mind up to love, and to wait upon love to receive the spirit from love, and the spirit leads to wait upon love in silence, and to receive from love." The blog author goes on to say, "there is no object towward which our worship is directed, toward which we proffer reverence. We're simply waiting to feel the motions of love directing our lives. Thus do we avoid the error of attempting to objectify, to reify God."
That blog post, and the two songs, explain what religion is to me. Religion is a set of practices which help us to open our heart to love. And God is what we experience when we do open our heart to love.
"Let the world go on believing
It can dry up all my dreams
Your love is the water
And I've waded into the holiest of streams"
It reminds me of "Morning Song," which I quoted in last night's entry. "Morning Song" says "I will go with beauty round me."
To me, both seem to be about finding an inner peace, regardless of what is going on around you.
It also reminded me of a blog post I read recently regarding how people who don't believe in God as a separate, sentient entity participate in Quaker worship. Using the concept "God is love" the author substituted the word "love" for "God" in a quote from George Fox (the founder of Quakerism), "that is it which must guide everyone's mind up to love, and to wait upon love to receive the spirit from love, and the spirit leads to wait upon love in silence, and to receive from love." The blog author goes on to say, "there is no object towward which our worship is directed, toward which we proffer reverence. We're simply waiting to feel the motions of love directing our lives. Thus do we avoid the error of attempting to objectify, to reify God."
That blog post, and the two songs, explain what religion is to me. Religion is a set of practices which help us to open our heart to love. And God is what we experience when we do open our heart to love.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Morning Song
I wrote about "Morning Song" by Daniel Dutton just over three months ago. I need to remember that song today. I feel sick, the cold and dark season is arriving, and many people around me are afflicted with illness. Somehow, through all the hardship, can I find a path?
The song says:
Sun I pray, let me life begin today
I promise I will go with beauty round me
Dark nights and cloudy sorrows
Will turn at last to the sunny skies of love
Troubled dreams, fold your wings and vanish
All the fears fade and pass
The song says:
Sun I pray, let me life begin today
I promise I will go with beauty round me
Dark nights and cloudy sorrows
Will turn at last to the sunny skies of love
Troubled dreams, fold your wings and vanish
All the fears fade and pass
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Morning Song
A great way to begin every day is by singing "Morning Song," written by Daniel Dutton and recorded by Atwater Donnelly.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
All a Man Can Do by Tom Rush
"All a Man Can Do" by Tom Rush starts off with a young man saying goodbye to his parents, young and fresh, embarking on his life. In the end,
What this makes me think of is that we grow older, we all experience hardships and loss. The unwise feel sorry for themselves and feel injustices have been done to them. The wise recognize that it's part of the cycles of life, and are able to maintain their sense of wholeness and keep on going through life, keep on seeing the beauty in life.
It doesn’t seem so long ago, I hitched down to New Mexico
I kissed my mama, I saw my father’s stone
Friends are gone or out or touch, but nothing seems to change that
much
The desert’s hot the sky’s still blue, I’m getting by still making
due
Take your chances take your shot, cause 50/50’s all you got
Make each day the best you can, that’s a line I understand
Live each moment like your last, cause life goes by you so damn fast
Make a promise and keep it true, cause that is all a man can do
What this makes me think of is that we grow older, we all experience hardships and loss. The unwise feel sorry for themselves and feel injustices have been done to them. The wise recognize that it's part of the cycles of life, and are able to maintain their sense of wholeness and keep on going through life, keep on seeing the beauty in life.
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Folk Culture
At tonight's concert, the performers were Bridget Ball, Christopher Shaw, John Kirk, Kevin McKrell, and Brian Melick. In my world, they are all famous people, but I realize that most of the people outside of folk have never heard of them. They don't usually all play together, it was just for this show.
I was sitting there thinking there's something I don't like about Kevin McKrell. I decided maybe it was that he's part of the Irish music culture rather than part of the folk music culture. I like folk music for the sound of it of course, but I also like the culture. I like being around people who share my values. It's the same type of culture as the people who are Quakers or who go to food co-ops. Just as folk music is music to be sung by everyone rather than just by professional musicians, in Quakerism (at least the unprogrammed version), anyone can speak, rather than professional ministers. And in food co-ops, all the members share in owning the store.
It's not just the participatory nature that makes those things what they are. A group could be participatory but not share my culture and values in other ways.
This is not what this post was going to be about. I had three things to write about 1) musicians 2) values 3) the past year. This was going to be the post about musicians but it turned into the post about values instead. Before I get any farther astray with the values, let's get back to musicians. I was thinking that what bothered my about Kevin McKrell was that he was from a different culture or had different values. But it's not like being part of folk culture correlates exactly with me liking a musician. Bridget Ball, Christopher Shaw, and John Kirk epitomize folk culture. But of all the musicians performing, it was Brian Melick I'm the most excited about. For some reason, I don't think of Brian Melick as epitomizing folk culture as much as the others. He just doesn't have that crunchy granola vibe or something. However, it seems logically that I should think of him as folky, in that he does get people involved in making their own music. He teaches people to make drums.
Anyhow, the reason I like Brian Melick has a lot to do with the personality that he shows on stage.
So my conclusion is that my liking a musician has a lot to do with who they seem to be as a person. It's not necessarily about fitting my idea of the folk culture, it's just there has to be something that appeals to me.
I was sitting there thinking there's something I don't like about Kevin McKrell. I decided maybe it was that he's part of the Irish music culture rather than part of the folk music culture. I like folk music for the sound of it of course, but I also like the culture. I like being around people who share my values. It's the same type of culture as the people who are Quakers or who go to food co-ops. Just as folk music is music to be sung by everyone rather than just by professional musicians, in Quakerism (at least the unprogrammed version), anyone can speak, rather than professional ministers. And in food co-ops, all the members share in owning the store.
It's not just the participatory nature that makes those things what they are. A group could be participatory but not share my culture and values in other ways.
This is not what this post was going to be about. I had three things to write about 1) musicians 2) values 3) the past year. This was going to be the post about musicians but it turned into the post about values instead. Before I get any farther astray with the values, let's get back to musicians. I was thinking that what bothered my about Kevin McKrell was that he was from a different culture or had different values. But it's not like being part of folk culture correlates exactly with me liking a musician. Bridget Ball, Christopher Shaw, and John Kirk epitomize folk culture. But of all the musicians performing, it was Brian Melick I'm the most excited about. For some reason, I don't think of Brian Melick as epitomizing folk culture as much as the others. He just doesn't have that crunchy granola vibe or something. However, it seems logically that I should think of him as folky, in that he does get people involved in making their own music. He teaches people to make drums.
Anyhow, the reason I like Brian Melick has a lot to do with the personality that he shows on stage.
So my conclusion is that my liking a musician has a lot to do with who they seem to be as a person. It's not necessarily about fitting my idea of the folk culture, it's just there has to be something that appeals to me.
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