8.21.2010

Look A Little Closer

I LOVE rainy weather. I'm from Florida, the sunshine state, so maybe this is just life's irony. Perhaps I should move somewhere that provides more of this weather. Or maybe it is just because growing up you learn to make peace with hurricanes. They provide you with days out of school. What kid doesn't love that? If I can't have a snow day then please provide me with something else. However, my love for this particular weather is not the complete source of this post.
I'm learning not to be a person who speaks merely because she has a voice, or because I have internet access. So whether or not I'm providing you with information that makes you think I am unaware. However, please take heart that I am trying to make the correct use of my words. 
This afternoon, as I was staring out my rather large window which overlooks our driveway, I was thinking about how much I love this weather. But I was also thinking about how it is beautiful in its own way. This lead to think about art and how we deem is something worth of the title ART.
There are times when I believe generally accepted definitions of things are necessary. For example, I would prefer that one doctor have the same definition as every other doctor as to what exactly is cancer. But that is an extreme example. Art and beauty, however cliche, are determined by the beholder
So tonight, in the sleepy little town I know as home, the clouds are think meeting the subtle shades of red claiming the horizon. The rain is intermittent and the traffic is light. But to me it is beautiful. 
Every rain drop is it's own piece of something larger. Looking at the horizon I know that somewhere else in the world a person whom I've yet to meet is sharing the same sky with me. 
We are privy to an incredible world. I bet if you look a little loser you may find something you consider art. Maybe even something you think is beautiful. 

8.13.2010

Re-define

I was driving home tonight in one of the most perfect weather nights I have seen since I've been home this summer. My windows were down and flooding through my stereo was a playlist that I've frequented lately.  I clicked through several songs searching for something else when I guess I finally got caught by one. And it wasn't the story of the song, the heart break of a melody or the catchy guitar solo that caught my attention. It was the title of the song. 
My mind went through a series of thoughts before becoming what led me to this blog tonight. For days I've waited for creativity to provide me with something worth speaking about. And whether or not you find it useful tonight I still hope you'll hear it.
At some point every word becomes defined. Every positive or negative connotation that comes by the sheer mention of a word was developed in it's own time. We choose to define words. And our actions define them. But the word that got me thinking tonight: alone.
There is a chill that goes with that word for most of us. Some times pathetic underlies it. Maybe we associate it with someone who is lonely. Or maybe you define it as an escape. But the simplistic meaning  is having no one else around. 
I can do many posts on alone in another context but tonight that isn't what this is about. Tonight I want you to think about how you define things. Are the words you are using what you really want to say? Are you defining the words or letting them define you? Maybe start there and then ask yourself what you have to redefine. 

8.05.2010

Symphony of Life

Music is an incredible thing. Some days when words fail even the most savvy and loquacious writer, the swell of a stringed quartet or a hum of a rotary organ touches the emotions that words can't seem to explain. But finding music that meets these exceeding requirements is beyond rare
Some times I'll buy an album and it will take me months to find time to listen to it. Other times it will be the most played thing in my ears for weeks. And I honestly can't say I've listened to every piece of music my itunes collection holds. There are quite a few albums that I've mistakenly bought.
But there is something about music that does more than words. We connect to it in a way that transcends beyond our imaginations. We could read the lyrics to a song but it is still missing something. We connect to the emotion. We connect to the memory.
Some of my favorite albums are just that because of the memories I have with them. There are some artists that I just don't listen to for the same reason. But whatever season we are in we have a symphony.
I love putting my ipod of shuffle. Most days it becomes a dangerous thing. But then there are other days when the right song illuminates the place within me I've been searching to explain. 
Today I encourage you to find that symphony. Cut out the world, put those headphones in and get lost in rhythm of the notes. Figure out what background music you would have playing in your life. Some times the tone says it all.




My Current Listen:
(an old favorite)
Chariot