music soothes the soul... words

Yesterday was Paul Simon's 68th birthday. I love Paul Simon's music.

After my uncle Paul died many, many years ago (the name thing has not escaped me), the family gathered at his apartment to pack up his things, figure out what to do with them. His sisters (my mom and my aunts) told us nieces (yes, we were a family of women with the exception of Uncle Paul) to look if there was anything we wanted to keep.

I went through his books (yes, I'm a book geek) and his record collection.

And there it was. That was it. That was all I wanted.

That record.

The songs, poetry really, on this record always make me feel better.

What I love about this song in particular is that it reminds us that if we don't talk to one another, we'll never achieve anything great. We'll lose our humanity.

The Sound Of Silence

If we remain silent, there will be no Peace. For as much as words can fuel conflict, only words and compassion will ever end it. Silence is a Cancer.

No guns or bombs or chains will bring lasting Peace. The beauty is that they can't do anything without human beings. Put them down. Let them go.

"Dream always of a peaceful, warless, disarmed world."
- Robert Muller

Do we not tell our children to use their words when conflicts arise? And when we add a comforting touch, words become even more powerful.

"Better than a thousand hollow words is one word that brings peace."
- Buddha

What is your word? Mine is Love.

So I ask you, again (I know... I know... it's like my vinyl needs cleaning and keeps slipping.. but it's important):

Break the silence. Use your words. Join us during the Blogblast for Peace. Put a Peace Globe on your blog (get one HERE) on November, 5th. If you need help in making one, just ask either via e-mail (on my profile) or in the comment section... a Peace Globe Worker Bee will help. I promise.

"If we do not speak for Earth, who will? If we are not committed to our own survival, who will be?"
- Carl Sagan

If you want to be a little Worker Bee for Peace, join us (like, Travis, and Vinny who made the cute little Bee) in actively promoting the event. Post a little reminder, or insert the logo or a clickity link in every post... We all have a different way of doing it - diversity is a good thing. You don't have to badger quite as much as I do... but I rather like finding a way to tie Peace into everything I write - challenges are fun and it's a good cause.

November 5, 2009

work zombie

Oh... please enjoy this piece. I give you Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman playing Handel's Passacaglia, as arranged for violin and viola by Halvorsen. This always calms the savage beast, forces me to breathe... and leaves me with the feeling that my life has just been saved.

For my friend Coco...

openness

We miss out when we choose not to take a second look.

I wanted to share this song with you. It’s absolutely beautiful and makes me smile. The melody captured my heart the very first time I heard it what seems like so long ago now, and it brought me back to a time where men and women touched when they danced, and would gaze lovingly into each other’s eyes. I close my eyes and see a couple gliding, graceful, in harmony, in love. It prompted me to find out what the words as sung so beautifully by the late Ibrahim Ferrer, meant.

I’m glad I did.

So many people don’t care to make the effort of getting to the meaning, never understanding fully what is conveyed by words and things that are foreign to us. But when we do, we may discover the emotions underlying the words are universal. They’re often foreign in a very superficial way.

How it was.
I can’t tell you how it was.
Nor can I explain what happened,
but I fell in love with you.

A light that lit up my whole being.
Your laugh, like a spring,
filled my life with unease.

Was it your eyes, or your mouth?
Your lips or your voice?
Maybe it was the impatience
of waiting so long for you.
More, I can’t say, I can’t say how it was
nor can I explain what happened
but I fell in love with you.

It’s so easy to keep from peeling the layers. I mean, it can be tedious work to try and get to the core of something or someone. Sometimes it makes us uncomfortable. There can be unpleasant layers, ones that are not compatible with whom we believe we are or the even way we normally view and categorize the world. Sadly, very few people are actually willing to look deeper. And they miss out. But that is their choice to make. That makes me sad, but I know enough that although I can voice that sadness, it may mean nothing to those I cry for.

It’s fascinating really how random words you come across will often resonate so deeply when they can be linked to a situation you are thrust into.

“We don't always get to choose what we love.”
-Scott Westerfeld, The Last Days, 2006

And something for me to look forward to as I grow older... Maybe I’ll even be able to live it now rather than later.

« I have enjoyed greatly the second blooming that comes when you finish the life of the emotions and of personal relations; and suddenly find - at the age of fifty, say - that a whole new life has opened before you, filled with things you can think about, study, or read about...It is as if a fresh sap of ideas and thoughts was rising in you. »
Agatha Christie (1890 - 1976), An Autobiography, 1977

it's time

I'm letting go...

I once felt a wave
lapping at my feet.
The water tickling me softly,
a warm comforting wave.

The water is calm now,
still and impenetrable.
But I need warmth,
and comfort.

"The tender friendships one gives up, on parting, leave their bite on the heart, but also a curious feeling of a treasure somewhere buried. "
~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Southern Mail, 1929, translated from French by Curtis Cate