Day 2,886

Growth:

Sometimes my brain needs space to relax, to think, and to engage. I don’t like sitting still and I like keeping busy so this can sometimes be a bit problematic. Tonight Gavin’s soccer game was cancelled due to the heat, Becky is out of town for Dominic’s college orientation, and Gavin went to band camp seeing as there wasn’t soccer. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do for the night, there are a handful of work projects I could put extra time into, there are a few projects at home I’d like to work on, and there was writing that I could always do more of. Instead I just trusted that the universe would provide, and I found myself relaxing, but listening to music on my laptop as I started to type this blog. I started that process almost two hours ago now and I’m so grateful for the rabbit hole I’ve gone down!

While I wasn’t working on a specific project I also wasn’t mindlessly watching a screen. Rather, I quickly became engaged in a study which led me to some very interesting insights.

Initially I loaded up a song by The Killers that blew my mind earlier today when I heard it for the first time – Caution. Earlier in the day I needed a respite from my audiobook to have a little more space to think through the challenge I was facing at work. The first four songs of The Killers album Imploding the Mirage absolutely blew my socks off! I wanted to fire the video up to get a slightly different perspective and I was going to write my blog after. Then I noticed a link to a video of someone hearing a song by The Killers for the first time and couldn’t help but click on it. Next thing I knew I was on a journey of learning for the evening.

Here are some of things I noticed from tonight:

• The power of music to soothe our soul is truly awesome
• There are so many different ways people learn, no one way is right, only the one that works for us
• When watching musicians dive into music – listening and playing – watch their eyes, they go to a different place and are focused only on the essential in the moment, listening. Their focus is incredible! (watch this video as an example: https://youtu.be/Zd_UcjMusUA?si=elpTNYEF4IKiy0__)
• When we see someone who’s an expert in something one can’t help but be in awe of how differently they see the world. What are the ways we each see the world differently that others might be in awe of? What experiences do we have that allow us to see connections other may typically miss?
• The creative process is a beautifully fluid and ethereal thing, never the same way for an individual let alone other people. Something about knowing how to let go just the right way, to trust, to explore, to coax, to release, to play, and to allow, but never to force.
• The ability of music and emotion to connect us to a moment is amazing. Experiencing others hearing a beautiful song for the first time adds the joy of the song with the shared human emotional experience even through video. It adds an unexpected level of complexity to the music. More on this in the Presence section.

So many lessons, so much stillness and peace. A heart full of joy through a combination of growth and shared experience even while alone.

Appreciation:

Wow, this is the last section I am writing tonight and I’ve already had this blog started for over two and a half hours. There is so much I am grateful for today, my heart is almost bursting! How do I summarize what I am thankful for? Easy.

I am beyond appreciative for the practice of daily gratitude journaling that I stumbled into almost 3,000 days ago. Taking the time to think through my day, to process the moments, to work through thoughts and emotions, to take time to reflect, to dream, to learn , to grow, to share, to be grateful for life’s blessings. I can’t even begin to state what a positive impact this one simple practice has had on my life in so many levels. This evening was an exquisite reminder of how taking time to journal can help me remember to travel inward and grow rather than sit and waste.

Presence:

The first video that got me going down this evening’s musical/creative journey was this. It is a professional drummer hearing Mr. Brightside by The Killers for the very first time and without a drum track. He listens once, makes notes, and then play song.

Then another similar yet different video caught my attention. This is a voice coach listening to Disturbed’s cover of Sound of Silence. Honestly, the emotion that builds from 7:20 on is palpable and was so much more intense than I would have expected. There was an increased connection to the song with the addition of someone hearing it for the first time. While I’d heard this many times it somewhat put me back into the mindset of hearing it for the first time, but different. (For some reason the video link wasn’t quite working to embed, but click here to see it.)

Thanks!!!