The Clock is Ticking

 

Times Square Ball 2010

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37005493@N04/ / CC BY 2.0

Time waits for no one. So what am I doing with my day, this moment, my life? I have dreams, aspirations, & projects. Am I working on what is important to me right now? My needs are met and then some, my dreams are known to me. Am I doing everything I can to pursue my dreams? Particularly the dream of being a musician. Something I wanted since childhood that was sidetracked by behaviors that did not serve that dream nor even the practical aspects of my life.  But then I put those behaviors behind me and began chasing my dreams. Today I have love in my life, great family, music, and hope.

I have enjoyed many hours practicing, listening, learning about music. Taking risks with other musicians to stretch my musical abilities and personal comfort. Bearing countless encounters with my inadequacies relating to performance. As the Guitar Craft aphorism states: Small incremental changes are transformative.  I know this is true through experience. As this year winds down, my years wind down am I doing all that I can to truly be Livin' the Dream?

Now back to practicing...

One Note at a Time

Yesterday we were cleaning our home prior to making dinner for family. I was tired and knew there was much work ahead of me. Frustration creeping in as I would have preferred a nap. While moving a dining room chair the notion of playing a piece came to me. This piece of music known as my life. Can I play one note at a time? Move this chair with the same care & attention as I give to a note on my guitar?

Viewing my life as a grand symphonic work what movement am I now composing? Are the themes coherent?  The melodies flowing effortlessly? The sounding of the notes resonant? The players being conducted harmoniously? The conductor relaxed, alert, and free to choose?  Can I be with just this one note?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/qthomasbower/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

The Marvel

I always marvel how birds can sing in the morning without any guarantee of finding the next worm.

Tonight I almost did not play ...

photo by: chun http://www.flickr.com/photos/chung660326/

Tonight I almost did not play my guitar. After all it is Christmas Day, I had a full day of laughter, love, and time spent with family. A late night last night with friends, food, & frolicking. A long month professionally. But I love playing my guitar. Love what comes over me when I am present with the notes. The nourishment for my heart when a note rings true.

So tired tonight, my right hand nails needing attention before I played. I followed a link to You Tube and heard Renaud Garcia-Fons play a five string double bass. So beautiful and inspiring. Then I knew - pick up my guitar. I may never reach his heights, but I can strive to reach my own. Took me a few minutes to settle in, and then music whispered a phrase. I looked at this a while and then played through Lost Ballon, followed by Dandelion Wish. Then another phrase appeared, soft & sensitive, supportive of my state. Played with this and smiled, kissed my guitar and put her away. I knew I did not need to develop these phrases or capture the idea. just let go. Music is always there, always.


Tonight I did not need to make great demands on myself, but I did need to play my guitar. The perfect ending to a lovely day. May we all find our connection with the creative spirit. Merry Christmas to all, Santa is never far away.

The Learning

I am now trusting that music is always available to us all.


                                                     The question remains - am I?

                                                          

Gratitude

I am always grateful for music in my life. Really can not imagine my life without music. Since my youngest days music has been there providing joy, insight, & passion.

Over the years I have developed a ritual to taking my guitar from the case. Tonight as I went to take the guitar into my hands I paused. I felt the energy field of the guitar. Suddenly I was grateful for the guitar itself & the man who made it. Grateful for the tree that provided the wood, the water and minerals that nourished the tree and the people that harvested the wood. Grateful for the men who mined the ores that made the strings and the people and machines that made the strings. Grateful for all the accumulated knowledge, craft, & skills that brought my guitar into being.

When we touch any part of life we touch all of life.

The guitar was my introduction to the dharma I now follow. The dharma that nourishes me; that allows me to listen, to hear when music is whispering. Whispering the melodies of all of the interrelated lives that are my ancestors, the ancestors of my teachers, the ancestors of us all. Whispering the harmonies of life.                                                                                                                     Listen ...

Photo courtesy of Ignacio Gracian

http://ignaciogracian.blogspot.com/

I wonder ...

I find myself saying " I wonder if ..." frequently of late. Perhaps this is what has lead to the Frames series to which was added Frame #7 on Friday and Frame #8 tonight. I heard the formulation of "I wonder" clearly tonight. I had 4 chords that I liked together, then in my mind "I wonder if" and I followed where that query led. At times I am hard on myself for certain areas of musical ignorance that I possess, yet in this ignorance, at times even innocence, I can allow myself to go places musically that a trained musician would not.

So I sit and wonder.

Photo by Pablo Mandel Circular Studio