Music Appreciation (January 8th) …
January 08 – Music Appreciation: Some have said that humans invented music to “correct” our own discordant vibrations &/or to harmonize the discord in our surroundings. Regardless of whether or not this is true, music is clearly a powerful force in human culture. That having been said, today is the day in which to appreciate music in your Life … Notice that you are not to merely listen to music – you are to Appreciate it. This can manifest itself in a number of ways — Go to a foyer with great acoustics and hum or whistle therein. Drum loudly on a park bench. Put on your favorite tune and dance to it in public. Remember that true Appreciation is not done in private. Somehow, someway (creativity is encouraged), show the world that you are Thank-full for music in your Life …
From humankind’s humble beginnings, music has been one of our main forms of spiritual sustenance; having been enjoyed throughout the ages. Music has comforted us during times of sadness, and it has encouraged us to celebrate joyously. It has accompanied as many births as it has funerals. And what is a moving worship-service without uplifting and glorifying music to guide us back to Spirit?
Whether we are very young,
or a bit older,
whether we are in large groups,
or are alone,
music has the potential to amaze,
and it has the potential bring us Peace.
And in harmony with this Truth, today’s task was not about merely enjoying music or merely using it as a form of therapy. Today’s challenge was to consciously appreciate the awesome gift of music, and to do so publicly.
Indeed, appreciating music is more than playing it loudly
,
and it’s more than simply listening to it closely.
To truly appreciate the amazing gift of music, it is necessary to sing jubilantly as though no one but God is listening,
to dance exuberantly with the rhythms pulsing through your surroundings,
and to play your personal Song in joyful celebration of your life.
Personally, I have been in love with music from a very early age, and my life has been steadily sprinkled with moments of courageous appreciation for music. There was me being so enamored with the joy of whistling in first grade that I refused to stop for a whole day in class (which earned me my very first detention). There was me improvising a trombone solo during a middle school jazz band concert. There was me rocking out to The Outfield on a road trip through Florida with my college roommate (windows down and shirts off, of course – with bot of us singing the backup vocals loudly and poorly). There was me dancing wildly all night to some great house music in Stuttgart, Germany. There was me weeping to the raw beauty of Peter Gabriel’s “Passion” There was me sitting in the foyer of Borders bookstore in Kailua-Kona (with its immaculate acoustics) before it opened and whistling Bach’s “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” for the employees shelving books just inside the door. The was me walking the 555 mile Camino de Santiago pilgrimage and pausing purposefully under every underpass along the way to serenade my gratitude to the Universe (again via whistling).
And there was me today, taking a boom-box into my favorite forest glen here on the farm and playing a self-made classical music CD for the trees there. And even though it’s awe-fully hard to dance to classical music, the trees and I gave it our best shot …
See You when I see you …
… and until then, Be Now!
Scaughdt
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