summoterrae-blog

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Be so full that even if they take and take and take and take and take you an still be overflowing

Alison Malee

[summoterrae-blog]

“Be so full that even if they take and take and take and take and take you an still be overflowing” - Alison Malee

I wanted to apply this to life and see what would happen. I was amazed of how blessed I felt and all the smiles that I would have otherwise not have experience. The challenges were there...people were cruel...and life was more or less like life, you know; the usual... but something else occurred. I wasn’t brought down by anything thrown at me, I wanted to continue walking and enjoy the moment. Sure at certain moments I would be affected but it wouldn’t last. I didn’t focus on the anger, the annoying feelings, being upset, or wanting to take a step back. I wanted to smile, I wanted to be happy, I wanted to continue to be full. I hope it didn’t effect just me because in a world full of darkness, I felt like a beacon. I felt like my smile had a little more weight to it. Maybe even power. 

I continue to feel this way and I’ve seen so much occur because of it; I don’t want to stop. The world may be cruel but even after taking and taking all it can, I want to be able to freely give and still be overflowing. 

“Buddha was asked: “What have you gained from Meditation?” He replied: “Nothing.” “However”, Buddha said, “let me tell you what I lost : Anger, Anxiety, Depression, Insecurity, Fear of Old, Age and Death.”” 

Once you become balanced with yourself the universe just seems to be more balanced for when you conquer yourself you are more than a king.  

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Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.

Benjamin Franklin

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“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing” - Benjamin Franklin

Stumbling upon this quote years ago I’ve taken to heart this very advice. I keep a journal and I use that term very loosely. It’s been awhile since I’ve written but I want to feel and experience the great things in life and I want to experience that over and over and over again. I find it harder and harder to pick up the journal even as months pass by. But I’m reminded that life is full of tiny moments that fill life to what it’s meant to be. I’m not saying that I’ll write down what I had for breakfast but I’m considering more and more the time I’m spending with whoever I’m with and the experience I shared with them, however brief or however small. A story is still a story. I’d rather have scenes in their entirety than just a summary of the climax. 

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Let it ring;

Music and it’s everlasting effects affect people in more ways that just singing and dancing. There’s meaning in movements, lyrics, and it’s creation. 

“That’s one of great things about music, you can sing a song to 85,000 people and they’ll sing it back for 85,000 different reasons.” 

-Dave Ghrol

I’m an avid lover of music and my soul ached the moment I decided to switch my focus of study to work with 1′s and 0′s. I haven’t been the same since but I knew it was necessary and it just felt right. But that didn’t make it any easier. The light from music would never set in my world, well at least I hope it never does. 

The design and concept of music flows effortlessly through us. I believe that it wasn’t designed to imagine something but to feel something. Just like all art it’s not what it looks like or sounds like but what it does to us. That’s what sets apart artists. “Art and love are the same thing. It’s the process of seeing yourself in things that are not you.”-Chuck Klosterman, Killing Yourself to live; 85% of a true story. Out of 7.5 billion people in the world, you and I exist. Whether you’re my flesh and blood, brother or a random stranger halfway across the world, there’s no way that we’re completely alike. The ideology behind those two quotes are genuinely the same. 

 Do you have a favorite song? What is it? Better yet, tell me why it’s your favorite? That question will tell anyone so much about themselves. As I am re-discovering myself at the moment I’m in and out of songs but I recall back in my choir days. My teacher selected this one piece for the ladies choir and you can bet that I was jealous that I could not perform in it. The words made me feel something that no other piece made me felt before. It was something I wanted in my own life. It continues to be my favorite choral selection because I have yet to find that love that I so desperately desire. 

And that’s the awesome part about music! You feel...you. It reaches down to the innermost part of your being and brings to light the things your being yearns for; whether it be love, comfort, or even realization, loss, even pain... But for you, that’s only for you to feel and for you to share if you choose to. You have your own reasons to smile or to hurt. The emotions the composer or performer emits can only influence what the piece of music signifies for you. I recently went to a wedding for two of my good friends. During the bride and father dance, I sat and watched and only smiled as I felt a great happiness fill me up. But as they graciously stepped side to side, I saw the bride place her face on her father’s shoulder as tears filled her eyes. The song wasn’t different for the two of us but our moments were vastly different. She listened to that song for more reasons than what I understood. Her expressions from the moment were hers, not the groom’s, not the father’s, not mine...but her’s. 

Don’t let music be something arbitrary in your life. Let it mean something specific to you. It is something that connects each and every one of us. Despite differences in languages, it binds us and is universally understood while not completely understanding what it actually intends. Find some song in a different language and see just listen, truly listen. If you know the language a little, see what it’s trying to say: If you don’t know the language listen to the tune and see what it’s trying to make you feel. 

I once composed my own choral piece. I’ve wanted to perfect it for years now but I still delight in it’s imperfect form. 

All Shores Are Home

The shore withstands much of me.

 The waves flow swiftly from the sea.

Driven by care we all move as one, but yet on our own.

Though tempest and trial challenge the shore is no where to be found.

When light reveals the shore from underneath and the winds die down.

I know the shore and the water never leave for all shores are home. 

I love it because it’s mine. I love it because of what it means to me. The music that the poem is set to feels like the ocean with it’s wavy movement. But the beach is my place of refuge, whenever I need a place to be alone I am there. So in a literal sense, the shore has been there for me through thick and thin. But when life becomes so overwhelming it’s hard to feel comfort and one might believe that it’s no where to be found. After things have died down we notice that refuge didn’t leave but was there all along. Just harder to be seen. (I’m vague writing about it’s meaning and that’s because I’d like to further discuss it’s meaning and symbolism.) But to me, it wasn’t just my creation, it was my demonstration of appreciation for it being my place of refuge. Although the beach is an inanimate object/place, it’s alive to me and makes provides something more than just water, shells and sand. That home of water, shells, and sand saved me. 

I love music. Music is alive and a universal language. Capable of making us cry or fall in love, it flows through us. Let it mean something to you.

Each person in the world is different and has their own beautiful sound in the symphony of life” -Joseph B. Wirthlin

What does it mean to you?(I’d love to read why or any feedback.)