Strange and Beautiful

It seems like everday I am struck by the magic that is around us all if we simply choose to listen or to see or to feel. I really do feel, very strongly actually, that the answers to everything are already out there for us. They have been spoken, sung and painted by people that have been inspired to release to us all the "confines of their hearts."

I was re- reading a little blog post that someone had written on the death of Gord Downie and the lyrics to Bobcaygen were front and centre.

"I saw the constellations
Reveal themselves, one star at time"

The gift to be able to turn an elegant phrase in that way is pure inspiration for me. It feeds the mind and the soul. It opens the door to so much more. And as is often the case, a few clicks later I am listening to Blue Rodeo...

"Strange and beautiful

Are the stars tonight"

Whatever we may be looking for, the answers to the questions we have, the love that we seek...it's there for the taking. Maybe I'm a dreamer or a romantic fool, certainly a fool to be true.

"And I want all the world to know

That your love's all I need

All that I need

And if we're lost

Then we are lost together

Yea if we're lost

Then we are lost together"

To quote fictional President Bartlett...

"Words, when spoken out loud for the sake of performance, are music. They have rhythm, and pitch, and timbre, and volume. These are the properties of music, and music has the ability to find us and move us, and lift us up in ways that literal meanings can't. Do you see?"

That last part, to me, is the crux of it all...to find us and move us, and lift us up in ways that literal meanings can't. Be it an elegant turn of a phrase or music that simply transports us to the beyond. Listen to a great version of O Holy Night and tell me that you're not moved in some way when the music and lyrics take you through the divine night. You don't need to be a believer to feel this...you just need to be open to it.

What becomes even more magical is when you can share that moment, that feeling with others. Witness the wonder of concert going in all its forms. U2 this past summer was one such moment, me and 55,000 new friends swaying and belting out tunes, young and old sharing a moment in time with a soundtrack that delivered. Lennie Gallant at the Chester Playhouse, small and intimate and oh so good. And then this...the other night, spinning some vinyl and sipping wine after an agreeable meal with a dear friend. Things I love all coming together for a wonderful time; the crackling of 35 year old records, listening to gems that are like finding lost love again...you let yourself forget how good something is, but you found it again. Love is rekindled. The joy in sharing a meal and sharing time, letting the music be our companion for the night. There isn't much better. And more of it, lots more, would be what we should all strive for.

Set off on that long walk, the music of your life carrying you on lofty wings...paint a picture and set it to music. Have hope, have love, have belief in you. The reasons we live out loud for are personal and many, the important thing to remember is to do it.

Be strange, be beautiful.

Happy New Year!!

Ciao
D