As I write this, I have the great Jazz album by John Coltrane "My Favourite Things" playing on my computer ... I enveloped in the extra-ordinary music he created some 44 years ago in a studio session ... music that is timeless and awesome ...
I remember the first time I heard it ... it was back in the fall of 1990, I was living in a Graduate Student Residence at Queens University ... it was a grey dreary day ... we were all nursing hang overs from our Friday night out, and we were just lounging about on a lazy Saturday afternoon ... Then down the hall drifted my first experience of Coltrane ...
"What's that?" I asked one of my floor mates as we heard the music ... he tossed me the CD case ... I was entranced ... the music took hold of me and carried me ... I instantly became a Coltrane fan (how can you not?) and began to explore the world of Jazz music ... a journey I enjoy ...
Today is one of those days ... the sun is shining, but my spirit is restless ... the weather is glorious, but I feel unsettled ... Nothing bad ... just the come down from the trip west, and the uncertainty of what lies ahead ...
The canvas before me is blank - that is never a comfortable thing ... I have found place of peace and wholeness thanks to the guidance of a dear friend, and of late I have found a place of passion and enthusiasm thanks to the friends I have met along the way ... it's a place to begin to paint and create ... a place where bold colours and subtle tones will combine to create something beautiful ... something filled with "a few of my favourite things ..."
And it starts by breathing deep ... feeling the splendour of creation all about me ... taking stock of what I have and knowing that life is an precious gift ...
So, rather then listing what my favourite things are (it would be a very long list), I will say that my list begins anew each morning as I open my eyes to the day that has been laid out before me ... as the last threads of sleep slip away there is possibility and potential ... and as the Hebrew people said - "Dayenu ... Dayenu ..." (That would have been enough) ... but God's blessings don't simply end there ...
(on a tangent - I found a rather cool reference to Coltrane's My Favourite Things at the Blog of a friend from New York City ... I invite you to check it out (it's the entry for Tuesday June 20th entitled: On High) Katie gets Coltrane ... (it's about a third of the way down the page)
http://ktzpage.blogspot.com/2006_06_01_ktzpage_archive.html#115077164689610540 )
High and dry
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Detail of a pile of sun-bleached driftwood on the lake shore. Just because.
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Un poco de un montón de troncos y ramas dejados al borde del la...
15 hours ago
1 comment:
Thanks for sharing your memories and feelings about this great piece of music. (And for the record, I believe you...) As for that canvas, it's always there for you, ready to be created and re-created, over and over again. And the image you find in the end (although really, there is no end!) matters much less than what you discover about yourself in the process.
It sounds like the door is just opening, have a look around but keep your eyes open wide. Focus not only on the things that stand before you, but on the entire landscape and on the endless mysteries that await you as you journey on.
Catherine
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