You Better Rethink This

You Better Rethink This

In case you forget,
pain is there to help 
with your decisions.

Like if you pick up a pot that is too hot, 
it will burn you; that quick, sharp sting,
arrives in a second, saying 
you made a mistake,
you better rethink this. 

It is all around and built into our senses,
warnings about things we just should not do.
Why? 

Because the dance floor wants to be polished
with your feet moving on it at night. 

How will you do that sitting at home
nursing wounds or feeling depressed? 

           But then again, every situation is different. Every situation divine. The take home message is that the world is your dance floor and in a certain way, it can only be polished by your movements. Only you can get the nook over there, only I can take care of the cranny on the far left. “There are years that ask questions and years that answer.” ― Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God

Enough of the Night (1989), Jackson Browne

When All Is Still

When All Is Still

And then, all the and thens ceased.
Nothing remains of the to be dones 
in the order of time
when all is still.
In this profound quiet,
the immaculate comes into view.
God disrobes.


        I think the immaculate comes into view more for those who are open to such appearances. Recently, my dad and I have been experiencing a lot of serendipitous moments, moments that, can only be explained as fortuitous blessings or meaningful chance encounters. These experiences have really made us feel as though we've experienced being "tuned into the Infinite" (as Hafiz would say) or confirmed the old Chinese proverb that "there is an invisible thread that connects us all regardless of time or place". Perhaps, one day my dad will share his moment on his blog Sounds Romantic. These moments are certainly ones best shared by those who directly witnessed them, as beautifully articulated in a post on Marc and Angel Hack Life: Who Will Save Your Life? 
      As for my moment, it began on Monday morning when I printed out the sheet music for House of The Rising Sun because my boyfriend had told me that he pictured me playing that piece on a grand piano one day as he danced around the room and we "raised a house of dreams". I liked that imagery, so I decided to learn the piece for the man I love. This is already a cute story, but the moment that made it happened a day later. I had only been able to locate difficult level sheet music and was discouraged to find my whole morning spent only being able to play the opening lines. That afternoon I went to my piano lesson and my teacher started going through her music collections, trying to find a piece for me to play for the upcoming recital. The first piece she picked out (from mind you, literally thousands of songs) was House of The Rising Sun. She said, "Hmmm...I just have a feeling...well, you might not even know this song, but how about House of The Rising Sun?" It was just so uncanny! (And of course I went on to tell her this story).

House of The Rising Sun (1964), Animals 

My opening lines (that took 40 minutes to learn, lol)

It Is My Nature

It Is My Nature 

It is the nature 
of this world 
to share its burden 
with you.

And it is my nature 
to remove it 
from your back. 

           Two weeks ago I discovered the poet Tyler Knott Gregson, many of his "typewriter series" poems appear on Pinterest and Twitter. He has a unique style of writing poetry on the back of old receipts and taking daring arrangements, all while maintaining the beauty and eloquence inherit in
poetry. Here's an example:

You can hold me like a book,

I won't care of the creases 

you make on my spine.

You can turn my pages,

fingers licked for grip,

the corners rubbed smooth 

in anticipation of the words

waiting on the other side. 

I cannot wait to hold the ink,

blue and bold,

where you underlined 

your favorite parts of me. 

      That's just it, isn't it? We have these nameless moments, deep kisses, strange adventures, rambling conversations...and in the end, we're all just stories. Stories that, if we're lucky, someone has come by and loved the edges of, bolded their favorite portions, and torn pages from to keep in their pocket always. 

       To find a lover to share the burden of this world with is a certain type of magic. 

I Love You Will Still Sound The Same (2014), Oh Honey

Post coming soon.

Post coming soon. 

The World More Bearable

The World More Bearable 

Knowing how she can benefit us,
beauty sometimes acts like a hooker.

Because she knows if we spend an hour 
with her 
we will be better off. 

And beauty is right, she is clever.

When has looking at the graciousness 
in nature or in art,
or hearing some moving music 

not softened your face,
made your touch more wanted, 
more rich and alive.
and the world more bearable

and the sweet taste of hope
yours to remember 
and yours to impart. 

            That last line is so important, the rememberance of beauty, hope, happiness, etc. allows us to impart it. Once we've experienced something it cannot be taken from us. Or can it? In my ethics class we discussed the idea of deleting memories (actually not that far-fetched, read here). In fact, new research in neuroscience experimental pharmacology exists that can reset memory by erasing the connection between brain cells. Although there has not been a human drug trial yet, results using rodents have proved promising. Currently, the scientific idea behind the first uses of so-called “memory modification drugs” would be to remove the memories associated with substance addiction, followed by use in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
           At first it may seem as though treating substance addiction through subtle removal of all memories associated with 1) the addictive process, 2) the dealers and “drug culture” that came out of it and 3) the secondary associations (i.e. chalk reminding someone of cocaine, and thus serving as a trigger) would be extraordinarily beneficial. However, if I remove the association between chalk and cocaine, might I also remove the person’s preference for his wife’s green eyes, because as a teacher, he writes against a green chalkboard? And what if it is not just any green, but wet-grass-after-a-rainstorm-with-the-sun-now-shining green? Yes, that green; and you can see that his eyes light up as you describe it.
        Can we delete memories (essentially portions of our lives) and still be who we are? Horrible events, perhaps unknowingly, may shape every facet of our identity. They may have led us to meeting our spouse, what career we pursue, they may have led us to be kinder, more sympathetic, more altruistic, and more appreciative of life. To consider a real life example, although intense childhood bullying could lead to suicide, and this would undoubtedly be a tragedy, what if it doesn’t? Instead, what if this memory is the reason that a boy fell in love with a cello and became the world famous Yo-Yo Ma? This is indeed what happened.
        While it may be tempting to rid someone of the unpleasant moments of their life, what exactly does this mean for the spirit, if anything? I would argue that something unique to the human spirit consists in falling, rising after the fall, conquering your own demons, and then living with knowledge of that success. Memory is complex, it is beautiful, and its intricate web can be navigated in so many directions. We must not forget to recognize that people are who they are not in spite of their experiences, but because of them.

History In The Making (2008), Darius Rucker

All the Hemispheres

All the Hemispheres

Leave the familiar for a while.
Let your senses and bodies stretch out

Like a welcomed season
Onto the meadow and shores and hills.

Open up to the Roof.
Make a new watermark on your excitement
And love.

Like a blooming night flower,
Bestow your vital fragrance of happiness
And giving
Upon our intimate assembly.

Change rooms in your mind for a day.

All the hemispheres in existence
Lie beside an equator
In your heart.

Greet Yourself
In your thousand other forms
As you mount the hidden tide and travel
Back home.

All the hemispheres in heaven
Are sitting around a fire
Chatting

While stitching themselves together
Into the Great Circle inside of
You.

                   Not everyone will understand your journey, and that's quite alright, it is your journey to make sense out of, not theirs. You exist in a thousand forms, maybe even a multitude of more, some are meant to lead you to The One, others simply for patience as chocolate chip cookies bake in the oven, others to hunt mermaids along the shoreline, and others still for the courage to craft a lifetime of worthy pursuits. I came across this graphic illustration and found it strikingly beautfiul. I would love to see someone do a photography interpretation using a real person.

Move On To Your Glory

Move On To Your Glory 

What can you see of existence's attempt to honor you 
when you keep turning back to a time 
where some event you seemed to take part in 
may cause you to lower your head 
and whisper again, 'I am sorry'? 

You cannot accept the crown 
with any regrets in your past 

You cannot see every object's homage 
if you are stuck in any kind of confessional 

All happenings needed to be;
accept that, my dear. 

Ask for any forgiveness one more time
if you must 
then move on to your glory. 

          "Ask for forgiveness one more time", repeat that line to yourself and let it resonate. Then dismiss all thoughts of your wrongdoings, not so that you never reflect on them (because reflect you should), but so that they do not consume you. Forgiving yourself is important. Forgiving yourself allows the strength to persevere on the days others find faults in you, and there will be many of those days. But, "if you only walk on sunny days you'll never reach your destination” (Paulo Coelho), so let it go, a new event may cause you the need to bow your head again. Yes, "all happenings needed to be" if only to give you new perspective and awareness.

When I Go, Dave Carter