A Waterfall of Music

 

I’ve heard it said that

often, when we think we’re

hungry,

we’re really just

thirsty.

On a walk this week,

I thought I was hungry for

talk radio,

hoping to find hope

somewhere in news and analysis.

But then,

sandwiched between

one segment and

the next,

came an interlude of music,

gentle piano,

a drifting melody.

I paused,

closed my eyes,

let liquid notes pour over me,

a waterfall,

a silver stream of serenity,

freshening, cooling,

full of hope.

As I opened my eyes,

I realized

I had not been hungry after all

but thirsty,

thirsty for the

soul full,

drenching,

quenching

grace

of

music.

-kh-

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

 

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the week:

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Text and photos © 2024 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

Part of the Music

 

“Moments of silence are part of the music.”

– Anonymous –

 

In music, moments of rhythmic silence are called rests. But rest also means “peace of mind or spirit.” I wondered if the word restore had the same linguistic origin as rest, but it doesn’t. And yet they are related in a sense. Restore means to renew, rebuild, and give back, which is what rest does for us—it renews us, rebuilds our spirits, and gives back our energy. Rest, our moments of silence and peace of mind, are necessary for the rhythms of our lives. Rest is part of life’s music.

Wishing you good rest this week.

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

 

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

 

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Text and photos © 2021 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

Music, Dance, and Change

 

When the music changes,

so does the dance.

– African proverb –

Maybe it’s time to change the dance.

Swing, sway, stomp,

make it wild,

make it wistful,

make it wondrous,

make it wishful,

make it fully yours,

keeping time with the music

that comes from the depths of your heart

and sings of goodness and grace,

love and hope.

 

Nurture peace. Cultivate kindness. Carry the calm.

 

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week – toy dinosaur (my grandson visited this week!):

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Text and photos © 2020 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

Dance of the Heart

 

“He that lives in hope dances without music.”

George Herbert

 

With or without music, may your hopeful heart dance through this year.

And may your dance become an invitation for the world to hope and dance with you.

Nurture peace, cultivate loving kindness, and carry the calm.

 

Nature of the week – heartwood (the central, older, darker, most durable part of the tree):

Shadow of the Week:

 

 

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For my posts on life, faith, and the mystery we call God, link here.

 

Text and photos © 2018 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

The Pauses Between the Notes

“The notes I handle no better than many pianists.

But the pauses between the notes – ah, that is where the art resides.”

Artur Schnabel, pianist and composer

 

I recently had “one of those weeks.” We had a cold snap, and the heater broke down, and the part to repair it was not in stock. My elderly in-laws came from out of town for a visit. My grandsons spent a couple of days of Fall Break with me (love it, but it’s an energy drain). Then my agent and I parted ways (amicably, but still . . .), the warning light in my car said to check the tire pressure (a learning curve for me), and to top it off, when I poured seed my outdoor bird feeder, out fell a dead, desiccated mouse. Comedians make a living exploiting the humor in weeks like that.

Fortunately nothing heart shattering or earthshaking happened that week, simply the accumulation of stuff-to-deal-with that wears us down bit by bit. But whether a single big shake-up rocks us to the core, or a series of small temblors keeps us agitated, or life seems eerily still (which can also be agitating), inner peace is the anchor that helps us stay steady.

One way to find and nurture inner peace is to slow down. Basic? Yes. Simple? Yes. Easy? Not so much. I can hear my younger self in a busier season snapping, “I don’t have time to slow down!” So life circles tighter and tighter, winding into a tense coil that eventually has no more stretch in it, so tight it’s immoveable. Almost. If that’s where you are, I hope I can help your soul stretch a bit. If you’re experienced in slowing and calming your spirit, I hope I can offer a fresh viewpoint and a few new practices that you’ll find useful.

I’ll give you a very specific slowing-down practice in a minute. And in the coming weeks, I’ll suggest a variety of ways to stretch your soul and tap into the peace that’s yours for the taking. But if any of these practices become simply another thing to remember to do – and to beat yourself up over if you don’t remember to do it – then that practice is only adding to your stress. There are many ways to find and settle into peace. If one way doesn’t work for you, try another. Or come back to it later. Train yourself in whatever practice works for you. But do try each one. Start slow and small. Eventually the practices that help settle your soul will become habits you look forward to.

It’s a little like housecleaning. A hurried quick-vacuum of the carpets misses some of the crumbs. Slowing down gets them all. Still, sometimes you have to rush through. And sometimes you set aside a day for the deep cleaning. Usually I can find a balance between the two. So, yes, slow down. But maybe instead of trying to carve out several minutes to sit back and settle (which I’ll be asking you to do in the coming months), you can begin with a simple intentional pause.

Yes, that’s the specific practice this week (and it’s called practice for a reason): Pause. Intentionally. Stop – look – listen. It’s the old adage “stop and smell the roses.” Which brings us to the exact time that I suggest pausing: when you sit down to eat. Eating is basic. We all do it. And most of us are able to smell the aromas of our food. But we don’t often pause to really notice it. Or we notice it in passing. Try to pause for a few seconds. Inhale, appreciate the aroma, and then while you’re exhaling, relax your shoulders, brow, and hands. Inhale again, appreciate, and then . . . bon appetit!

So if you want more peace, make slowing down a hope. Aim for it. Take small steps toward the goal of picking up on the peace that flows at its own pace all around you, just waiting for you to pause, notice, and absorb it. In music, pauses create rhythm and interest and meaning. It’s not so different in life. And “– ah, that is where the art resides.”

Nourish peace, cultivate lovingkindness, and carry the calm.

Shadow of the Week (I see a bird fluttering to the right of a heart.):

heartBrdShd1

Nature photo of the week:

Coleus1

 

Text and photos © 2014 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.