Word Break

I am about 63 words in to my only defining words year.. only words defined year.. a year of words definitions.. uh.. my annual word challenge?  Anyways.. Any way …

I am taking a one day break to present to you my second challenge.  Actually it wasn’t really a challenge, it was a necessity for me.  2020 was a tough year.

“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.” ― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Right when I started to feel more than slightly over-whelmed…. when I hit the wall of, “I just can’t do this any more.” My best friend from high school started this song exchange with me.

“Music touches us emotionally, where words alone can’t.”
― Johnny Depp

I’m honestly not sure if it was an intentional “I want to start passing songs back and forth through eternity.” Or if it just started as an idea and bloomed into what I now consider a necessity to start each day.  All I know is we have reached the magical number of 500. (I’m not sure that is legally a magic number or just something I made up.)

“Ah, music,” he said, wiping his eyes. “A magic beyond all we do here!”
― J.K. Rowling

I’m not talking 500 songs total.  I’m saying, on my end, I have sent her 500 songs.  This means that she has likely sent me at least 500 songs.  Out of 1000+ songs exchanged.  We only have a couple of repeats.

“He took his pain and turned it into something beautiful. Into something that people connect to. And that’s what good music does. It speaks to you. It changes you.”
― Hannah Harrington

What this really means is that even though it was to be a daily one song exchange, there were obviously days we became carried away with the song, the follow song, and the song that might have led to five other songs.   It also means that this was not what you would call a one hit wonder and move along jack.  It was something we started that became a something we do thing.  Sometimes we talk about the songs we have sent and sometimes I will wake up to just one song to which I will reply with one song and that is enough. It gets me going every single day.

“Music is the soundtrack of our lives.”  ~Dick Clark

The songs chosen range from songs that inspired us in youth, to new songs that we had no idea existed until we received or gave that song away.  The songs have made me laugh, cry, and wonder .. deeply wonder.. about the talented folks who have been the sound track to my life.

“Music has always been a matter of Energy to me, a question of Fuel. Sentimental people call it Inspiration, but what they really mean is Fuel. I have always needed Fuel. I am a serious consumer. On some nights I still believe that a car with the gas needle on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio.”
― Hunter S. Thompson

Some songs brought me back to specific times that only I know about while others caused me to stop what I was doing and just dance.. songs that were intrinsic to road trips I took with family.. high school dances.. couples roller-skating.. and even the deaths of my mom, my dad, and some very dear friends.

“Music is life! It’s physical emotion – you can touch it! It’s neon ecto-energy sucked out of spirits and switched into sound waves for your ears to swallow.” – Isaac Marion

“I love the way music inside a car makes you feel invisible; if you play the stereo at max volume, it’s almost like the other people can’t see into your vehicle. It tints your windows, somehow.”
― Chuck Klosterman

These songs listed below, are songs that carried me through a very difficult 2020 and into a slightly less difficult but still difficult 2021.  These songs reminded me that despite everything, I still have music.  These songs have assured me that no matter how many songs I have heard, or will here, there will be a thousand more, a million more, songs into infinity, that will carry me through the next difficulty.

Pick a song.. share a song.. sing a song.  You might be .. you will be amazed at how it will transport you from whatever you are doing to whatever you need to be doing.  Or it will stop you from doing what you shouldn’t be doing.. or cause you to forget what it was you were doing.  Just pick a song.  share a song.. sing a song.  Just because….Cuz it just makes you feel like a movie star, a dancer, a singer, or an out and out rock star!!!

Hey, hey, I wanna be a rockstar
Hmm, hey, hey, I wanna be a rockstar ~ Nickelback – Rockstar

“When I find myself in times of trouble, mother Mary comes to me,
speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me,
speaking words of wisdom, let it be.

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be.
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be.

And when the broken hearted people living in the world agree,
there will be an answer, let it be.
For though they may be parted there is still a chance that they will see,
there will be an answer. let it be.

Let it be, let it be, …..

And when the night is cloudy, there is still a light, that shines on me,
shine until tomorrow, let it be.
I wake up to the sound of music, mother Mary comes to me,
speaking words of wisdom, let it be.

Let it be, let it be, …..”
― Paul McCartney

Soothing my soul: joyful;  goff; balroop; william; brenda; jim; paula; kait; mishmash; writer; tracey; colinandray; bluebird; pelgris; luisa; sandra; telltale

The good ole days weren’t always good, and tomorrow ain’t as bad as it seems. ~Billy Joel

Sometimes we get caught up in the crazy. It’s unavoidable. It’s right in front of us … ALL THE TIME!! We are what we eat and we eat what we see. We are the stories we have created. Nothing wrong with that… usually it’s a pretty ok place to be.

“We are not trapped by our thoughts. What we generally do, however, is create thoughts that trap us.” (p.162)”
― Joshua David Stone, A Beginner’s Guide to the Path of Ascension

We move through these stories rarely realizing that we are just piece actors in parts we have developed in realities we have invented. Stuck in the now or stuck in the new or stuck in the sticky web of our imagination. Often not realizing that we can change the words, the act, the reality just by changing the view.. the viewpoint.. the point of view. I am always eventually bringing myself back to my theme on perspective.

We look back on the past with fond memories of the things we think we ate. Foods, friends, fun, dinners, parks, and whatever made you feel happy and real.  

Always forgetting the mad rush from job to job to home to school to the hospital to a friend’s side to a parents death to the birth of a child to the torment of a lost love to the current political crisis to the next election to the (and the list goes on and on and on).

“We all live in a house on fire, no fire department to call; no way out, just the upstairs window to look out of while the fire burns the house down with us trapped, locked in it.”
― Tennessee Williams, The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore

We eat these things every day and drown in their pools of darkness. And yet, when they pass.. and all things pass, we usually recover and go on and on and on. Until the next bit of madness consumes us.

My dad is my biggest current consumption.  He turns 80 in October.  That’s his goal.  He wants to eat 80.   80 is BIG.  HUGE.  That’s almost a century for you non-math folks.  He wants to dance with it, sing with it, and celebrate it.  He’s worked hard for it, so why shouldn’t he be able to?  Unfortunately, cancer is consuming HIM quickly.  He’s handling it like a trooper, a real pro.  This is actually more than I can say for myself. 

Catch on fire and people will come for miles to see you burn. John Wesley

He has no regrets BUT he has so many stories yet to tell (said in a very whiny, child-like voice).  I’m happy I was able to spend last month with him, my sister, my kids, and my grandkids.  BUT it really wasn’t enough time (voice even more whiny).  It’s not like we never spent time together.  We spent time when we could but we were and are still always so busy… but we were and are still always so broke …but we were and are still always so consumed with the chaos that we are surrounded in.. that we surround ourselves in..  But.. but.. but.. now… now… we rush home.. we rush to this catastrophe.. to this sadness.. to this dark night of the soul to this physical burning of a huge part of our lives, of our story.

BUT.. (again the buts) this will also pass.  It’s not like it will ever go away completely but it will be reduced to another chaotic meal in my life.  I mean.. not everyone makes it to 80 right?  Everyone’s story goes away eventually.  Even the best stories fade.  A landmark in our lives didn’t just fade, it disappeared completely.  As if it had never existed.. had never ever even been there.  A hill. A hill with a tree.  A hill with a tree with windchimes in it.  A hill with a tree with windchimes in it and carved out stones laying beside it.  A hill that represented other folks that faded… disappeared completely.. as if they had never existed. Not only did the hill fade (disappear).. but a giant metal horse and a baby horse also faded (disappeared).  Literally, not figuratively, disappeared. 

It was part of a story that we had all created in our lives.  A story that we did not think would ever disappear.  Which in retrospect is silly.  We had trespassed for 50 years onto this property because it was mom’s place.  Still is.. even though it is gone.  Even though she is gone.  Characters in a play is all.  Nothing remains when the curtains close.

Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them – that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like. Lao Tzu

So goes the story.  So the story goes.  The past, the present, and now the future.  It really isn’t as bad as it seems.  You just have to write it.. and re-write it.. and right it and re- right it. Here’s to my hope for the future.

Tripping back….

Seems that I spent enough money on my credit card I earned some points to buy something new. Why buy something new when you can buy something old?

 

• 

Now in Nigeria-make your own hype

I think it’s very easy to get caught up in all the hype.  The hype about people, places and things.  As I headed to Nigeria, let me tell ya, there was a lot of hype.  A lot of negative hype.  Most definitely, a lot of the hype was true.  I’m not going to get into what the hype was, you can google it and make your own decisions about Nigeria.

It’s also easy to get caught up in the now.  The now about people, places and things.  Sometimes the now turns into a rut and it’s difficult to get rid of the impression of the now when you don’t even attempt to discover what is the real of where you are.

Thankfully, I have almost always been able to move myself and remove myself from the nows and the hypes of where I am.  Sometimes it takes hours and sometimes it takes months.  I have now been in Nigeria for about five months and both the hype and the now have been very slowly mutating into an interesting and wonderful experience.  Sure, there is still the truth of the hype, and some of the nows will probably never change, but the reality of many of the nows are truly changing my mind and my impression of what the rest of my time in Nigeria will be like.  I have a very good feeling about what is to come.

I have started getting out  a little more and recently attended a showing of a documentary about a group of Yoruba master musicians from Lagos, Nigeria called Faaji Agba.  (trailer) The documentary was simply amazing.  It took Remi Vaughn-Richards about six years to film this group of 68-85 year old musicians who were rediscovered by the owner of Jazzhole Records,  Kunle Tejuosho.  If you get a chance, you should check out all of the above links.  An amazing story.

So back to my story.  Since watching the documentary I have set myself on a casual journey to find this fabled “Jazzhole” establishment that was profiled in the documentary.  Lagos can be a difficult city to get around in and my effort was a bit stymied by my work, traffic congestion, and just all of the normal things that force people to stay saddled in the nows of their lives.

I had a free day yesterday and decided to take a drive around to see if I could find the Jazzhole.  I drove by the location I thought the place was supposed to be according to my Blackberry’s Google map application and of course, there was nothing there but construction.

I drove down a back road, directly off of the main road and ran into this art cafe, restaurant, hotel, craft store called Bogobiri House. (The now of most Nigerians is that if you have some space you should use it wisely and get as much out of it as you possibly can.) Ironically, I had just randomly attended an open mic at this amazing little find two nights before.  Open mic here involves, improv Karaoke with a live band, poetry readings, and a host of musicians that play every type of instrument you can imagine.  I’m hooked.

After spending about an hour walking though this amazing find, I asked if the Jazzhole still existed and sho’ nuff, one of the guys at the Bogobiri House gave me directions.  Ironically, this iconic establishment was about a 10 minute drive from where I stood and only 15 minutes from my very home.

I walked in and it was on the inside exactly what you would expect on the outside only better.

After walking around and seeing the massive amount of vinyl, cds, and books on every topic, I made my 2nd most exciting discovery.  I was standing right in front of the maker of the documentary I had just seen a few months before AND one of the members who had been profiled in this documentary.  The very same guy who is now between 70-80 years old (I think) and STILL playing jazz.  He was going to be playing at Bogobiri House that very evening.

WOW!!! Further, this very evening a little music exhibition was going to be playing at the Jazz Hole. The featured singers would be a young lady named Falana who I had never heard of before and who was simply amazing.  Not only was her voice unique, she was able to add some insight into the instruments she was using and while singing, encouraged the audience to sing along with her.  I was super disappointed that she only sang a few songs.

Her act was quickly followed by the main event, Blackman Akeeb Kareem. This was another musical soul who had become disenchanted with his now and left Nigeria for Europe.  However it happened, he was there and my own now was made incredible and better.  He was, and is at 70-something, an amazing musical story-teller.  He spoke of his time back in the day in the 60s and 70s and explained how Africans know that music is wasted if you are not up and dancing to it.

A man who has the ability to involve you in his story and the resolve to show you the now of his existence.  The now of how he believes Nigeria and the world could become if we would only listen.

I know that just one random day in Lagos altered the now of my existence in Nigeria.  Thanks for stopping by.

Now

Sometimes, we get caught up in nostalgia, future fantasy, or both, and we don’t embrace the “now.” For this week’s challenge, take a moment to notice your present.

1. Chasing Destino
2. Through the lenz
3. Beeblu
4. Almandyne
5. Daili
6. Yichinling
7. harlequinteaser
8. joantwarren
9. toobigabite
10. Gillm

 

timro man mero lagi ghar ho

You can never tell what you might see when you are on a hash in Nepal.  At the mid-point of the first hash I have been on in several months I was very surprised and delighted to run into this group of boys sitting on top of a hill and playing their guitars and singing.  They actually offered to sing this song to our group.  Very pleased indeed.  I hope you enjoy.

 

Other pretty things on this unexpected hash.

Other posts I have recently enjoyed about zigging and zagging.

1. ZigZags – Daily Post
2. Ungemaltes – Zigs
3. Autopict – Zags
4. Albatz – ZigZag Stairways
5. Monochrome – zigs n zags
6. Wolverson – Sharp zags
7. Twisted lines
8. I follow islands
9. ZigZag Mountains – Geophilia
10. Beautiful zigs n zags
11. Zigzagging