Sunday, January 17, 2010

music, grace

today in church we sang one of my favorite hymns: "i want to walk as a child of the light." if you don't know it, look it up on youtube, because it's truly lovely.

now, i don't call myself religious, but spiritual, yes--that i can't get enough of. i could pray to Jesus, Ganesh, Allah, or mediate on my Centered Self--it doesn't matter. but i don't know how to write about my love for God; it's easier to write about my love for the people i love, for music. it's much the same thing, i guess.

if you have any sensitivity to music, you can understand that it is one of the few things that always, always makes me feel close to God. the synthesis of the physical body's pulsing rhythm, of air moving through lungs, of fingers guiding keys, with the mind, buzzing, buzzing with activity, processing the sound and then sailing independently of the physical body, connecting the senses with the ultimate SENSE--this synthesis is my true love.

i think that's why music with another, or with a group, has so much power. making music with another binds your heart, body and mind together in a way that little else can.

4 comments:

Andy White said...

I completely appreciate and relate with your description of the divine quality of music.

Hope things are nice in Gettysburg. I'm in Indiana being a grad student. Please let me know if you come to Bloomington!

Agatha Wells said...

thanks Andy! things are pretty good here, I just got into one of my grad schools (yayyyy) but I'm not sure yet if I can go for fin aid reasons. but we'll see.

how is Indiana? what is Bloomington like?

Caroline said...

God is the great energy - just as long as there aren't too many preconceived or geno-centric notions applied to this, human conception of this can be mostly accurate. Yet writing is a form of ego expression - which may be why its so tough to write about something so pure. Few people do it completely. Your best tribute to this might instead be service to others. xoxox

Agatha Wells said...

i like that, Caroline--"your best tribute might be service to others." agreed. if God is Love, then it is in loving others that we are closest to God. i think the great challenge of life is in trying to love those whom it is difficult to love, for particular reasons. but probably the great yogis and saints of the world have accomplished this, and it is good to try.

it's not just for the classroom!