Music’s Place In My Soul

Listening to Rufus Du Sol, reminded how much I enjoy electronic music and one of my regrets: when I had the chance to study music formally, I opted not to. Insecurities spoke too loudly, drowning out passion. I loved studying music theory, exploring the way audio elevations interact with each other. Memories of improvisation workshops, and the compliments I received for my commitment to rhythm.

Now, though, my poetry echos my musical tastes. Symmetry, rich harmonies, layers, textures, all blending into something far greater than the sum of the parts.

The difference between music and poetry: in poetry words flow in single streams. Together, yet alone; they can’t interact. Several words flowing together at the same time create a pile of textual vomit. Music allows multiple people singing multiple lines simultaneously with their interaction making them greater. Much the way different colors blend into new colors, different feelings, telling a story with each dab.

I often play with the idea of restarting this path. Of exploring all that can be done with today’s computers, today’s sampling gear, today’s synthesizers. I could create words, sung, standing upon each other, blurring, blending into something greater, into something beyond whatever could be imagined. Words building upon words, interweaving with tones, textures and rhythms, pushing through feelings, ideas, the power of souls intermixing and exploding with something more powerful than any human element could be, do, express on it’s own.

With all this, when I was younger I listened to music deeply, richly. I listened to the chords, the words, exploring what the composer communicates with that interplay. Did the pleasant, kind words take on irony with the minor or diminished chord interwoven? Words stacked with changing chords, showing tension, motion, landing on a major chord, resolution, release.

Then there’s the blending of older music, ancient music, such as Enigma, taking ancient chant, interweaving new tones and auditory textures, creating something linking the ancient with the rising sun, with a newness of being, something that both exists from antiquity and yet is brand new.

Lesson: passions drive live, make it beautiful. Explore them fully, deeply, richly. Humanity needs no more bitter business people, soul’s stripped of joy. No, we need more passion, joy, aliveness.

Bring that into being, my friends.

Here is the song by Rufus Del Sol that got me going. Enjoy!

My Thoughts On Seth Godin’s “I’m Sorry Takes Guts”

I greatly appreciate the mind of Seth Godin. Here’s what I read from him today:

“I’m sorry” takes guts

I recently saw two men arguing about who got to use the urinal next.

As a result, neither got what he wanted, and neither could honestly say that his day got better.

The need to win every interaction, the inability to apologize, the short-term over the long-term–this isn’t a sign of strength, it’s a symptom of immaturity and weakness that almost always leads to suboptimal results.

If apologizing engages the network and makes it more likely that we can stay in sync, it pays for itself many times over.

For years, so much of what passes for debate in our culture isn’t, well, debate. So often it’s simply shouting past each other. How many social media posts are titled “My political person just pwned yours”. We don’t value thoughtful discourse, the exchange of ideas, and the basic notion of respect. Right now, we’re about “winning”. And even the illusion of winning gives us a sense of satisfaction. This will not move us forward.

We will never work together, fully, as a society with this model. As long as we value this our divisions will remain. And whatever potential we have will remain unfulfilled.

 

Some Thoughts On Motivation

A few months ago I made the decision to live move effectively. I’ve been feeling stuck for some time, with the associated feelings of powerlessness and frustration. I’m not a fan. 

I’ve understood for decades the power of the mind. That we can actively, proactively engage our thoughts and change the way we interact with the world. And that doing so is powerful and game-changing. 

I was stuck in some old frustrations: regret, guilt, getting overwhelmed with all the potentials. All come from fear. All weren’t rationale. All held me back. And I got sick of it. 

I’ve also known that what I feed my mind impacts my energy, my focus and my drive. I’m now shifting what I put into my head. What I watch, listen to. 

I’m reading more. Such works as Good To Great, The Power of Habit, The 4 Disciplines of Execution. Every day I want to grow. Every day I want to be better when I go to bed than I was when I woke up. 

I’m starting my day with a focus on motivation, on positive energy. This week, I’m opting for motivational videos (the one below is what I watched today). It does feel a bit silly right now, even with all I’ve studied showing the truth to doing this. When I get past the notions of “what others might think”, though, I feel better. The day feels lighter, and have more energy. It’s easier to say “no” to the things that hold me back. 

The funniest part in all this: “what other’s might think” has done nothing for me. It adds nothing to my life. And, really, in the end, what have I to loose? 

One day at a time. One action at a time. Each moment, each step, each day moves me forward. And that’s where I want to be. 

You going to join me there? 

Defining “Grown Up”

I love this comic from xkcd.

It sums up a key idea I’ve been meditating on lately: that we get to define our lives. We get to choose what “success” means to us. We don’t need to be stuck in the destructive loops of our culture’s history. We can find a new way forward. That’s a key beauty of life today.

When I consider Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain’s suicides, I think that there’s something inherently wrong with our culture’s definitions about success. We need to work to define “success” so that we’re feeling fulfilled as we progress. I can’t imagine anything more miserable to achieve everything we’d dreamt of, and feeling empty and miserable.

 

Today’s Quote of the Day

Felt it important to add something positive to the world this morning. So much anger, negativity, distrust and simple rage, I’ve grown a bit weary of the internet. However, I still see great value in the platform.

Anyway, with that, I thought this quote by Einstein was perfect. People are important, but we need to focus on goals, build a mission and drive forward. We need to allow toxic people to go and bring healthy people into our orbit.  Positive energy can feed back into itself, growing powerful and more effective. It’s not magic, taking time and focus, too. But it pays off

Anyway, what will you do to make this real? To make not just your life, but the world a better place? I’d like to know.

 

Reflections on the Day 

I spent part of the evening watching the Google IO keynote. Seeing the diversity delighted me. Men, women, Whites, Asians, but I was solidly struck by lack of black people. Now, I was multitasking while watching, and I didn’t watch the full two hour one, opting for an abridged one. So, I might have missed the them. But that’s my big takeaway.

I’ve wondered how to increase diversity in tech. Deliberate action would the best. There’s a wide range of subjectivity to the phrase, which I’ll explore later.

One thing I love about tech: accessibility. I love the tools to bring more people to work, to have access to a living wage.

I’m delighted at the ever-increasing number of folks who are working. Thus is a key promise of tech. And though we’ve come a long way, there’s so much more.
Let’s get to work! Well, in the morning, perhaps.

Success Leaves Clues 

This morning I woke early. It was not planned (generally isn’t). 

I brain-dumped on how I could be managing all my projects better. All the things I think I could do better. 

I realized how weird it might be to get excited about this. 

Remember: I’m focused on growth. I don’t want to be focused in maintaining an illusion of perfection. If there are no challenges in my life, I’m not challenging myself. I’m not growing. I have no interest In staying in that state. Now, I admit that there’s something to be said for a stresses existence. And there are times I wonder why I do THIS to myself. 

I want to grow. I want to do better each time. That doesn’t happen by sitting around congratulating myself. 

So, yeah, I’m pretty stoked about my analysis. There are things to grow. Success leaves clues. I spent time looking for them.