Postings from Mary Anne

music and garden metaphor

the warm wind blows over this bay...coming off the gulf. i sit in beauty at my friend's home. it's early in the morning. the house stirs with the sun tapping on the windows. the cat's been fed. yes, i fed a cat. we have a good relationship this cat named, aptly, "screamer," and me.

thanks to a client who mentioned martina mcbride in an email...i'm listening to music that is new to me by martina mcbride. (she remembers the day she first got her wings...a song called BUTTERFLY...plays in my ears as i write. "she's so glad to be alive...she's a butterfly.") i enjoy the images and meaning of butterflies. these images lead me to musical imagery.

i've played off and on with the idea of my life having a soundtrack. throughout my years there have been songs that have been my theme toward change or managing or dreaming. right now i am setting off toward a walking program guiding me to better fitness. the first part of this program has a soundtrack. when i listen to these five songs i have completed my commitment to a twenty minute walk:
     wide open spaces
     this kiss
     100 years
     we built this city
     unwritten

the concept of a soundtrack spins around in my metaphorically inclined mind. our entire day has a soundtrack. it's made of so much more than music. the way we listen to our waking. the sounds of the preparation in our day. the commute or travels of our day. the conversations around us. news. television. radio. strangers speaking. friends conveying messages. what is the soundtrack of your day? what do you tune your dial to when you are choosing what you allow yourself to hear?

these days i am making clear choices about the soundtracks of my days. i make decisions about my music based upon the activity it is going to partner. i make decisions about the conversations in which i participate by their value and direction. i actively choose to have "summer" vocabulary.

now i'll switch metaphors! summer. the season when gardens go wild with color and blossom and growth. i want my words to bring joy and color to those ears who listen. mine, as well. i am conscious of the number of times that those now somewhat acceptable "expletive" expressions have insidiously inserted themselves into my word row. i'm weeding those out. i'm weeding deeply the gratuitous criticism, the veiled complaints and the uncertainty masquerading as curiosity. weeding them right out of my word garden. one weed at a time.

i add value to my days by thinking about two beautiful artistic expressions and how i utilize them in my every day. music. gardens. i cultivate my soundtrack and my growing garden so that both will make me a better version of myself at the dusk of my day than i was at the dawn.

may your summer winds blow sweet messages and fascinating opportunities your ways.

Live Boldly
August Release

"begin each day as if
it were on purpose!"

as quoted by Will Smith in
the movie Hitch!