It’s almost February, which means…Valentine’s Day is coming! A lot of people seem to hate Valentine’s Day. I don’t have this issue. I like to buy those packs of cards made for kids to pass out to their classmates, only I give them to coworkers, friends, and family. It doesn’t matter what your relationship status is; love encompasses so much more than romance. Think about the bond between a parent and child, between siblings, between friends, between a mentor and student, and the respect a fan has for a great artist or genius. When I got lice in sixth grade, my mom nitpicked my scalp. If that isn’t love, I don’t know what is. Valentine’s Day gives you a chance to acknowledge people for the love they have added to your life, even if your life doesn’t resemble a romance novel. The best part is, I’ve seen V-Day Haters convert to valentine givers after receiving one of these silly valentines. As Huey Lewis said, that’s the power of love.
Month: January 2018
Clarinet in Repose
Instantly transported to the last weekend in May
driving through tiny towns
old-fashioned main streets
dilapidated and peeling rust
singing songs whose copyrights have expired
lilacs seduce the air
black cows sprinkled like pepper across lush green hills
godlight
drenches the valley
the sky fills the whole world
a revelation
like when I first heard this song
True North
Drop me off in any city
four hours later
you’ll find me
on the ragged edge of town
aside of an abandoned building
a dandelion bursting full-blooded summer
through a crack in the sidewalk
an oasis of wilderness
I’m calibrated to
a dirt road
fifty miles from any stop sign
a far-off train whistle
one sprawling oak tree
its sweeping arms cradling an entire flock of starlings
the iridescence of their wings
spilling into
the shimmer of their song
The Beginning of a Grand Adventure
Last week, I told my employer I’d be leaving my job. I said in my resignation letter that I was leaving “to go on a grand adventure.” I can’t tell you how delicious it felt to do something that makes me an inspiration to myself. What’s even more exciting than the trip I’m planning is proving to myself that I can take a risk where it matters- and knowing that it won’t be the last.
Photo: poinsettia
Music For a Revolution
In college, I wrote a report on a song by opera composer Bellini. In my research, I learned that Bellini was known for creating melody lines that sounded remarkably like speech. That tidbit of information revolutionized my concept of what’s possible. It opened up the idea that a song could begin with lyrics, and the melody could be formed by the natural inflections of the words involved. Without knowing one chord on the guitar or one note on the piano, the world of songwriting is still open to you.
(Note: The inspiration for my report was Filippa Giordano’s rendition of “Casta Diva.”)
Photo: poinsettia
Pure Joy
Trying to pinpoint moments of pure joy, I thought of summer when I was very young, running through the grass barefoot, arms outstretched, directly into a damp sheet hanging from the clothesline. I feel at least a hundred years old saying that. Back then, we didn’t lock our doors. My mom would send me next door to borrow a cup of sugar from our neighbor. We used to stop by friends’ houses without warning and visit. I realized with a touch of sadness that I wouldn’t dream of doing that now. It was a different time.
Photo: amaryllis
It Builds Character
I was almost in tears today, trying to figure out how to set something up on my computer. (I am not a computer person.) Hours later, I discovered that everything I had done was unnecessary. The episode was over at 6:30 pm, and I had nothing to show for the whole day. Then I thought of what I say to lighten the mood when other people are knee deep in frustrating situations: “It builds character.” You know what? Immediately I felt better. The day wasn’t a waste; it helped build resilience, patience, perspective, endurance, mental dexterity, resourcefulness, perseverance, and commitment. In fact, it sounds like I accomplished quite a lot today!
Photo: almonds
One Minute of Sunset
For a writer, blocking off at least an hour a day to write sounds like a great idea, doesn’t it? For me, this approach (“write for an hour”) turned writing into a punishment. Ironically, I’ve found that by giving myself a laughably short amount of time to write, I end up being more prolific and versatile, developing ideas I wouldn’t have paid attention to if I’d had the time to be more selective. There’s no dilly-dallying or daydreaming, and the writing is more succinct. I let myself write past the deadline if I want to. (Tricky.)
My assignments sound like this:
Write about your trips to New York in 10 minutes or less.
Make up the plot of a children’s story in 3 minutes or less.
Describe a sunset in 1 minute or less.
If you ever get stuck, try the exercise “100 topics to write about in 10 minutes or less.”
Photo: amaryllis