The Power of Music

Music - the universal language, expressed beautifully by Ji-Hae Park. I will let her tell her story in her own beautiful way. It's a story of the power of music.

 

Reading and writing are my passions, but very close behind is music. It does all the things that reading and writing do, without a word. It carries us away. It takes us back in time or to a future that we dream of. It takes us deep within ourselves and beyond ourselves. It expresses our sorrow and our joy. It's the expression of our hearts. It unites us regardless of who we are, where we are from, or what our journey has been. It unites us as human beings that share the same emotions.

The following video is another of Ji-Hae Park. In this one she performs some gospel music. I don't think it matters that the words that go with the music are religious, you don't know that just from watching the video. What you do know from watching the video, is that the music is so very important to her. Her passion, her connection with the music is obvious, and contagious.

"You don't have a soul. You are a soul". - C. S. Lewis

Music touched the soul of Ji-Hae Park. Such is the power of music. 

Enjoy.

Souls and Bodies

“You don’t have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body” 

C.S. Lewis

When live sucks my self-esteem down the drain, I sometimes have a little talk with myself. (Don’t judge me, it works). One thing I may tell myself during one of these talks is

“I am not _____ “,

and I fill in the blank. Such as, when an unexpected expense comes along and drains my bank account after months of scrimping and saving and finally getting to a point where I was beginning to see a glimmer of light at the end of the dark tunnel, I may tell myself – 

“I am not my bank account”. 

Sounds silly, right? Of course I’m not my bank account. We are separate from each other. We sometimes define ourselves by things like bank accounts however. 

Do you like to “people watch”? I do. One day when you are in a crowded place, look around at the bodies moving all around you and think of them as what they are - containers. The body

of that sweet little girl isn’t who she is. She is the innocent joy that fills the soul within her. She may also be the hurt that comes from losing a parent at a tender age.

That boy’s teenage, clumsy, pimply-faced body is not who he is. He is the persistence within that deals with the constant conflict between his desire to fit in and his desire to do what he knows is right. That woman is not her 80-year-old body. She is the spirit within that body that was shaped by living through wars, losing friends and relatives over the years, witnessing things you never imagine when you look at an 80 year old body. The souls that are these people are contained by the bodies you see.

“You don’t have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body”.

City on Down by O.A.R.

Happy Monday all!  Here is my weekly entry about Brandy and Scott, the main characters of my work-in-progress.  Please, if you have not already done so, check out the tab titled "Brandy and Scott" and the section titled "An Explanation" to learn about this project that is so near to my heart.  

Last week I shared a song by Porcupine Tree that represents Brandy's anger with her ex-husband.  Today I share a song about her journey with Scott.  Their journey will take them through hills and valleys as they head for the time they can celebrate "in the City on Down".  Here is one section of lyrics I especially like:

Just a while ago my soul was confused, amused at what it did not know 

Days went by, and amusement cried, I decide to let 

My soul fly on by itself, pick happiness up and bring it back to the shelf

Brandy will free her soul to find happiness.  Enjoy, my friends.

City on Down by O.A.R.

Well, in the end my friend, we will all be together again

Clutching onto my hand, in a valley we'll stand, just living again

And in a while we'll smile, march on another mile

On hallowed hills, attached to the land we'll be still
No one's ever gonna say a thing
And we'll be together, together again
Taking off to the city on down
Just a while ago my soul was confused, amused at what it did not know
Days went by, and amusement cried, I decide to let
My soul fly on by itself, pick happiness up and bring it back to the shelf
We'll be okay one day, in a valley we will stay
No more moving on
I knew it was right here all along
Won't have to hold your crown, no more looking around
Just holding you tight in the city on down
Just a while ago my soul was confused, amused at what it did not know
But days went by and amusement cried
I decide it's time, I got to move on now
But I was so scared
I was frightened, somewhat enlightened
So I changed shoes
Now I walk through a valley of color much better than the other
Way I did not know, but now we can be united
Miracle, miracle sighted, and I'm pulling it in
I know by now we can all walk together at a regular speed
Do you dare to be excited, are you somewhat delighted?
Are you aware somewhat delighted?
At what you did not know
Let's take it to the city on down