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The Sweetness of Music In my search for something to write about tonite, I found a phrase by Kahil Gibran which states "Sadness is but a wall between two gardens." Yet if I am the wall, think of the beauty I gaze upon, and over time walls crumble and fall, and the gardens spill together. It is reminder that nothing is permanent and all things change with time.

I know that without sadness we cannot know joy and empathy. Without pain there is no healing or growth. I must keep this perspective, for without it I would fall into an abyss of darkness and self pity.

Music is the one balm that I reach for time and time again when I am sad. Some of my favorite hauntingly beautiful pieces are Ralph Vaughn Williams "Serenade to Music", Samuel Barbers "Adagio for Strings", Bruch's "Scottish Fantasy". They are hot linked to Amazon and if you scroll down you can listen to samples of the music. Some of the most sensuous experiences in my life have been going to the Symphony and let the music flow and caress my body like the warm and trembling hands of a lover. I used to have a box at Bard for the performances of the American Symphony Orchestra, and would go to every performance.
There is nothing like a live performance to experience the sigh of the violin, the weeping of the cello, (David Darling is a fab contemporary Cello player) the lilting of the flute, and the pounding of the drums. It has been a long time since I have gone and I think I am ready for a concert.

I love contemporary music too, everything from bluegrass to Celtic, classic rock and alternative. I recently bought several CD's which I listen to over and over in the car in order to absorb the music. One is by the Duhks (progressive bluegrass/folk) who played locally here (I am pissed that I did not go) and the new Dar Williams who does a haunting cover with Ani DiFranco of Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb (a state I like to go to once in a while..)and a song So Close to My Heart which makes me think of a very dear friend. KT Tunstalls CD is pretty good too, . I still reach for Joni periodically; she will always be a favorite, as well as CSNY, Dire Straits and more...

Before I fall asleep every night, I put on a CD that is soothing, focus on what I want to dream about for the evening, and drift to another world......

In the words of Shakespeare put to music by Vaughn Williams:
How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank!
Here will we sit and let the sounds of music
Creep in our ears: soft stillness and the night
Become the touches of sweet harmony."

Good night and sweet dreams, and as I said to my children and now to Alanna, Happy Faces in the Morning!
 yes, I am going to put on some music now, I love the Trans Siberian Orchestra at Christmas time.