Tag: A to Z Challenge

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Music

letter_m_erteMusic.

It soothes the wild beast, and it soothes me.

I like so many kinds of music…I like jazz, country, salsa, classical, top 40, classic rock, and good churchy stuff.

I don’t like screaming and cussing.

Otherwise, I’ll give it a listen — probably, I’m gonna like it. At least I’ll listen politely.

It lifts my mood or calms me down, depending on what I need. It inspires me, and makes me move, especially if it’s salsa. There nothing better to play while cleaning, that’s for sure!

I grew up with music in our home, and thank my parents for that gift. I even had guitar lessons when I was a kid though I can’t explain why reading music is still such a mystery to me. Let’s just say…me and time signatures don’t get along.

Anyway, music. I love it.

Here are a few songs that I really dig:

and this:

and finally:

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Laughter

letter_l_erteLaughter.

It’s one of my favorite things.

I love to laugh, and I love people who laugh…loudly, robustly, from all the way inside their souls.

Yeah. That’s the right way to laugh.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to laugh, and boy, it was abundant.

We had a work in-service day, and I attended a drumming therapy session. I was pretty skeptical about it. I thought it was going to be one of those sharing circles, you know what I’m talking about — getting close to nature and all that bunk.

Well, let me take it back —  I don’t really think it’s bunk. That kind of deep sharing has a place in our lives. I’m just not sure the workplace environment is the place for it. At least, not for me.

But I went anyway, on the advice of a colleague with a fun spirit and a good sense of humor. At least if we were going to suffer, it was going to be entertaining.

Boy was I wrong. That was the most fun I’d had at work. Ever.

Here’s me, trying out a pretty djembe drum:

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There’s nothing like laughter to generate laughter. I don’t know if it was the physical act of drumming that was therapeutic, or the joy that came from having a good time, but I think today, the day after, I’m still enjoying the benefits of spending an hour beating on a drumhead and laughing.

What makes you laugh from all the way inside your soul?

 

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Goodness

gGoodness.

Don’t we all want it? Shouldn’t we all aspire to it?

I think too often we seek it in ways that will benefit us —  we try to internalize good for ourselves. One more slice of that delicious pie will fill us up, and make us feel good. Another drink. That pretty dress. Those awesome shoes.

A quick rundown of the definition of goodness from some trusty (rusty?) online searches consistently yielded the following descriptions:

1. the state or quality of being good.
2. moral excellence; virtue.
3. kindly feeling; kindness; generosity.
4. excellence of quality: goodness of workmanship.
5. the best part of anything; essence; strength.
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I like those two definitions in boldface. The first one, especially, is something that I feel strongly about. There’s good in giving. Kindness and generosity are much greater than hoarding a pile of meaningless objects. It’s a gift that keeps giving, too.
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The best kind of goodness is not material, and can’t be measured. There’s a certain reciprocity that comes from kindness and generosity, not that we should seek it for our own ends, but that in giving freely we are somehow blessed in return.

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