Once Music is mystical

Music seems to be very mystical. I'm always astounded by the way it can fill an otherwise still room with the most vivid, nearly tangible emotions. Depending on which emotion it is, the style of music can transport us to another place, it can cause us to change shape, or even disappear. At its best, it can take the musicians creating it and transform them into one organism.

If we reduce music down to its elements, those being (for our purposes) sound, rhythm, melody and harmony, we can see how it relates right down to the very basics of our humanity. We need life, first and foremost, which is kept thriving by the cycles in nature and governed by the order of the universe. Most every entity is greater than the sum of its parts. This is especially true for human beings. A human being, soulful and alive, is all those processes physical, mental, & emotional working in concert. The pieces are useless alone, and yet something is still missing within the mechanism of the pieces together. Music is still just a theory in this stage. It takes something more transcendent to bring music out of the void.

Creativity.

Something spiritual is necessary here. It is a giving and receiving. Just as I pointed out how music transforms a group of musicians into an entity, they must first create and nourish this thing before it gives back to them. The essence is out there, always. We give it form.

I saw Once for the second time this morning and can certainly say it is another favorite, a new favorite, of mine. It will be hard for any film to top Into the Wild for its depth of meaning as it relates to my life. But Once comes as close to that meaning as I can expect. I love, love, love how John Carney juxtaposes the down-and-out natures of the lives of both Guy & Girl with the purity and heights reached by the music they make together. This is an example of sublimation at its finest. Girl, while incredibly well-adjusted, is the picture of functional destitution. She is very poor but makes enough to feed her daughter & mother. Guy, while quite secure financially, is bereft of all social graces and romanticism. He has everything he needs, save for a crucial kick in the pants that is now necessary after losing his lover. Together in music, the Girl and the Guy live out their ideal selves in their ideal lives.

Let go, let go

"Most of the brain's work is done while the brain's owner is ostensibly thinking about something else." -- Neal Stephenson

Let go. So many situations can be fixed or figured out or survived or simply enjoyed by doing that simple act. Let go. I think that's true of any part of me: body, mind, or soul. The best medicine for me is effective because it enables or allows my body's natural healing processes to work. Many times, my mind adjusts to something best when it first does so subconsciously. And, with body calm & mind clear and spirit unforced, my soul is most intuitive.

Let go. It's something we all could do a little more, I'm sure. That's hard, I know, especially for me. I'm very analytical and am drawn to the philosophy of things. I pride myself on being rational, even when I side with seemingly irrational phenomena. I like to figure things out and give reasoned explanations. Perhaps it's an adaptation for my particular needs.

I need to remember to let go more often. Letting go solves many things. It relieves stress. It empowers, in a way. It strengthens relationships. Be a friend because you value friendship. Be a friend because you need a friend, not because you're trying to get somewhere. Love someone for the sake of loving them. Love them for today. Love them for the fact that you need them and they need you, not for the sake of tomorrow's selfishness.

Make a distinction between the state of needing someone and the self-serving ego. They are very different things. Let go of work motivated only by material success. Work because it mobilizes your talents and makes you happy.

All of these reasons in this whole entry are part of why I write. The last act of creation is to let go. In my case, that means express the inspiration. Let those who receive the expression make of it what they will. Let go.