the whole is greater than the sum of its parts...that's what (S)HE said.

Until last week, I just didn't get it.

Why bother keeping an entire music album? Why not simply keep the tracks that I like the sound of on first impact and leave it at that? Now I think I get it.

It kind of relates to my lil write up about treating things with an equal purpose and value. Perhaps my former mentality was the product of a society driven by restlessness, choice, change, criticism and selectivity. Or perhaps it was the product of my own control complex. Either way, life ain't that simple. We don't get to pick and choose the circumstances life throws at us, rather we have the choice to react in a certain way under given circumstances. The same goes for an album that an artist has poured their heart and soul and hard work into. For us to say, keepers to this song and trashbag to the next takes away from both the artist and from ourselves. PLUS something that didn't click yesterday might speak to your heart today.

One of my favourite law profs constantly emphasized the importance of reading complete works of writing, from 300 page books, to a collection of essays or a short articles. Because it was only then that the class could have thorough, honest and constructive discussions regarding a given person's views of justice and the world. When someone releases a finished work to the public, whatever the medium, we ought to respect the fact that its content has been chosen and kept and shared for a reason. As in life, it is up to us to decide how to react from moment to moment, and of course our reactions may change, but to completely disregard some parts of the whole in favor of others is inconsiderate and also unrealistic...UN-holistic!

Was it Benjamin Franklin who said, "half the truth is a great lie"? To judge anything or anyone arbitrarily by its/his/her parts can thus be seen as a great lie. OH and speaking of judge ...I wish people would turn judgment inward before jumping at the opportunity to judge others. Haha but that's another blah blah for another time.

So, I confess, I was once a picker and a chooser of musical pieces. I still may have my favourites, but at least I will give the entire album (or perhaps even an entire life's work) a chance. Not such a revolutionary idea, I know...MANY of my friends and family members live by this philosophy, and I have them to thank for opening my ears.

Cheers, tschuss and love!

below: on tour with Woodpigeon goes east! performing my fave song, "And as the ship went down you'd never looked finer."

a long rant

It has been said in more or less words by different individuals and by entire movements of people and ideals, but now I will give it a shot from my own experience as a Westernized individual:

I think that the way to finding our essence, our truer or truest possible self is through inquiry and exploration. This means not only asking the questions, but also attempting to answer them. Not only through our own introspection, but also through our peers and elders. Not only answering from one place, but by seeking out those unknown places, the ones that you think you know about even though you cannot verify why or how from personal experiences.

Too often, “knowing” comes from within the ideology that has raised a person and formed the world as he or she sees it. As a yogi may say, “note how your body feels, as we so often forget to be consciously aware of it throughout our daily living until something hurts.” I think we ought to pay closer attention and ask ourselves, “why do I believe a) b) or c) thing to be factual?” Usually we don’t ask where our beliefs and assumptions are coming from until we are challenged by a competing viewpoint. Even when that does happen, people often cling on to a belief, attaching it to their own self-identity, which results in harm to others, denial and refusal to listen to the other side etc. Moreover, if we only associate ourselves with people who share the same ideology, we are allowing social assumptions to perpetuate themselves as truths. This can make us passive to and easily influenced by social expectations, thus further removing us from the possibility of developing a real sense of self and spirit, purpose and happiness.

One of the most suffocating ways to live is through assumptions, and by accepting "that's just the way it is." When we admit that perhaps we do not know what we think we know about ourselves, others, and even more distant others, this is when we may be closest to "truth."

I think that most people want to do something purposeful, something of benefit to others, something lasting and meaningful. So, imagine if we were all able from moment to moment to attempt to let go of our so-called knowing, just long enough to truly look within and beyond. In my most idealist heart, I reckon that if we were to approach one another with this openness and honesty, we may bring to light common meanings and values. Not to say that we are all the same, because we are not, but at the very least, all we ever want is to love and be loved. The more openly we can offer and receive love, the more the universe can open up...kind of like a blossoming flower, fragrant, beautifully coloured, serene and enjoyable! Maybe that's how the phrase "stop and smell the roses" came to be…smell the roses of the universe! It’s in all people, places and things!

I guess what got me thinking about all of this in the first place is adolescence and the feelings of "what is life? Why bother?" etc. that arise. Naturally, it is our tensions and struggles in life that keep us onward moving, but many people facing the tough questions in tough times don't have the support, the person or people to tell them, “it will all be alright”, and provide them with the space to figure it all out. This brings me to more rants, one being that our individually driven society* often leaves people behind to fend for themselves, thus further fragmenting us all and further removing us from the “truth” that exists within all of us.

Undoubtedly we should care for ourselves, but one of the vital components in achieving wellness is by paying our genuine care and concern forward. This is what I try to do in my everyday life. In simply trying to show how I care, I feel that love reciprocated back to me, and then some!!!

So, maybe part of what has limited us from connecting more truly and deeply in our society is the apparent need to KNOW things before exploring the possibilities, to prescribe conditions to people and the rest of the natural world before asking, inquiring and LISTENING to the answers we may encounter. Ask, ask! Never stop asking, until there is not a beat left in your heart! The answers await us if we only dare to free ourselves and surrender to all the possibilities of the unknown :)

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In the words of Nelson Mandela in his 1994 inaugural speech:

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is
that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in all of us. And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

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*by “individually driven,” I was referring the Western, societal expectations that you are responsible for yourself and if you fail, it's your own fault, and if you succeed in achieving the "dream" then everything is owed to you, because it's ALL about YOU and YOUR way, YOUR beliefs, YOUR thoughts, YOUR words, YOUR dreams and YOUR actions. Accountability is one thing, but in centering all life circumstances around the singular ‘you,’ we become isolated from every other 'you' out there. Individualism connotes competition, winners and losers, haves and don't haves and other opposing categories that were made up in order to justify greed. In reality, these are categories that no one can ever, fully fit into anyways! There is only this, whatever we have to work with everyday, and in going it alone for "YOU YOU YOU" we completely miss out on living!

streamofconsciousness

What if sometimes things just aren't okay? That's a difficult place for me to admit to be in - but once I do, it's freeing. Then everything looks different, because I've gone through a process of confronting myself, internally questioning and answering until it all comes out okay. As time goes on our questions and answers constantly change, but if at the end of the day I trust that I am where I need to be, what more could I ask for?

So if it's not "okay," ask- why not? Consider the "because"...how would you have things otherwise, and how can you affect those things?

I've gone to some pretty dark places in my mind recently, but instead of allowing the darkness to colonize my mood, I've interrogated those places and that has made the difference, that has been the way out. Then again, sometimes I can go through a dozen moods in a given minute!...

Nevertheless, if we practice acceptance and awareness, we're already closer to seeing the light and maybe even becoming it. Thanks for being a part of that! love!

And if all else fails, this song/vid is always a guaranteed day maker!

everylittlething

Usually I talk much more than I write, because I find comfort in having a conversation with one person or many people. In this way I can learn myself and others better and feel connected to others through our commonalities and differences. Nevertheless I've figured that writing to myself and for myself, and also for others is just as important for getting ideas out there to be discussed. I guess I've now justified to myself this blog's existence.

I like the idea of all in existence as being equal. My former violin teacher taught me this by emphasizing that I treat every single note in a piece as being equally important to the next, regardless of how short or seemingly insignificant it may be. Each note contributes to the musical masterpiece as a whole. Now I see how this can be applied to our everyday living. From moment to moment, person to person, plant to plant, animal to animal, idea to idea, conversation to conversation and so on, every 'one' is part of the universe as one.

Of course everyone has their "priorities," but imagine if we were to put purposeful energy into all the endeavors, events and experiences throughout our daily lives. By treating everything in each moment as equally important to that which came before and that which will come after we can create all around holistic, meaningful and FULL lives for ourselves-the masterpiece that is life!

blah blah blah. check out this sweet vid! haha. I took it one evening from our back porch in Australia in 2008. ahh the ambience. Notice how all the contributing elements (natural and man made sounds & colours) play equally so as to create a perfect little overture of the universe in that very moment. :)