Kindergarten for Woman

kaihalulu


"The universe is one great kindergarten for [wo/]man. Everything that exists has brought with it its own peculiar lesson. The mountain teaches stability and grandeur; the ocean immensity and change. Forests, lakes, and rivers, clouds and winds, stars and flowers, stupendous glaciers and crystal snowflakes - every form of animate or inanimate existence, leaves its impress upon the soul of [wo/]man." ~Orison Swett Marden

be. fly.

rhythm

Flowers for the Garden: BLACKsummers'night

he's back. and right on time.

maxwell's long-awaited release, BLACKsummers'night finds his ever-loyal fan base ready to fully immerse themselves in his smooth, sultry grooves. he does not disappoint. the first of a slated trilogy is a masterpiece in my oh-so-humble opinion. it has been (and will remain) in HEAVY rotation for this music-lover.

but this isn't an album review so much as it is commentary on my love of music...the most giving flowers in my garden. whenever i get new music, i imagine myself as a child unwrapping and devouring a sloppy cheeseburger. it's true. ketchup at the corners of my mouth, licking my fingers, not daring to stop and wipe my mouth because i'm totally in the moment. that's not me being poetic. this is really what i feel like every time. interestingly enough, i only eat veggie burgers in real life. but in these moments, the symbolic burgers are ALL BEEF. but i digress. i DEVOURED this cd tuesday and haven't stopped playing it since. [insert cheesy (lol) metaphor about food for the soul]. off the cuff, "fistful of tears" was my instant favorite, but the cd is such a solid package, the tracks will likely all take turns being my favorites.

i even had a very healing moment during my first listen, for which i'm deeply grateful.

after a rough month, i was in dire need of some new (great) music. and i will forever remember maxwell and BLACKsummers'night for being so perfect in this time.

Living a Legacy

the month of june was full of death. it probably was no more than any other month, but when one loses her own father and the king of pop within a matter of weeks, loss seems magnified. and there were, of course, the deaths of farrah fawcett, ed mcmahon, and billy mays as well. i'm almost afraid to turn on the morning news at this point...

for a number of reasons, mj's death affected me tremendously. initially, i was shocked. soon after, i realized i was so physically, mentally, and emotionally drained from the death of my father that i didn't even have space to mourn michael as i might have otherwise. it's a bizarre feeling to not really know where i fall on the spectrum of fans reacting to his death.

i realized something else while indulging in the persistant michael mania (music and videos, not the media melee that immediately ensued). it was as if everything i had been feeling over the previous 3 weeks was now being shared by people all over the world. the sadness, confusion, loss, and celebration and appreciation of life were almost universal. and then a deep sadness came over me as it occured to me, i felt such an overwhelming sense of loss when my father died, and i'm an adult. what must mj's children feel like right now? and i realize young children lose parents all the time, but unfortunately, these children are also targets for the same kinds of people that sought to take advantage of their father. but i digress.

at some point between mourning and celebration of both of these men, i began to think about legacy. hearing my father's family and childhood friends recount stories of him helping them in some way introduced me to a side of him that i certainly recognized but couldn't have appreciated in that way; i knew him as my father, not much as a man independent of that role. i began to think of how people will remember me when i'm gone...what character traits will stand out the most to them? and examining the impact mj had on the world in his 50 years of life begged the same questions, but regarding my contributions to art and humanity on a larger scale.

i haven't come up with any answers, but i'm determined to do just that in the way that i live.