Just Being There

Don't ask where this idea comes from. Sometimes I'm of the impression that we are not the source of an idea. The idea exists in and of itself. We are just the receptacles of that thought. If we are open to it, it will arrive. If it arrives, it's up to us to listen to it.

There seems to be the thought that being first at something is the preferred method. It is entrenched in our psyches from birth, whether it's little league sports, being the head of the class or making the most money. It is the pursuit to get ahead at all cost no matter what. You can find it at home, at work, on the ski slopes and on CNN as you watch certain candidates and their spouses this season.

In this Machiavellian model, to progress to an end result at any cost, to achieve more knowledge, more power, more this, more that, we ultimately lose. We lose ourselves. Sometimes taking a breath and doing nothing is the best thing to do. Sometimes getting in your car and taking a scenic drive while listening to Rachmaninov, Shostakovich, Chopin, Miles, or Bill Evans is the best thing you can do. But the reality is, is that the people that get this already do this. And most likely the ones that don't are at this very moment thinking of ways to get on top. Their egos, or lack thereof, don't allow just being there--being in the moment. In my experience, there is no top.

My son is just 16 years old. The fact is, is that he will be a better musician than I am. He has a better temperament than I do. He is gifted with balance. Being first is not that important to him. He's more interested in clarity and understanding. For him happiness will come more easily as he is a better container for bliss. He plays in a band that occasionally asks me to play back-up percussion. I add "color" or so they say. I've learned I don't mind being second fiddle. It gives you the opportunity to look around and observe what's going on around you. It gives you more time to step back and contemplate what your part is and how you can best contribute to the whole.

You need that down time, you need to have a place to go and think. If all you are doing is trying to catch up and ultimately win--whatever that is-- you will most likely miss the point of what the universe is trying to whisper to you. If you want to see a person and what they stand for you have to understand what it is they are doing when no one is watching them. Hard to do, but for yourself.

Perhaps that's why there is a Camp David. Perhaps that's why Lincoln had a cottage that he would ride to about 3 miles North of Washington, D.C. As he rode to that Victorian cottage to find refuge, he would have undoubtedly seen the scores of Union troops encamped for a cause he believed deeply in, a cause to which thousands were dying and would continue to die. Quietly, and by himself, and away from the confusion of the White House he drew up the plans of how to unite a divided country, mourn the death of his son Willie, and dream up the Emancipation Proclamation. He understood the necessity of space and just being there.

So You Want Your Child to be a Rocket Scientist? Take Music Lessons

Research done at the University of California-Irvine indicates that young children taking music lessons have a greater ability to grasp concepts that are also essential to math and science. Coordination and concentration are also improved when, for instance, children take piano lessons and learn to play a different line of music with each hand. For that matter, take drum lessons and use all four limbs independently.

The world is full of music. It is one of the truly universal ties that binds us all. Introduce your kids to all types of music. Rock, jazz, classical, brazillian, african, middle eastern, etc. and all the variants. Also realize that good music can be found in all different types of music. You can find quality anywhere if you are open to it. Check out Radiohead's new album Rainbow for instance. You don't have to be 20 something to appreciate it. And if you like Radio Head's new album, check out a couple other groups that may be lesser known to you like: Blue Nile or My Morning Jacket.

When my kids were young, I would play classical music in the car at times and ask them what the music was about. Sometimes it was about storms, monsters, the rising sun, or flying. Sometimes it was happy or sometimes it was sad. Sometimes it had the sound of water or the rush of wind. Listen to Vivaldi or Prokofiev. Can you hear the french troops getting closer in Tchaikovsky as the children play?

If your child decides to take music lessons, look for a teacher who has a good rapport with your child. By all means, if you have a school that has cut out music instruction, bring the importance of music to the attention of the school board!

It's never too late to be what you wanted to be. If you want to learn to play an instrument yourself, take some lessons! Be the example.

The Music of Antonio Carlos Jobim

I attended a jazz concert the other night in Salt Lake City, yes, Jazz in SLC, put on by the GAM Foundation that featured the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim, or "Tom" as he was affectionately called. He was one of the greatest composers of the 20th century. It featured Holly Hoffman on flute, Christoph Luty on Bass and Jeff Hamilton on drums (if you don't already know Jeff Hamilton, he is considered by most musicians to be the best jazz drummer out there today--you can hear him on most Diana Krall CD's or his own Jeff Hamilton Trio and can hear his phenomenal brush work in the movie, "Good Night and Good Luck." Listen particularly to the song "One for My Baby" in that movie).

The music of Jobim reminded me why I love music. It's poetic, haunting, at times painful, hopeful, and emotional but always worth the journey if you take it. I think what I am trying to say can be best found in the lyrics he wrote in a song called "Waters of March." Here it is:

Waters of March (Águas de março)

by Antônio Carlos Jobim

(1972)

A stick, a stone, it's the end of the road
It's the rest of a stump, it's a little alone
It's a sliver of glass, it is life, it's the sun
It is night, it is death, it's a trap, it's a gun
The oak when it blooms, a fox in the brush
A knot in the wood, the song of a thrush
The wood of the wind, a cliff, a fall
A scratch, a lump, it is nothing at all
It's the wind blowing free, it's the end of the slope
It's a beam it's a void, it's a hunch, it's a hope
And the river bank talks of the waters of March
It's the end of the strain
The joy in your heart
The foot, the ground, the flesh and the bone
The beat of the road, a slingshot's stone
A fish, a flash, a silvery glow
A fight, a bet the fange of a bow
The bed of the well, the end of the line
The dismay in the face, it's a loss, it's a find
A spear, a spike, a point, a nail
A drip, a drop, the end of the tale
A truckload of bricks in the soft morning light
The sound of a shot in the dead of the night
A mile, a must, a thrust, a bump,
It's a girl, it's a rhyme, it's a cold, it's the mumps
The plan of the house, the body in bed
And the car that got stuck, it's the mud, it's the mud
A float, a drift, a flight, a wing
A hank, a quail, the promise of spring
And the river bank talks of the waters of March
It's the promise of life, it's the joy in your heart
A stick, a stone, it's the end of the road
It's the rest of a stump, it's a little alone
A snake, a stick, it is John, it is Joe
It's a thorn in your hand and a cut in your toe
A point, a grain, a bee, a bite
A blink, a buzzard, a sudden stroke of night
A pin, a needle, a sting a pain
A snail, a riddle, a wasp, a stain
A pass in the mountains, a horse and a mule
In the distance the shelves rode three shadows of blue
And the river talks of the waters of March
It's the promise of life in your heart
A stick, a stone, the end of the road
The rest of a stump, a lonesome road
A sliver of glass, a life, the sun
A knife, a death, the end of the run
And the river bank talks of the waters of March
It's the end of all strain, it's the joy in your heart

Welcome to my Blog

Bill said you must blog.  That was a year ago.  I've never been one to move fast into new technology.  I prefer holding a paper or a book to reading it online.  It means more if all of your senses are employed.  I am not a traditional lawyer.  I choose to be solo but also understand I'm connected.  I started out as a criminal defense attorney handling everything from shoplifting to murder.  I was a professor for a few years in the world of academia.  I now find myself knee deep in e-coli, a potentially deadly bacteria that comes from the intestines of animals.  But its not primarily the e-coli that harms or kills, actually it's the decisions that people of governments, corporations and other entities make that eventually domino and affect a father, a mother, a child, a grandmother.   The victims have names, jobs, feelings, goals, dreams, baggage, regrets, hopes and friends.  We are all connected.  They are all us.  They are all you.  

I play jazz drum professionally in the JD Moffat Trio and find improvization a key asset.  Being in the moment, riding the edge of the wave, conceptual blockbusting and finding ways to resolve rather than spar have always meant more to me.   I hope this blog will help someone.  I will endeavor to write and post articles that will contribute to the body of law, mediation and music.