I walked out the front door...turned left and there he was...leaning on my car...
Where are you going? he asked...smiling that "I already know" grin!
"I am going for a walk" I replied, "Care to join me?"
"NO!...I figured that you'd join me here against this comfortable car..." he said...knowing how much I hated seeing someone lean on my car..."I would rather we exercised our brains than our muscles!"
"I came out here to get away from my brain..." I complained.
"I could see that!" he noted, "We seldom get enough time to think about what we want to think about...together...Why don't we seize the opportunity?"
"OK!" I surrendered, "When you give me a deja vu moment like that...how could I resist...?"
I took up a spot in the shade...next to him...
He reached into his pocket and took out one of those Turkish cigarettes that often smelled of hemp! I teased him about that endlessly! Today they smelled more of incense...and he pointed that out...to circumvent my dig!
"I wish I had some of my rum stashed in your car!" he said...
"We don't need alcohol or your funny smokes to think great thoughts," I replied with a smile...
We stood there...absolutely silent for a long time! In fact, for the amount of time that it takes for the shadow from a nearby tree to move from our ankles to our knees...it was an enjoyable silence...and I thought maybe he was waiting for me to break the silence.
We listened to the distant traffic and birds.
Periodically an airplane droned above us.
The breeze rustled the leaves in the nearby trees.
I heard laughing and...
...a dog.
There was someone cutting a lawn...and a back-up alarm beeping in the distance...
It was amazing how many sounds of activity (natural and man-made) there was!
"What an extraordinary symphony is playing today!" he whispered! It appeared like he didn't want to interrupt the activity with his comment!
I looked to see if he had earphones in his ears! I wasn't listening to a symphony..."Was I?"
"I used to hunt a lot while I was growing up," I reminisced. "I would go to my hunting stand long before sun-up and listen to the forest "awaken." I would hear church bells and school bells and birds and the littlest of creatures scurrying on the leaves of the forest floor."
"Today reminds me a lot of that!" "It is sure relaxing!"
"It is funny...but I know that this is going on around us continuously and we do not take the time to listen!" "But why do you call it a symphony? A symphony exists through design and pure discipline!" At that moment...I felt as if he was thinking "gotcha!"
"Do you think that any of these sounds are random?" "Listen to that Blue Jay! That is his alarm call...there is something bothering him...That other bird that we hear is a catbird. That song he is singing is a territorial warning...he is marking his turf...speaking of turf...listen to the lawn mower...do you think whoever is mowing is pushing it around a parking lot? The airplane is going to land somewhere...and on and on...every noise is generated as a result of intent! There are no random noises!"
There are days...that there seems to be no noise! There are days that are too noisy! It is about intent. Let's replace noise with intent.
There are days...that there seems to be no intent! There are days that have too much intent!
It is about what we listen to!
It is about what we intend to do!
It is OUR sound!
We have a chair in this symphony...whether we play in it depends on two things...whether we have notes on THE sheet music...or whether we add our own impromptu notes!
If you are extremely disciplined...you'll sit in the chair and wait your turn...and then play perfectly...right on queue!
If you play continuously you'll add to the symphony...but I bet the conductor will have a few words with you!
What matters is that you make a noise...when you are supposed to!
Noise is a sign of intent...noise is a sign of life!
Have you ever sat in a desert?
It is awful quiet...because life is so sparse...but if you sit long enough...a coyote breaks the silence...or a small rodent may rustle a dried out leaf...
The interesting thing is that these sounds are so welcomed by the listener...it is confirmation that life persists...one almost breathes a sign of relief when they hear a noise created by someone or something else!
It is the discipline of the natural symphony!
Do you participate in it or are you in the audience?
I opened my mouth to respond and then realized that they were rhetorical questions...and waited my turn!
What sounds are you adding to the symphony? Sounds of building, like the hammering that we are hearing?...or sounds of destruction?
I opened my mouth to respond and AGAIN realized that he was not looking for an answer.
When put in this context...You are an instrument...you have a sound...you are in this symphony!
I was listening to a symphony the other day...and the "first chair" violists, added her own notes to the concerto...without the knowledge of the conductor or the orchestra! It ruined the whole thing...
It makes sense to me that we make our sounds when we are supposed to...when the conductor gives us our queue...then we do it with all of the passion and perfection that we can muster...
There are no second chances for us to play the perfect solo!
The right time...the right notes...to the right audience...
knowing when and what and who...takes time and practice and discipline...
It takes persistence!
When you are tempted to play...do not...until your time...
When it seems too noisy...don't add to it with your own noise...just because you feel obligated to make noise!
Persevere! Sit in your seat until your time comes!
If you get up and walk away...your chance may come and you'll miss it!
Persist!
Then as if the conductor pointed to someone else...he stopped talking!
We listened to the concert for a few minutes and returned to our chairs...and I added nothing to the music...not yet!
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