JOY
Here in Fort Wayne it is already 80 degrees at 6AM and we are headed to 103 degrees today. The air is thick with carbon from the fires in Colorado, and very still.
We were on vacation with family last week, just arriving home on Saturday after a Derecho devastated Fort Wayne on Friday afternoon. What is a derecho? Hurricane force winds that extend for a period of time and over a long distance. Our winds were 91 miles per hour, and this particular derecho went all the way to the East Coast.
This weather keeps reminding me of the interconnectedness of all things. We are affected by the fires in the West, and we are joined all the way to the East Coast in the results of the derecho of last week.
So....what does this have to do with the daily life of a musician? As I move with the daily work of Mayan Dream Productions Int'l, it's important to be reminded every day that what I do as a musician is part of a very large weaving that extends through all of Mother Earth and beyond. My choices may seem very personal, and my life very independent, but that is a huge misperception. I live within a larger reality which is magical, but also somewhat "in the mist" of the unknown. The daily life of a self-employed musician is always an adventure. I start the day out and the day leads me on....often in ways that I could never imagine. So, let's see what today brings!
Every month I am featuring one of my albums and the month of July is "The Journey of Joy". This album was released in 2004. Sometimes I take the older albums for granted and they become orphans. The Journey of Joy has not followed that pattern but has continued to move out into the world and has continued to inspire my life. When joy is absent from my life, I am in a place of disconnect from my Soul. Life becomes tedious and uninspired. Joy is a force of gentle support, of uplifting of spirit, of kindness toward myself and others.
Here is something fun! I have established an e-mail called storiesforbeverly@yahoo.com. Sorry I can't seem to get a direct link for you on this e-mail address, so you will have to do it the old-fashioned way. I hope you will share stories of your journey and especially as it connects to music. You can share them just with me, or give me permission and they could be shared with the world through my website. Here is one story regarding The Journey of Joy from Colleen: "I am 55 years old and lost my best friend, my mother, to lung cancer on December 18, 2001. I have only one regret....I cannot grieve her. One day my girlfriend at work let me listen to one of her CDs which was your Beloved. I fell in love with the music and ordered it from you. Then I heard bits of The Journey of Joy and fell in love with the music....I played it and I cried for the first time since my mother's funeral....I was so grateful that I could finally let go of my heartache. When the last song came on my heart became so happy that I actually felt like dancing, it was like I was celebrating my mom being in another place.....thank you for your gift."
When I am thanked for my gift, it is yet another reminder that what I do in my daily work as a musician is not personal and individual, but part of the larger weaving of life. Love to all.
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