Find the Tune(s) of Your Heart

May 4, 2012 at 10:46 am (Inspiration, Mental Health, music, Spirituality, Uncategorized)
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I’ve started running again, thanks to the joint-cushioning magic of the treadmills at the gym across the street.  And music. 

When I was young(er), I’d run the country roads of the rural Shenandoah Valley, energized by the music of nature and the sound of my own breath in rhythm with my gazelle-like (ha!) footfalls.

Country roads turned to suburban sidewalks and walking paths when I moved to Northern Virginia, and my energy came from the music of conversation and laughter as my sister and I chattered through our long distance runs.

(And then there was the day we started giggling so hard that I had to stop running and literally — yes, literally! — fall onto the grass and laugh ’til I ’bout near passed out.)

Time wore on, and so did my joints.  Sigh. Knees and ankles started hurting more than I cared to deal with, so running became a memory — replaced by pilates, yoga, power walks, weight lifting, and near-death-by-trainer sessions.

Until I moved last winter to Philadelphia and became a gym rat.  At the Training Station, a gym known as THE gym for runners.  Well shoot.  Teased endlessly by the treadmills I finally snuck onto one (hoping my 43 year old ankles, knees, and hips wouldn’t notice.  They did, but that’s a different story) and ran my little heart out.  No really, my heart almost popped out.   Apparently I left the one-with-the-wind long-distance-bliss in VA.

But I got a glimpse of that pure freedom feeling that I get from no other exercise but running, and I wanted more.

So I turned to music and my best friend iPod.  

Started with the typical Workout playlist:

  • Jillian Michael’s Favorite Workout Mix 2011 (by Giancarlo)
  • Sexy and I Know It (LMFAO)
  • Lots of stuff by Blue October (X-Amount of Words, Picking Up the Pieces, Everlasting Friend)
  • Dance About It (by Paper Tongues)
  • and of course Faith by George Michael :)

But something was still missing.  My body was energized-ish by the music, but my heart was still sitting on the crossbar of the treadmill, napping, waiting for the run to be over.  Not how I wanted my run to feel.

So one day I did the ole iPod shuffle instead of the Workout mix.  And a song from my recent re-discovery of spiritual (ok, Christian) music by the 2nd Chapter of Acts group started playing.  My heart soared, and my feet grew wings.

It was in that moment that I realized in a new, profound way, that to tap into the most powerful energy we can ever access, we need to start with the heart.   Not just for emotional energy, but for very real physical energy also, as they are inextricably intertwined.

I finally get it.  For the same reasons it’s important to engage our hearts in our work (see OutWriteLiving.com) and in our everyday lives, it’s important to engage our hearts in our physical exercise routines.   For me, music is that spark to the heartfire… and the joy fuel for my running.

Is it time to take even better care of your body?  Start with your heart.  Through your headphones.  

And tell us in a comment here what you think about all that.

10 Comments

Play me home

May 10, 2011 at 8:48 am (Inspiration, music, The Artist Life, Uncategorized)
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Harmonies
intertwining sweet nectar
sticky smooth notes
catch
on my heart seams and pull
gently
insistently
prying
a surgical butter knife creating access to
release

Piano note fingers
touch my soul’s braille
sightless reading through
keys
of my internal sharps, flats
forte turns to
pianissimo
minor, major chords
kneading
a pressure point massage of my emotional knots

Vocals
lyrical speech so full
words insist on becoming
song
your feeling, singer songwriter, becomes
mine
knocks loudly then
opens the door
of expression wide
an IV of life transfusing my aching cells.

Harmonies … Piano … Vocals … Music … Life.  Pure sweet Life.

7 Comments

I choose to believe

December 16, 2010 at 12:25 pm (holidays, music, Relationship, The Artist Life)
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I choose to believe.

I choose to believe in the connectedness of my world, my universe and beyond.

How can I not, when things like this happen:

Years ago, my young niece (15? 16?) Katie (hi punkin!) and her buddy Rachel were visiting us, their Aunties S&S, for the weekend. Pure delight, those two were (and still are!).

I clearly remember being in the kitchen during that visit, being surprised by a heart-melting ribbon of golden music coming from the living room. It was Rachel, singing Sarah McLachlan’s “Adia” while playing accompaniment on the piano.

Skip forward 10 or 15 years to earlier this year. I have reconnected with Rachel through various threads of Divine Planning, and was delighted when she announced she has created a CD of her original music. I immediately purchased several CDs without hearing any of the songs.

My heart remembered her rendition of Adia years ago — no more sampling needed.

Rachel (photo by peggy dyer)

As I heard the first notes of Rachel’s voice, the beauty became my own grateful tears. “Unapologetically,” she’s called this musical collection. And her lyrics, her acoustical guitar, piano, voice — all take me consistently to that place where I don’t need to apologize for who I am, what I believe, how I feel, who I love.

Yesterday that dream came true. Without my involvement. Because of authentic connections.

You see, I had shared Rachel’s CD with my friend/colleague Rebecca. And Rebecca was moved to sell Rachel’s CD through an online recommendation-based “shop” (on OpenSky).

And yesterday Rebecca published a blog post (read it here) about connecting herself to nature and music. Specifically through Rachel’s CD.

That, my dear readers, is why I choose to believe.

‘Tis the season — maybe we can all choose to believe?

********
[Click here to purchase "Unapologetically" ]

6 Comments

Piano Lessons

January 12, 2010 at 8:48 pm (music)
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I’m 41 years old, and have absolutely no regrets.

…

ok, yeah… I lied. (sorry, couldn’t resist!)  :)

I do have one regret:  that I didn’t keep taking piano lessons when I was a wee little whippersnapper.  Or as a teenager.  Or in college.  Or in my 30s.  *sigh*

When I hear the magical notes of delectable piano music, my fingers tingle, my heart-beat deepens, and all my dreams seem possible – the same feeling I get when I simply *must* write. 

Yet when I finally get to those black and white keys, I’m limited by my lack of skill.  Expression gets thwarted.  I get frustrated.  The piano again becomes a tease, a reminder of what could have been.  Curses!

But you know what?  Virtuoso or not (um, definitely NOT!) turns out I learned something profoundly important during those few young years of lessons (thank you, piano teacher Mom!). 

I learned how to control each hand separately. 

[... stick with me here...]

I learned how to have one hand dance playfully while the other hand kept a heavy serious rhythm. 

How to have one hand coax the keys to whisper while the other forced them to shout. 

And to switch them … *snap*… just like that.  

A full life requires that skill:
-  That ability to dance lightly while still keeping a solid rhythm. 
- To hold some things close while letting others go. 
- To gently wrap clear determination in the silky essence of allowing. 

If we spend all our time pushing, driving toward that *whatever* we’re trying so desperately to reach, we will likely plow right on past what we are Supposed To see and experience and do and be.

And if we just wander aimlessly with no focus at all, no drive … we run the same risk of missing our Intended Path.   

So you see, we need the push and the allowing, the ying and the yang.  

We need to give both hands a chance.

*******************************
[text and photos by Starla J. King]

Another great read on this topic is Peg Mulqueen’s recent post, “Trust Yourself” – she definitely gives both hands a chance!

12 Comments

Something happens out there…

April 17, 2009 at 11:25 am (Uncategorized)
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Yesterday my sweet little cherubic neighbor girl asked me “Why do you plant sjk_landscaping1things all day??”   I laughed and replied simply “because I love it!”  She clearly wasn’t convinced.  And frankly, sometimes I’m not either.  

Like the cold rainy mornings when the last thing I want to do is be digging in the mud, shivering, dreaming of when I can get home to warm up and shower.  Or the days I just can’t seem to find my energy for hard physical labor.

But then there are days like today… when a garden sparks an almost magical experience.   Picture this:

new_gardenEarly-ish morning, about 8:30am (EST), a small backyard garden providing the visual transition from somewhat tamed (suburbian) woods to manicured lawn and patio.  I had done most of the work on this garden last fall, but just had a few plants to add today … the finishing touches.  

 

The morning sunlight kissed the chill away and on my iPod Shuffle my current favorite song came on:  “Lost” by Michael Buble.  (Do you know it?  If not, you MUST listen to it!!! ).  Standing there, music infused directly into my heart, sunshine and shadows holding hands, the crayola colors of early spring, the scent of fresh mulch, and the intoxicating perfume of the tiny wildflowers carpeting the woods…  

Overwhelmed, I simply looked up to the heavens, feeling the sweet tears of overflowing gratitude and beauty on my cheeks.

And that, my dear young neighbor angel Norah, is why I plant things all day.  Because something…. Something… happens out there.

vinca

9 Comments

Tickle My Ivories

February 23, 2009 at 7:56 pm (Uncategorized)
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Music.  Let’s talk about music.  Listening to my iPod, of course, as I write (Carter’s Chord, “Song of Blue” is on right now).  I prefer my life with a soundtrack — to fully express and experience each moment.  Sometimes the music IS my life, sometimes just background accompaniment quietly adding depth.

 

ipod_writing1

 

Yet music isn’t just a solitary thing.  It can be an amazing connection between people.  Here’s a song that explains me.  Here’s one that makes me think of you.  Listen to this one – it’s my offer of comfort (Faith Hill, “Wish For You”).  Or this other one to make you laugh (“…I’ll check you for ticks….”  Brad Paisley’s “Ticks”).  Or celebrate with me, crank up “All This Beauty” (the Weepies). 

 

My friend Kat is writing a book about the switch from silent to sound films.  Imagine for a moment your life as a film without sound.  Then add the music of your life sound and feel the starburst of energy, technicolor, surround sound.  A cold lonely rainy walk in the park becomes a balmy sun-kissed day at the beach with your dearest friend(s). 

 

 

ipod3Take away my desserts (trust me, that’s a big deal!), take away my tv, but don’t take my music. Give me intertwining harmonies and any instrument blend that includes piano, and I can survive anything.  Take it away, and I’m lost.  Music connects me – to you, to myself, to inspiration, to expression.

 

Take for example the day I was missing my Canadian friends Kat and Leah and sent them an iTunes playlist of carefully-selected songs from a new fave artist (thanks Jo and Lisa!), Kasey Chambers.  Only to find out that I couldn’t send playlists from US iTunes to Canada iTunes users.  For the first time since meeting those friends last year, I felt truly disconnected.  Cut off because I wasn’t able to share the music of that moment and words themselves just weren’t the right expression. 

 

Remember the mix tape from years ago?  You knew it was a big deal if a love interest made you a mix tape, right?  Let’s bring back the mix!  Bring it back into our relationships…with our friends (Canada/US communication glitches be damned!), our lovers, and just as importantly, with ourselves. 

 

My friend Rebecca (of Rebecca Plants:  http://www.rebeccaplants.com) got me back into making mix “tapes” (CDs) and for that I will forever be grateful.  Thank you Rebecca!  

 

Go on… try it… start mixing, for those days you’re so angry you could spit, or too full of gratitude to find the right words for prayer, or too hurt or sad to cry, or just numb inside and desperate to feel.  Let music flip that switch for you.  Let music celebrate with you, laugh with you, cry with you, and most of all… let music inspire you.

3 Comments

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