Of Instruments and Practices

Hello Readers,

Today I had the pleasure of sitting in on a couple different music class practices at Lee University. It was an amazing experience. Just the rawness of it. It was almost more 'real' in a sense then other performances I've heard. It was fun and loud and you could feel how much they loved it. I was the only listener in the room, and they weren't preforming for performance's sake, but because they loved it.

Or maybe that was just my impression of it. Whatever the case, it was beautiful.

If I was asked to pick a favorite instrument, I'd have to say the violin (I'm a little biased though, as one of my characters plays it) followed by the cello. I love the sound of it. But then when they all sang out together into the world, it was breathtaking.

Time slows when music plays, reality is but a white noise, the present a figment of our imagination. Present, past, and future all blur together as the tempo pick up and galaxies swirl into blurred colors.

The drum keeps a steady beat, reminded the violins not to veer off down the lovely rabbit trails they long to explore. The trumpets sing joyously while the bass hums deeply in the background. The tuba shouts as the cellos play a melancholy balance. The violins whinny off again like wild horses and then slowly come back down, playing the melody.

The choir sings, competing with the instruments for sounds. The conductor waves his hands, pointing his baton in a language that only the musicians understand. He seems to be in a trance, and the rest of the musicians with him, watching the baton wave in that secret language known only to musicians.

It's beautiful.

I can't help but feel a tiny bit envious as I watch their fingers play in a manner that takes years of practice to master.

~Rubix

Things Books Have Taught Me

Hello Readers,

Today, I gathered together a small list of things that books have taught me.

The Chronicles Of Narnia taught me:

-That God is not safe, he is not tame, but he is good.
-Death isn't the end of the story.
-There is always a plan.
-Betrayers can come back.
-A real leader knows when to follow.
-Some people are meant to be warriors, and others are meant to plan the wars.

The Lord of the Rings taught me:

-That there is always light in the world.
-The smallest people sometimes make the biggest difference.
-People who like to play it safe are still as likely to get called on to go on an adventure.
-If a bunch of dwarves come and eat my food and then ask me to go on an adventure, I should say yes.
-Don't trust gold.
-If in danger, call the eagles.
-Even the least likable person has a part to play in the end. Sometimes they are the reason good conquers.

Harry Potter taught me:

-Kids have a part to play in the wars.
-Your friends become your family.
-The people who seem to be the villain are sometimes the bravest ones there.
-In dreams, we enter a world that is entirely our own.
-Death, to the intellectual mind, is but the next adventure.
-Things are never as they seem, don't judge too quickly.
-Reading can save your life.
-Love doesn't die.

The Swipe Series taught me:

-Know who your friends are.
-When you find out who they are, keep them close, you'll need them.
-You're here for a reason. Find that reason.
-Life is complicated, get used to it.
-Life isn't fair. Do what you can with your lot.

Ranger's Apprentice taught me:

-People do everything for a reason.
-Tragedy can happen to anyone.
-A normal archer practices until he can hit the target, a Ranger practices until he can't miss.
-There is always time for a coffee break.
-Sarcastic wit is a skill.
-One riot, one Ranger.

That's it for now, thank you for tuning in!

~Rubix

P.S Check out this awesome blog run by my cousin: Stories In Sounds

Watching Clouds

Dearest Readers,

Today I was laying down with my dad on a grassy hill and we were watching the clouds and making pictures out of them. Here's a list of some of what we saw: 

Gandalf
Iceland
Dragon
Old Lady with a Sombrero
An Old Bearded Dude (not Gandalf, another one. I have named him Fredrick.)
Greenland (I kept seeing countries, I have no idea why!)
A Dragon Bird (Or a Bird Dragon)

But we began discussing imagination out of this, since I was the one who spotted most of these shapes in the clouds. And we were talking about how when you're a kid, reality and imagination are hand in hand, you're always using them. A stick becomes a sword, a tinfoil hat becomes a helmet, your old rocking horse is your majestic steed, and your younger brother is the dragon.

As we get older, we don't think like that anymore.

Sticks are sticks.

Tinfoil is tinfoil.

Rocking horses are rocking horses.

And brothers are well.. creatures from Mars.

When you become an adult (I'm getting this all from my Dad, I don't know from experience.) you deal with reality so much that imagination doesn't really come into play as much as it used to. It's separated from reality, no longer one and the same.

Here, let me give you an example.

Setting: Playground.

Problem: Someone is stuck on the slide.

What the Child sees and does: Someone got stuck on one of the mighty sea-dragons scales as they slipped down his back, Child thinks. Child picks up a stick and runs at the slide, pretending to chop it's head off. "You're free!" He shouts to his friend on the slide, pulling on his hand and getting him out of his predicament. His friend beams and shakes his hand. "Thank you, Sir Brave-A-Lot, you saved me from the evil dragon's clutches!"

Setting: Playground.

Problem: Someone is stuck on the slide.

What the Adult sees and does: Some kid is stuck on the slide. Adult looks around for their parents, or someone to help them. Finding none, walks over and asks the kid if they may help. Proceeds to give them a small push to get their momentum back.

Children (or people that are constantly still using their imaginations) intertwine reality and fantasy, while most adults or older children keep it separated.

Which is why it was easier for me to find pictures and patterns in the cloud than my dad. Cause I am constantly using my imagination, and he does not as frequently. Now, this is not all to say that we will all lose our imaginations, just that it is second nature to us as children and we begin to have to actively try and use it, instead of just automatically switch.

But in my mind now and forever...

Sticks are swords.

Tinfoil is armor.

Rocking horses are majestic pure-bred war horses.

And brothers are dragons.


~Rubix