today’s Musing written and published from
Morning walk: -9C/15F, overcast again/still (we’ll see sun by Wednesday, promise!), fresh snow well suited to clogging spaces between Gusta’s paw pads; fresh air, soft damp snow, warmer feeling than weather office numbers …. warmer afternoon predicted; yesterday’s ‘light snow all day’ gloomy fixed with an outing; shopped for pasta at Lina’s, for a table/desk at Ikea capped with early dinner at Fatburger – perfect snowy Saturday.
Silence is not the end, it is just a pause – taking a break, collecting thoughts, tasting and digesting what’s just been said.
Did you find it; did it find you? Did I find him/her or did they find me? Conversation, when simply OK, or good, fails to simplify. But, when conversation moves from polite/distanced to relaxed, free-wheeling, open, barrier-free - then, it draws us in, entangles, we get spaghettied, interwoven paragraphs of expression – like a music jam session perhaps – each speaker talking/listening simultaneously at times, then long stretches of impassioned listening to intent speaking (or the other way ‘round), these thoughts expressed in conversation make prose out of dialogue, and the reverse; no clear beginning, there is no end – just pauses between.
Some of the best things in life are the ones we find when we aren’t looking for anything at all; out of the blue, they come our way – sometimes they show up on our path, sometimes they seek us out and invite us to consider another path, sometimes they point us to some new discovery inside ourselves, or teach us something new to try, experience or explore.
This, this column, is not monologue; it is conversation. Aside from the lovely treats of responses from readers – I get calls, have conversations – sometimes about the column, as often about something else on a mind; the column, something in it, starts a conversation.
Conversation, more than anything else, is lubrication between the moving parts of life, smoothly silken or roughly abrasive – spiked with vinegar or maple syrup, or both. Conversation is saying what needs to be said while withholding what ought not be said; it is the cause of causes, of clear vision and sometimes even breaks the shell that puts understanding out on the table.
French toast and conversation, on my mind this morning – the food drive overcomes my creative urges, it must be satisfied. It’s too early for making calls, tummy grumbling, column will be brief, somewhat hastily written, inadequately polished – because, while conversation is great, French toast trumps that. French loaf, three days old .. getting dry now, slabs cut wide, at an angle, dipt in yoke, white, milk, cracked pepper and grated parmesan mix – pan fried to perfect golden brown-ness, amply splattered icing sugar, served w/crabapple jelly and maple syrup along side crisp bacon . . a perfect winter Sunday start . . conversation will come, but first I must cook, make more coffee, put on more music. Consider: Jake Shimabukuro’s "Let's Dance" or he can make it weep – he does things with ukelele you might never imagine unless I told you, as someone told me in a great conversation. He’s a great Hawaiian export. I promise, you won’t have the same start to your Sunday if you experience this. It’s OK to listen to on Monday as well .. go wild, listen to it every day if you like. But don’t forget to have a conversation about it, with someone, send it to someone – it is not about the music or the player, it is about the talking point, the point of talking, point, counter-point, it is the flavor of conversation, drenched in whatever you are serving . . . always tasty, sometimes harsh, sometimes abrasively challenging, inspiring, invigorating. Yes, you can get all that from talking about a ukelele, consider what that might lead to – uncharted territory, breezes, sails . . . no end in sight to the flavorful conversation . . .
Must feed growlies now, then assemble new Ikea table (how tough can it be with instructions in four languages and three main piece), two weeks of hunching over improvisation will end, and then I’ll write something clever . . . so, stay tuned JJ and GB, my afternoon will be all about writing for you . . with breaks for conversation of course.
Mark Kolke
325,060
195.2
RESPONSES/COMMENTS ALWAYS WELCOME; send to musing@maxcomm.ca
January 23 Responses
January 23 – ONE AFTER THE OTHER – Hi, I have been reading your messages for a long time (not sure exactly how long as time passes so quickly) but there have been many similar seasons. I have often thought of whether these daily writings had taken a life of their own and you now were compelled to continue them every day. All I can say is that I TRULY appreciate the time you take to write each day. I look forward to it and many days there is much relevance to what is going on in my life, that your words provide hope, strength, kindness and love...........ingredients that help us through the sadness, turmoil, stress and loneliness of everyday life. THANK YOU, RB,
January 23 – ONE AFTER THE OTHER - 2500 Musings! That's quite a milestone, Mark. Hope you don't stop your writing. Even though I don't communicate often, your Musings are read, studied, and digested daily ... most often for the shared 'food for the soul'. Thank you!, BR,
January 23 – ONE AFTER THE OTHER - Mark - I think today's post could have been called "Becoming a better struggler..." Perseverance is interesting, isn't it? For many years I wrote three or four 'Daily Happinesses' (initially as an exercise to keep my head above water in depression) every single day without fail. Only once I realized I'd been writing these for several years, did I start to post them every morning on my website and other places. And only years later do I hear the impact they have had on others...Life goes on, but it's the daily practice that is particularly meaningful to us and our readers and friends. Thanks, fellow struggler, WE,
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