Beauty out of the blue

Yesterday, I literally stumbled upon an informal concert by some extraordinarily talented teenagers, in a place I couldn't ever have expected such a high level of musicality. As the string quartet played, half a dozen two-to-three year olds in the audience sat rapt, barely squiggling or taking their eyes off the musicians. I won't say it was the first time I understood music's power for good. When I wasn't much older than these children, singing in the choir loft literally took me to "heaven." This may be why so many of us have music in our lives. But in such a week as this one, to see such young children find an alignment with beauty was inspiring beyond belief.

One of my very wisest friends, astrologer and artist Deborah O'Connor, writes periodic notes which never fail to resonate, and yesterday's ("Capricorn Moon in These Times") gave words to what I've felt for many years: "The old structures are coming down, and this is true not only in the larger context but in each and every individual life...the remarkable next chapter cannot be built upon that which has served its purpose and is ready, now, to be let go...This is a moon that has never doubted that we were built for these times." (You can find Deborah's website at http://www.lovedogdesign.com/LoveDogDesign/home.html.)

That last sentence pretty much sums up what has kept me going the last decade or two. I was "built" to survive the unravelling of an old paradigm and to try to communicate what I've learned stumbling around in the underbrush of the new one. I hope I become ever better at doing that. And what many of us "out there" know is that this isn't about revolution, fighting against old structures and strictures, or defending ourselves against what no longer works. It is just a beautifully calm releasing of the old and focusing on love, truth and beauty. OK, the day-to-day of this isn't always calm. On the surface, the next decade or two could be the opposite. You get scratched cutting new paths through the bush. But the truth under the surface is calm. It is beautiful. It is loving.

These young musicians understand this. Musicians don't need to get up from their seats and beat each other senseless to get the point across that the music is about to transition. Violinists, violists and cellists in a quartet move seamlessly from major to minor, from allegretto to adagio, simply by breathing with each other and watching each other throughout the piece. They are aware when the music is about to change, and they change with it and with each other. It takes exquisite training and self discipline and a love of the music. Thank you, kind Universe, for the reminder of what will be needed in the days ahead. Thank you, too, for beauty out of the blue.