Nov 19, 2005

Real Illusions Reflections

Going to the Steve Vai concert in Sofia was a miracle of moderate magnitude, as far as circumstances are concerned. At once I had the desire to go, the money to spend, and someone to rely on to babysit the kids. (She probably doesn't read this, but if she does, THANKS for being such a great friend both to me and the kids.) Oh yes, I forgot, I had someone to go with me, which is also a wonderful coincidence, of a purely natural kind, nothing miraculous about it (a tribute to my atheist readers).

The performance was staggering in its virtuosity, and it swept me off my feet. I hadn't slept properly for ages and had forgotten to eat that day, nothing of which mattered for total experience I had. When I was not in the land of dreams and fantasy while listening to the music, I thought how one can distinguish between feeling and technique in a performance. Those musicians were excellent, all of them, even for my untrained ear, and they managed to convey their love of music to us, and take us on a beautiful journey out of everyday life. I have always considered music to be a shortcut to heavenly joys and a mark of divinity in humans. So it was an escape from all that ties me to the ground and saddens me. A friend said that escapism is contemptible... but that's who I am and there is no way out of it, one way or another.

I bought a book by G.K. Chesterton, St Francis of Assisi. This famous prayer is attributed to St. Francis.

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved, as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
It is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life.



Incoherent again, I know, but I needed a tribute to my theist readers, too:)

1 comment:

Bisha said...

Hi,thank for visiting me and my pictures.The one you prefer is the particular of one of the red light in the picture "heat".The lines are frequencies captured from the lens of the camera,looks like plastic,is a warm effect.I like the way you write,my girlfriend will like your last post of your blog,she loves Steve Vai!Peace