Dare to Live

Music is amazing. I’ve attended two student concerts this week, and it’s wonderful to hear how well young people play. I may learn to play an instrument one day, and if I could truly sing, boy, I’d be annoying because I would never stay silent. Activities like gym, swimming, and art help develop well-rounded students, but every student should dedicate six months to learning to play an instrument. You never know where a bit of exposure will lead. With a little patience, this could be you: 

                                         https://youtu.be/lUc8xAE0HYg

Are you inspired to grab the nearest improvisational instrument? Start practicing now. You may not sound wonderful initially, if ever. The point is you won’t know until you try. It’s easy to stay comfortable. Dare to stop procrastinating and dive into whatever you keep putting off. Where will your new journey take you?  

Breaking the Box

You know it’s spring when your lowered car window allows you to enjoy music from  cars in the next lane. This week, while driving through the city, I heard what sounded like Rap music drifting from the vehicle. What was the driver’s ethnicity? Right. An Asian man. How old was the driver? Right. About thirty years old. What kind of car did he drive? Right. A Lexus. Maybe you missed most of those answers. I usually picture middle-aged people owning luxury cars. We can easily stick people in boxes if we  guess who they are or assume we know their preferences based on our predispositions. See if this surprises you:   

                                     https://youtu.be/ZvNwCRujeFc

 It surprised and entertained me. If we assume a Catholic person is going to behave in a particular way, then we’re limiting our thoughts, and maybe our treatment, of them. Have you ever been prejudged? Try to fill in this sentence: Just because I _________, doesn’t mean I _______________. Have you ever prejudged someone else? What mischaracterization have you made, but will avoid in the future?     

A Friend to the End?

Our family dealt with a malfunctioning cell phone this week. You know it feels awful to leave your phone at home—double that feeling when it’s broken. It’s only when we can’t use our phones that we realize how often we rely on them for music, weather, games, videos, and whichever version of the truth we want to read. Some of us even have Siri, a customizable friend who spits out snappy comebacks to outrageous questions. Cell phones fill so many needs, it’s no wonder we develop phone addictions. Watch how several people react to a phone challenge:

                                     https://youtu.be/_qUZai-kGgA

The video’s funny, but it’s not intended to endorse a product. Consider the challenge. Could you pass it? Track the amount of time you spend on your phone. Is your cell phone your everything, and if not, what is?  

Dissecting Earworms

I bet you have an earworm. It sounds bad, but not really. It’s nothing that will get you a guest appearance on the show “Monsters Inside Me.”  An earworm is the catchy tune that sticks in our heads long after the song has ended. I pick up earworms quite easily. I can hear someone sing or hum a tune and before long I’m humming it, too. It takes me forever to memorize something, but give me the music from an old song I haven’t heard in years and the lyrics come right back to me.  

 There’s something about music and memory that go hand-in-hand. Why is it that we can remember old lyrics, but we forget where we put our sunglasses and keys? Here’s a tip for how to kick that unwanted stuff out of our heads to make room for important things:

                                              http://youtu.be/GckKbSr0Gx4

We’re set! Now we’ll have room to remember names, faces and where we left our cell phone chargers.  Any information can be transformed into song. What important information could an earworm help you to remember?