People Need People

Yes, there is a word on my bean sprout.  The word is Love.

There are two subjects most frequently expressed through art, and writing:  love, and death.  Both are so universally experienced, and so necessary to our life's timeline.  Both are so easily made trite or cliche.  They are difficult subjects to put into words.  So, we either choose to express it imperfectly with some vulnerability, or keep it quiet to ourselves.

As a songwriter, I tend to write about love openly.  It's the best way I know how to express what I feel for my children, my husband, and so forth.  However, I was harshly critisized after a performance once.  The following act got on stage and annouced that singing about love was something an ametuer songwriter does, for lack of coming up with a more captivating subject.  I thought, "Then why do people keep writing about it then?"  It seems to me that repetition is a sign of importance.  The kind of love we feel for each other is not merely friendship or attraction.  I see it as a willingness to forego one's self for another individual.  Joni Mitchell, aurguably one of the best songwriters of our time, says "Oh I love ya when I forget about me."  (Found in her song, "All I Want.")  We all know the kind of love that brings heartache, and the kind that brings joy.  Forgetting about yourself is the kind that brings joy.
My critic was right in that my songwriting is a pastime; not a profession.  There are much more qualified artists however, whom I know write about what is in their hearts.

Balance Your Relationships~

Relationships are essential to our survival.  People who live the longest statistically are shown as those who have friends and family to support them.  It has been scientifically proven that love is as needful to our continuity as food and water.  Whether you are a social butterfly, or a solitarian, people need people.  (Now I sound like Barbra Streisand...)  Social networking is at an all time high, but are we really socializing?  Is it really filling the need we have to have interaction with others?  It's obvious that the need is prevelent.  It's sad to think how often people only see people over the internet though.  I'm learning to limit the time I talk to people through emails, texting, and social networking.  We actually have to be proactive about seeking out to have face to face conversations, phonecalls, a hand-held letter once in a while, real live hugs and kisses, and not just xoxoxo on a screen.  Truly, you can't have 10,000 sincere "friends."  Truly, you can put the smartphone down and look someone in the eye when they are speaking to you.  Maybe next time you go through the drive through at the bank, you can talk to the teller.  Maybe next time you go to the gas station, if you have time, you might go in and chat with the clerk.  

There is a time to be alone.  Taking time to nuture yourself has amazing benefits in improving your capacity to be available to nurture others.  Stepping apart from the crowd increases intropsection, and a closness to the unknown.  It creates a sense of being comfortable with who you really are.  Never allowing time for yourself can cause feelings of harbored resentment when service is often felt as a martyr.  But spending too much time alone can spawn a selfish heart.  Usually if there is a need for forgiveness, a time spent apart may be needful.  At times, it may even be in our best interest to remove ourselves from a negative influence completely.  However, take care not to sever from relationships unless they are truly detrimental.  It is well known that conflict resolution, a.k.a. forgiveness is a great stress reliever, and service is better than antidepressants.  Growing in love, sprouting upward, and bearing fruit to share it.  

Here's another Soundcloud link to listen to one of my songs.  It is a conversation with the self, from the perspective of another.  This someone I miss very much.

Click here to listen:

"Love To Be Lonely"