"Lovesong"

I don’t always live in the now. Although I do try.

But sometimes thoughts – either concerning past events I can’t change or worries over future events that might not even happen – clog my mind and stifle my present.

Especially lately.

So anything that can break into those toxic distractions and pull me back to the present moment is priceless.

Today this song literally smacked me over the head and shook me out of the doldrums I’d fallen into. Relaxing into that sweet wave of relief, I paused, closed my eyes, and allowed myself to be swept back into the present.

Originally sung by The Cure, this is one of my absolute favorite songs… And until today, I had no idea that Adele had given it a whirl. But with her exquisite voice, I couldn't help but rush home and add it to my play list.

Enjoy.

____________________

"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

A Song's Message

The day of my dad's funeral is mostly a blur. In fact, the entire week following his death is somewhat removed from my memory. I can recall tiny bits and pieces, fragmented images that flee from my grasp almost as soon as I think them - holding his limp hand in the hospital room, the tear that rolled down his cheek as he passed away. The relatives - most of whom I had never met - avoiding my eyes at the funeral. (Or, to be fair, maybe I was avoiding theirs.) A steady stream of creamy casseroles, sympathy cards, and phone calls that continued for weeks on end...

All of those memories are blurry, incomplete. Just momentary glimpses into an incident that wrung me dry, cut me open, and changed me from the inside out.

But there is one memory, one moment in all that mess that stands out vividly. Crisp and clear, it's this memory - or song, rather - that I cherish more than I can say. To this day, just hearing it fills me with an intense, almost overwhelming feeling of peace.

This song played on our car radio as we drove to the funeral. Strange, but the moment the car started, the radio clicked on, there was a split second of black silence, and then... This. I'd never heard the song before, and I've rarely heard it on the radio since. It started as we pulled out of the driveway of our house and lasted all the way to the church. As my mom tucked the car into a parking spot, the song ended, and a peaceful silence fell.

I knew as I listened to that song that my dad was with me - right at that moment. I knew then that he would always be with me. The voice on the radio wasn't his, but the message was.

"Just think of me, and I'll be there."

__________________________

"Unable are the loved to die. For love is immortality."
-- Emily Dickinson

Music: The Civil Wars

This video made my heart skip a beat.

Simply breathtaking.

*Sigh*

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"Music cleanses the understanding; inspires it, and lifts it into a realm which it would not reach if it were left to itself."
-- Henry Ward Beecher