August Rush

August Rush was an amazing movie, despite some of the credibility issues. Because the movie was so deep, it was easy to look over some of those issues (such as Julliard taking a child without calling the police and reporting him as missing or as a runaway).

It was better than I expected and brought out emotions that just made me want to cry, jump for joy, and every emotion in between. Plus, the music was amazing. It's a movie I would like to own.

(Yes, I keep saying amazing, but that's truly what the movie was. How else can I describe it?)

Music is an amazing art, however I feel a lot of people try to drain out everything around them with music instead of letting it empower them. I went to the river one morning, and before long there were a whole slew of people with their radios turned up as if we all wanted to hear their tunes. As much as I love music, sometimes it drains me. I thought of the movie and the child, who walked around the world listening to the melody of the earth and letting it empower him and his calling.

The wind whipping through the trees, the birds and their chirping, the water as it flowed down the rocks and to the other side. People's voices and intonations. Once they turned on their radio at the river, I couldn't hear or appreciate any of those sounds.

I used to fuss at my husband because we'd take the boat (when we had one) out on the lake and he always wanted the music on. "My ears ring when there's silence," he would say. My argument was "of course your ears rings, because you're always trying to have noise around you." Why not enjoy the music that nature offers? Why not let nature empower you, instead of drowning it out every chance you get? Then, when you do hear a good song, you can enjoy it that much more.

There are days when I can't write with music. I need silence. But then there are time when I can't get going without music. If you look up music in the dictionary, it calls it an art form consisting of sound and silence. Pleasing and harmonious to the ears. I love how that kid in August Rush found the music in everything he did, and once he picked up a musical instrument he was just amazing, because it came from the inside of him.

So...let's do something fun. If you are listening to music, turn it off. Listen to the sounds around you. Does it conjure up any emotions, any memories, or make you feel a certain way? Use that in your writing (or you painting, or in whatever it is you do). And tell me what you hear.

I hear the whir of the air conditioning, the soft murmur of the television in the next room, and the tap tap tapping of my keys as I'm writing. Every now and again, the computer will prattle. But as I let those noises connect with me, they seem to communicate with each other, and it makes me feel peaceful.