(HUM 310) Journal #11: Beauty and Mystery
McLaren talks about the need for beauty in our lives. In light of that, free write about something that is beautiful. Try your hand at a poem or a song or a story or a painting . . . (if you do something that you can't post here, bring it to me or take a picture and email it, or record it and send it to me).
Then reflect: How do you find mystery, beauty, and/or poetry in your major, in the job you hope to get, and in your life?
A Jay on the Rail
By Kenneth Keyn
We met one day along the path
This fellow and I
We stood in silence
Eye to eye and thought to thought
We waited each for the other
Determined both to outlast the moment
A sound caught my ear
And a worm his gaze
The moment was broken
I continued my walk
He to his flight
Some of the time, I find that the really simple things all around me are the ones that capture me the most. On occasion, I'll be stopped by a bird or a squirrel, just doing what they normally do or a certain vista that I come across. It's the whole "stop and smell the roses" idea. In those little moments, I find so much beauty.
It seems so far removed from what I work to do, particularly with music. I usually aim for amazing masterpieces, but find that the simple things are the ones that stand out the most. I find that if I simply pay attention to what's there, instead of trying to continually add stuff on top of it, I'm more likely to find true beauty. I try to work with this idea by taking the very complex and giving it as much simplicity as possible.
Then reflect: How do you find mystery, beauty, and/or poetry in your major, in the job you hope to get, and in your life?
A Jay on the Rail
By Kenneth Keyn
We met one day along the path
This fellow and I
We stood in silence
Eye to eye and thought to thought
We waited each for the other
Determined both to outlast the moment
A sound caught my ear
And a worm his gaze
The moment was broken
I continued my walk
He to his flight
Some of the time, I find that the really simple things all around me are the ones that capture me the most. On occasion, I'll be stopped by a bird or a squirrel, just doing what they normally do or a certain vista that I come across. It's the whole "stop and smell the roses" idea. In those little moments, I find so much beauty.
It seems so far removed from what I work to do, particularly with music. I usually aim for amazing masterpieces, but find that the simple things are the ones that stand out the most. I find that if I simply pay attention to what's there, instead of trying to continually add stuff on top of it, I'm more likely to find true beauty. I try to work with this idea by taking the very complex and giving it as much simplicity as possible.