There are seven of them, but for now I'd like to focus on one:
Sensazion-- The continual refinement of the senses, especially sight, as the means to enliven experience.
I would like to continue with the theme of my past two posts and focus on the hearing sense. What better way to practice than through listening to music?
Hold your head up, there's a light in the sky
I know you're fed up, but you must try to survive
Each moment's precious, don't let life pass you by
Keep focused, keep your eyes on the prize
A friend of mine once told me
We have many paths in this journey
They act in different directions
So when you question don't be worried
It's not a wrong one
Beauty can be found in all of them
You'll meet people whose paths intersect
But you don't know how long you'll walk with them
Cos the truth is, and it's so hard, but you'll never know
How long we'll continue with our loved ones down this rugged road
The path veers and it's clear that we must steer alone
I've learned if you can't hold on to that moment that exists--
Let it go
Cos freedom is god
Freedom is acknowledging the mask you have on
And possessing the strength to take it off
Freedom is accepting every step of the path
And when it's hard having faith in the ability to embrace that
That's where you are
And this is it
The same shit that we work towards, but go against in the same sense
My friend hit me to some game and truth unravelled, she said
"the brighter the light, the darker the shadow"
And since i'm on cliche terms, knowing is half the battle
But i don't know
So i just go with what was destined
Life can be a burden or a blessing
The choice is yours to be connected
It's there if you want it, you got it, now let it
Hold your head up, there's a light in the sky
I know you're fed up, but you must try to survive
Each moment's precious, don't let life pass you by
Keep focused, keep your eyes on the prize
I feel like i have nothing to give right now
This is my trial, tribulations, and it must go down
But where's the up?
I'm stuck with the broken smile
No jokin' now, wantin' to grab a swish and
smoke this out
The moment of a man choosing what path i will go down
Do i give in, give up, or get up and live right now?
With a split gut pick myself up and spit my style
This is the only thing that can hold my ground
You're born into this world alone and alone you'll go out
All i have is myself and everyone else i doubt
You can only trust yourself and depend on the help of the pound
Inside of the chest that beats with the breath of the now
No sunshine when she's gone, i can only see clouds
No homies can hold me down, the spirit's testing me now
But i can withstand this world, but it seems so foul
Flood of emotions, it's like i'm being held down to drown
Hell's right around the corner, but i can turn it around
You always have a choice, no matter the situation you're not bound
To nothing, no one, you're chosen for this job
This is your life, you can't escape this bitch when it's hard
Just know that it passes, but you'll collect scars
They never go away, but they will make you who you are
This is a beautiful struggle, i share it in song cos
I can't control this, remember: the moment's beyond us
Hold your head up, there's a light in the sky
I know you're fed up, but you must try to survive
Each moment's precious, don't let life pass you by
Keep focused, keep your eyes on the prize
And all my people say whoa.. whoa.. yeah
And all my people say whoa.. whoa..
C'mon
Hold your head up, there's a light in the sky
I know you're fed up, but you must try to survive
Each moment's precious, don't let life pass you by
Keep focused, keep your eyes on the prize
[one more time]
Hold your head up, there's a light in the sky
I know you're fed up, but you must try to survive
Each moment's precious, don't let life pass you by
Keep focused, keep your eyes on the prize
On the first day of 6th grade, my music teacher passed out a piece of paper, a sort of syllabus, with the following quote:
I would teach
children music,
physics, and
philosophy, but
most importantly,
music, for in the
patterns of music
and all the arts are
the keys of learning.
-Plato
I have a hard time explaining what music means to me; when asked, I often offer Plato's words. My teacher was incredible; he still is. He taught that though one might not enjoy every type of music, one must learn to appreciate all types of music, otherwise one can never truly understand or love it. I stand behind this philosophy. I played clarinet in band and jazz band and sang in choir for the next four years, which included trips to Hawaii and Anaheim for performances, an award-winning, goose-bump-giving choir performance of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," a recorded duet of Mariah Carey's "Can't take that away" with my then-best friend, as well as singing in the memorial service of a close friend and previous music member whom I dearly miss. Though I eventually quit band and choir, music continued to govern my life, a constant, if invisible, influence. I switched from performer to full-time listener-critic-enthusiast. Saving me, driving me, inspiring me, I am as obsessed with music as ever. Here are some tunes of choice, chosen either for their lyrics, beat, melody, performance (i.e. emotion, dancing), or some combination thereof. Some are old, some new. Some are just fun. If you don't feel like sifting through, may I request that you listen to #1. for his lyrics and story, and to #9 for his moving performance. **Disclaimer: I listen to EVERYTHING.
In no particular order:
1. Macklemore - "The Town"
2. The Avett Brothers - "I and Love and You"
3. Stromae - "Alors On Danse"
4. Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros - "Home"
5. Local Natives - "Wide Eyes"
6. D-sisive - "I Love A Girl" (Grizzly Bear:Hijacked Remix)
7. Adele - "Hometown Glory"
8. Kalyanji Anandji - "My Guru"
9. Jeff Buckley - "Hallelujah"
10. Califone - "1928"
11. Paul Kalkbrenner - "Aaron"
12. Manolo Garcia - "Pajaros de Barro"
13. Azad - "Alles Wird Gut"
14. Jack Johnson & Ben Harper - "High Tide or Low Tide"
15. Federico Aubele - "Postales"
16. Hilltop Hoods - "Recapturing the Vibe Restrung"
As those of you who know me know, I'm a total closet philosopher. My obsession with philosophy, religion, nature, culture, has not gone on pause for a year while I'm here in Austria. Before leaving i sent myself two boxes of 25 books. My mission is to finish them before I leave. Seeing as how I keep buying new books, the list has fluxed to 29. Here it is.
The Courage to Create - Rollo May
The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks and Giants of the Ocean - Susan Casey
On the Road - Jack Kerouac
Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert
It's not how good you are, it's how good you want to be - Paul Arden
What the Dog Saw - Malcom Gladwell
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert Pirsig
The Secret - Rhonda Byrne
SAVOR - Thich Nhat Hanh
How it is - V.F. Cordova
Dark Green Religion - Bron Taylor
Global Shift: How a new worldview is transforming humanity - Edmund J. Bourne
The Autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila
The Spell of the Sensuous - David Abram
Human Experience: philosophy, neurosis, and the elements of everyday life - John Edward Russon
Awareness: the key to living in balance - Osho
The heart of Dōgen's Shōbōgenzō - Dogen, Masao Abe, Norman Waddell
The Present Age - Søren Kierkegaard
The Ethics of Ambiguity - Simone de Beauvoir
Landscapes of dissent: guerrilla poetry & public space- Jules Boykoff and Kaia Sand
The Road Less Travelled - M. Scott Peck
The Upanishads - Juan Mascaró
Why I am so Wise - Friedrich Nietzsche
Radical Hope - Jonathan Lear
The Way of the Buddha: The Illustrated Dhammapada - Rubin Museum of Art, F. Max Muller
TAKU - Karen Bell and Janet Shelfer
The Bhagavad Gita - Juan Mascaró, Simon Brodbeck
Salzburg für Anfänger - Herbert Rosendorfer
Der Teufel von Mailand - Martin Suter
Last Read: #2, The Wave... by Susan Casey. HIGHLY recommended. Gave me goose bumps, made me gasp, and made me want to keep the ocean close.
...Or in other words, Happy New Year! Apologies for the lack in updates. Busy busy busy. My first few months of teaching English have been a very good, impressionable, learning experience. I work at two Gymnasien or combination middle/high schools, outside of Salzburg. Key word- OUTSIDE of- or in German, auf dem Land. One is in Seekirchen am Wallersee, the other in Straßwalchen. The prior is the oldest Austrian settlement still in existence. The one involves an hour-long walk-bus-train commute, the other one an hour and a half, door-to-door. Needless to say, on days when school starts at 7:30, I hate life. On the positive side, the commute is through rolling, story-book-green hills (white with snow in the winter), with views of cows, llamas, deer and brown-black-white peaky mountains. The combination of schools culminates in me teaching 26 different classes in grades 6-12, working with 13 different teachers directly. I've managed to juggle it so far, though it gets overwhelming at times. I do love the work.
Some topics I've done (by choice, or required):
"Californication" by RHCP (commentary on Hollywood and its effects on the earth)
The two most significant things I have learned are FLEXIBILITY and CREATIVITY. Not all kids learn the same way, so if one doesn't understand it this way, then you must try to explain it that way. And if he/she still doesn't get it, you need to use different words. Or talk slower. Or speak more clearly. Or translate. Or laugh it off. Humor is probably the third most-useful tool in the classroom after flexibility and creativity. Moreover, not all teachers teach the same way- which in my case causes more difficulty, because 13 teachers want it 13 different ways, when 1) I want to do it my way, and 2) It is hard to remember who wants what style. Keeps me on my toes. Dynamic and changing, the work itself suits me. It's exciting. I do not think I want to be a high school teacher. And I will never live so far from my workplace again. But for now I am thankful for the opportunity, learning what I can, and enjoying the ride.
You’re probably all wondering what I’m actually doing with myself in Austria, aside from admiring the countryside and eating Mozartkugeln. Well, I’ll start from the beginning, which will take a few blog entries, so bear with me.
I got up early on Wednesday, September 23, for 3 reasons:
Surfing
Goodbyes
Last-minute packing
Surfing: It started out well; I was the only one out and the water wasn’t quite as cold as it had been ALL summer. About 15 minutes in, however, while waiting for a wave, a harbor seal (the white ones with black spots) popped up about 10 feet away (it felt closer) and did what they always do, stared me down. It felt like a staring contest. See, the problem with harbor seals is, they are entirely unpredictable. Sometimes look, then swim away, sometimes they jump on your board, sometimes they chase you. So I froze, he froze, but then a wave came and I had to dive under; when I popped up, he was gone. Alone and not knowing which direction my new friend had gone in, I went for safe and paddled in like my life depended on it. I got to shore, turned around and said, selfishly, “are you happy now?” and plopped down on the sand looking for him. Of course, he was gone. He hadn’t wanted anything, was just curious. We often forget that big, living, breathing, sea animals are swimming below us in the murky dark green deep. So concerned with OUR territory and getting OUR waves, we forget we are in THEIR territory. The harbor seal that day was a good reminder of the nature that we should love, respect and consider, every time we paddle out.
Goodbyes: Afterwards I cruised over to D's, who greeted me with homemade granola from his fave bakery as a goodbye gift. Then met H. and W. at Starbucks around the corner for a farewell cup o’ Joe. I know I also said goodbye to someone else very important that morning, who I think stopped by my house, but for the life of me I cannot remember who it was. Forgive me; if you read this, you know who you are.
Welcome to Disneyland- I mean, Salzburg. People are happy here, and it's no wonder. With an impressive fortress, beautiful-but-not-overbearing cathedrals, a CLEAN, blue-green river winding down the center, and sugar-coated mountains on all sides, the only description I keep blurting out when asked how it is here is, "It looks like Disneyland!" Disney may have designed his castle after Neuschwanstein, but the city of Salzburg is a living, breathing example of "The Happiest Place on Earth." By the way, if you haven't noticed all the Mozart-labeled chocolate, cake, teas, alcohol, perfume(!), restaurants, cafes, streets, tours, or houses (birth- and living-), this happens to be buddy's hometown, and you'd do well to pay some respect- better yet, spend a few euro on some Mozartkugeln; you won't regret it. Thanks to him Salzburg has become a thriving center for performing arts, and there are constant concerts, plays and exhibitions of all sorts at decent prices. You can walk and/or bike everywhere, but if you're feeling lazy (or it's freezing), phenomenal public transportation ensures that you never have to step inside a car. Everyone speaks English, and sometimes 2 or 3 more languages. But the best part: a 15 minute bus ride to the Untersberg Lift and I'm up and riding. I can snowboard after work or on my days off! I could go on and on. Maybe one month means I'm still in the honeymoon phase, and this uncanny rose-colored bubble surrounding everyone and everything in Salzburg is gonna pop in my face, but I am pretty sure this place just really is that awesome. My new motto: Don't question, just accept- and savor.
Salzburg- Winter
house on my street
view of altstadt from lehener bruecke- Salzach, Festung, Dom
