If you’ve read a few of my other Music Moment posts, you know that I love story songs. You know, where the lyrics meld with the music to tell a story. Most songs are about conveying a feeling, an emotion, or setting a mood, which is fine, but I guess it’s the storyteller in me…
Category: Poetry
A Little Motivation [Creativity]
“Commitment to the most worthy purpose is of little value if we lack confidence in our ability to realize it.” – Stephen Batchelor, Buddhism Without Beliefs I’ve been reading the aforementioned book the past few days, and this line stuck out to me. I read it several times because it resonated and made me think…
What’s the Best Writing Tool? [Writing]
This is one of those topics that can be contentious. There are so many tools available to the modern writer that it can be overwhelming. I can’t promise you that I’ll answer all your questions. However, I think I can provide you with some valid options and, hopefully, help you make an informed decision. First,…
Be Like Water [Writing]
There’s a great quote by martial artist, actor, and philosopher Bruce Lee that always resonated with me. “Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way around or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves….
Finding Your Writing Voice [Writing]
An author’s writing voice is much like a fingerprint, or even their actual speaking voice. It’s special, unique, and identifies them as an individual. When I pick up a book and start reading, the author’s writing voice identifies them, much like if they had called me on the phone. When I was in my teens…
Quote the Writer, Not the Character [Writing]
Okay, I know this will sound strange, but it annoys me when someone quotes a character from a work of fiction instead of the writer. I should let it go, I know, but I think it comes from my belief that writers are under appreciated in general. It happens often enough in fiction. I mean,…
A Poetry Moment VI – Surf [Poetry]
Anyone who knows me knows that I love the ocean. I grew up on and around the water, spending long hours swimming, snorkeling, boating, fishing, and laying on the sand with a good book to read. I tried to capture the essence of a day at the beach in a poem. Something that expressed how…
Changing a Life
We’ve all had someone who touched our lives in a positive way. It might have been a loved one, maybe a stranger. Regardless, they had an impact on you, changed you, hopefully made you a better person. I was thinking about this recently. In a broad view, almost everyone I encounter has an impact on…
Music Moment – Tangled Up in Blue
I know that Bob Dylan isn’t for everyone, but he’s one of my favorite songwriters. With a career spanning sixty years, he’s made an indelible mark on the music industry. His creativity and originality have also been an inspiration for me. I can’t remember the first time I heard one of his songs, but for…
Creativity as Therapy
I’m sure you’ve heard of art therapy and music therapy. In fact, art has been used in therapy for over a century. Initially, it was used as a form of “moral therapy” for psychiatric patients, it’s evolved over time to something that can be utilized in a wide variety of situations, from helping Alzheimers patients…