Le Fantasme

I have a fantasy. (Don't worry, it's rated "G".) In my fantasy I am in a high mountain meadow and I am surrounded by music. Loud, wonderful music. I have often spent unfilled moments pondering the feasibility of said fantasy, working out logistics and details, just to see if I could actually make it work. Thus far I decided I need a huge, silent generator and even bigger speakers. The playlist shifts from time to time depending on my mood and activities but for the most part, I am alone with my music overlooking a great expanse of nature and basking in the warmth of the sun.

I experienced my fantasy in a small way last week. I had the great chance to go to the symphony with a dear friend and by the time I had listened to a stirring presentation of three separate adagios and a piano concerto, I was primed and ready for the main event; Dvorak's "New World Symphony".

As I sat in the first row of the balcony, overlooking a great expanse of stage and instruments I felt the spiritual transportation that only music can provide. I closed my eyes only to wish, for a moment, my spirit could shed it's human shell and fly into the music filled air. In that moment I had the thought that classical music is humanity's way of trying to speak God's language. It is all we cannot express with our limited languages. It is feeling mixed with consciousness mixed with hope, expressed in a moment when hours of preparation and sacrifice combine.

While I was admiring the talent of those artists performing before me, I realized that only when such sacrifice has been made could such a moment of transfiguration be accomplished. It is truth, it is the way God works with us. The entire act of practice, giving up other things for perfection, is but an example of the purpose of our lives. It is heaven's way of reminding us what we can be if we choose a better path. I am grateful for the beauty of music and last Thursday I was happy to feel a little closer to God.