Monday, December 25, 2023
If you’ve read my blog, thank you. If any of it was meaningful, uplifting, and inspiring, thank you. If you’ve told someone about it, thank you. If it’s made you scratch your head and think more deeply about yourself, thank you.
Robert Frost once said that a poem “begins in delight and ends in wisdom.” I think the same is true for those who express themselves in any form, whether it be writing, speaking, music, dancing, or painting.
Frost is also credited with saying, “No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise for the writer, no surprise for the reader.” This is so true. When I write, I am also the reader. When I play music, I am also the audience. My own writing has moved me to tears, and oft surprised me. My own music-making has done the same. I’m probably more of the reader and the audience than the writer and the performer. Perhaps I’m both, but they don’t know each other.
If I learn something, and I can be moved by what comes out of me, then how can I take credit for it? But, when I say “Thank You,” I’m giving credit to myself, that unknown part of me that starts writing before I know what I’m going to say. The part of me that’s surprised is me too, but in some sort of disguise. I’m thanking the unknown part of me that plays music and writes, and I’m thanking the part of me that is moved and surprised at what comes out.
Nonetheless, may this day be happy, cheerful, and bright for you and You. And above all, “Thank You!”