Days 52 to 57
Backlogged blog, ditches overflowed and onward with the performances I go. This past weekend was the annual Full Circle Festival held on the banks of the Avon River in celebration of a new season with music, unions of old and new friends of all ages and backgrounds.
It was at this Festival of good cheer when a friend of the community congratulated me on having found a "temple" or "your church." I had never thought of it this way. The temple is considered to be a sacred site for worship with religious affiliations. It can also be a place for offerings. The latter resonates deeply within my world. Where does a calling come from? It is there for those who listen, with pursuit, determination, as one explores the limits of intelligence and the depth of surroundings. This man-made structure carries a great deal of importance in my life, some of which I already know and somethings I have yet to discover. The calling to, I am certain of, as well as my love of the guitar have coalesced into a larger embodiment of my passion, purpose, goals and desires.
For the Ancient Egyptians, temples linked the human and divine realms and allowed humans to interact with the gods through ritual. These rituals, it was believed, sustained the god and allowed it to continue to play its proper role in nature. They were, therefore, a key part of the maintenance, the ideal order of nature and of human society. Some further research outlines societies from all over having various practices containing places or structures for these purposes.
Aside from the routine and regiment of showing up, walking up the hill, entering the Camera and unpacking my guitar, everyday is brand new to discover. Never stale or stagnant, there is always something unique and special presenting itself, it takes a keen eye and an open heart. I am always excited to hear the first sounds, whether by nature or by me (also nature), to immerse myself within this sheltered world that looks out towards the mighty Cape Blomidon surrounded by the ever shifting tidal waters. The slightest changes can have the most dramatic effects, contrasted by dramatic changes having little or no noticeable change.
This time and space is allowing the music to flourish in a way that I have always dreamed of. A freedom I have always desired but couldn't achieve without discovering the Wandarian mode. It allows me to place the notes distinctly where they want to fit, even among the flurries, there is intentional space between these rushes of notes. The lines between melody, harmony, bass and accompaniment are blurred. There is left but an overall singular sound that contains traces of these elements, but not distinctively so.
I have forgone the stool and have been sitting directly on the smooth, cold concrete and pebble floor, using that as a reflector for sound. Tilting the instrument a few inches one way can create a resonance with a certain note that overwhelms all others. This resonant note can be played with a whisper but it engulfs the entire structure and anyone in there. A few inches in another direction and that tone sinks away without any reverberation and opens the door for a different tonality to take over. These minute changes alter what I am playing and vice versa. Is the structure composing the song or am I?
