June 2012
33 posts
Day 218(C): Trusting Inner Counsel
For this past week since we returned from Massachusetts I’ve been working hard composing themes for the two main characters of the film I’m scoring. As part of the process, my teacher asked us to write short snippets demonstrating how the themes could express the different moods of the characters throughout the film. As I’ve been writing the music, I’ve been struggling with a bit of a stylistic...
Day 218(J): Writing Practice
While we were away from home during our recent visit to Massachusetts, Charles and I were busier than we had expected. We had a mission to accomplish during this trip, so admittedly it wasn’t exactly a vacation. We wanted to make sure our daughters’ school visit went smoothly and our time there included visits with extended family in the area. Each day was very much in flux, so we needed to be...
May 2012
43 posts
Day 217(C): Eat Your Own Cake First
If you’ve been reading our blog from the beginning, then you probably know that playing the tabletop role-playing game “Dungeons & Dragons” (D&D) is a favorite hobby of mine and of our daughters. Wizards of the Coast (WotC), the company that currently develops and publishes D&D, is in the process of creating a new version of the game and has decided to involve fans in an extended,...
Day 217(J): School for Independent Thinkers
On Day 182, Charles wrote about Sudbury Valley School in his post entitled “Living Flat”:
“Schools modeled after the Sudbury Valley School, which was established nearly 44 years ago in Massachusetts, even have a “Judicial Committee” which enforces the school rules. The committee is made up of a diverse selection of school members, both adults and children, and they hear both sides of a...
Day 216(C): Should's Double-Trouble
Over the long weekend I began thinking about the changes I’ve made in my life that have helped me to become the dramatically happier person that I am today. I’m trying to tease out what precepts have been the most helpful and distill them down into something simple I can focus on to keep myself on track. Today when I was walking with Jung, it occurred to me that one of the larger changes I’ve made...
Day 216(J): Simple and Effortless
“What are you up to?”
This question from a neighbor inquiring about where we are in our Soul Play Family 365 Experiment elicited a response that surprised myself. I started to talk about the journey we have been on, and I noticed that I did not have a concise and clear answer to the question. I cannot measure how far Soul Play Family has come because there is no map or plan we are following to...
Day 215: Memorial Day Haiku
Day of gratitude For brave souls who defended Our country’s freedom.
Day 214: A Pull, Not A Push
When we were walking to the Government Center “T” stop in Boston, Charles took this picture of the famous “giant tea kettle” because it struck him as funny that the 19th century “sign” is now above a Starbucks awning. (We remember that space being occupied by a Dunkin’ Donuts the last time we were there, years ago.) The Seattle company taking up residence in the shadow of that Boston landmark...
Day 213: Aligning House and Home
While we were away, especially toward the end of our trip, S and J became homesick. It was puzzling to us (their parents) because the entire family was together, albeit away from our house. So, Jung asked J, “How could you be homesick? We are all together. Isn’t your home where your family is?”
On the other hand, we, the parents, increasingly felt quite at home back in Massachusetts. By the time...
Day 212: Re-entry for Return
Although it was less than two weeks of time away from our current home to visit the Greater Boston area, we had such refreshing, enriching and rewarding experiences there that we can say confidently that it was a successful trip for all of us in Soul Play Family. We will be sharing more in the coming days what we discovered and rediscovered this time, and how we were able to make the decision to...
Day 211: Green Greeting
Today, after working at home a bit while waiting for the rain to stop, we struck out for our first Washington trail walk in over two weeks. We were amazed with how green and lush the area had become while we were away. At our favorite park we were greeted by meadows full of blooming buttercups, a hummingbird, and even two separate hawks, although they were both soaring so high that they were...
Day 210: Re-entry Day Haiku
Unpacking, shopping, And taking care of business; Sleepwalking all day.
We arrived home in the wee hours of the morning today, got a few hours of sleep, and have spent the day in a jet-lagged fog. We’re looking forward to re-adjusting to the time zone here, getting a good night’s sleep and getting back into our work!
Day 197(J+C): Landing Haiku
Our bodies are sore
Interminable plane flight
A happy landing
Day 196(C): We're Off to Explore
It’s time for us to explore.
So we’re headed out the door To look where we were before And see if there might be more
There
Than we saw in days of yore.
Day 196(J): Fun Haiku
Our packing is done. We’re off to Massachusetts Ready to have fun.
Day 195(C+J): Collaborative Coffee Cake Haiku
Family coffee cake Many hands worked together To make this sweet treat.
S and J helped Jung (while Charles took care of the dishes) to bake a scrumptious gluten-free sour cream coffee cake with cinnamon sugar filling. It was the perfect end of a long day and a beautiful expression of what Soul Play Family is about!
Day 194(C): Beautiful Day Haiku
Music, play and a Long walk and talk with my girl. A beautiful day.
Today the weather was gorgeous! Warm sun with cool shade seems to be the trademark summer day of the Seattle area and we got a sneak peek of such a day today. S and J had today off from school and all four of us had a lot we wanted to get done before bedtime, and we did it all! The key was the morning breakfast planning meeting...
Day 194(J): Remembering to Practice Magic
It is so easy to forget the magic and miracles that persist in life.
Lately I have had an uneasy feeling on and off — like I am in a rut; a kind of routine that does not invigorate me. So, I wondered whether it was time for me to switch gears, and get into a more active mode. Then I naturally thought that what I needed was clearer direction, focused action, and a timely decision....
Day 193(C): Upstream-Downstream Haiku
When is one stubborn And when is one tenacious? It’s all perspective.
Today I started S on a new piano piece and I was surprised to discover that she liked it very much. I’m never sure when a piece of music is going to catch one of my daughters’ fancy and it’s always fun when it does. In this case, it made the lesson a lot easier.
S’s engagement with the music...
Day 193(J): Good-Bye Old (Coffee) & Hello New...
I remember how frequently I drank coffee when I was working as a law firm associate in Boston soon after graduating from law school. I needed caffeine to stay afloat. Par-for-the-course long hours to meet monthly billable requirements, tedious tasks that I would readily trade for watching paint dry, and being under constant pressure to meet clients’ needs in time (e.g., “It should have been...
Day 192(C): I Press On
In her post today, Jung talked about the work of spoken word poet, Sarah Kay, and Jung referenced Sarah Kay’s performance at TED entitled, “If I should have a daughter….” This performance and talk is extremely rich, and I plan to re-watch it because I know I will get more out of it each time, but on my first watching, two things in particular struck me.
First, I was struck by the way...
Day 192(J): Spoken Word Poetry as Rebuilder’s...
Thanks to Seth Godin’s blog post today entitled “Mother’s Day is May 13,” I discovered a gem!
If you haven’t “met” Sarah Kay yet, please watch this TED video featuring Sarah: “If I should have a daughter…”
True to Seth Godin’s own experience watching the video, it made me cry. The beauty, creativity and humanity I experienced in Sarah Kay’s brilliant artistry spoke to my heart and connected with...
Day 191(C): Remembering Dad
My father passed away six years ago today. He was a powerful man. A childhood friend of mine told me today that she remembers him as being “larger than life” but also as one of the few dads she was comfortable being around as a child. He was a successful attorney, and a leader in the church and community. Yet at the same time, I knew him as a vulnerable man who hid his insecurities behind an...
Day 191(J): Memorial Haiku
My father-in-law Passed away six years ago; We miss him dearly.
Day 190(C): Exercise Your Imagination
During lunch today, I mentioned to Jung that I think we have a real crisis of imagination in our country. In my opinion, there aren’t enough people imagining new solutions, and in particular, there aren’t enough people trying “impossible things.”
Jung responded that she disagreed. She thinks there is plenty of imagination, but it’s mostly in the children. Most adults don’t have it because it’s...
Day 190(J): What Is Your Idea of Success?
When I find myself at odds with another person or group of people who have different or opposite views from mine, especially when I am engaged in a face-to-face situation, I often silently try to bridge the difference by remembering my mantra: “We all want the same thing: to be loved and be successful.” This reminder brings me back to my center, and enables me to see the common ground which...
Day 189(C): Listening is Fun
Today my composition team had its first meeting with the founding teacher of our course to discuss the film we’ll be scoring. It’s actually the first time we’ve had this kind of direct interaction with him — previously he only delivered lectures to us. It was a fun session for me and in the middle of it I noticed that I was behaving very differently than I did when I had small seminar...
Day 189(J): Epicurus on Happiness
Through Happiness Initiative’s Facebook page feed, I discovered Alain de Botton.
When I saw the following blurb for his short (24-minute) documentary entitled, “Philosophy: A Guide to Happiness - Epicurus on Happiness,” two words — “philosophy” and “happiness” jumped out at me. I could not resist watching and listening to what he had to say on this enticing topic:
“Popularly misconceived...
Day 188(C): Fellowship of the Pie
At dinner tonight I was reflecting on why I felt so good about today.
It started with a little loop I composed in Garage Band last night that surprised me in how much fun it was to improvise over. I decided to set it up for S today to try improvising over on her own. She had a blast and Jung and I had a lot of fun just listening to what she came up with.
Later today, S and I played the Massively...
Day 188(J): Back to Basics
A friend shared a Forbes online article entitled, “Intelligence Is Overrated: What You Really Need To Succeed” Not surprisingly, according to this article, IQ — “an indicator of logical reasoning ability and technical intelligence” — is necessary but not sufficient for achieving success. Although the article is intended for a corporate audience, I would agree that this is generally...
