This past week has been crazy (let’s be real, this past year has been destabilizing), and it seems appropriate to throw out what I had written and instead address this moment. I don’t have a solution for America’s myriad problems nor closing the ever-increasing divide, but I can offer you a temporary salve - music.
As I write this, I am listening to Brad Mehldau’s CD “After Bach.” Mehldau intersperses his own compositions with recordings of five of Bach’s pieces from The Well-Tempered Clavier books. In addition to composing the opening and closing tracks, Mehldau follows each Bach with a composition inspired by the track before it. Something about its construction is so pleasing to listen to right now- the traditional, comforting, standard Baroque and then the unwinding, unexpected turns of Brad’s jazzy harmonies. I highly recommend you listen, either actively or while doing other things.
I hope that you find comfort and companionship through music and it helps you process your thoughts and feelings about the state of affairs. I’ll close out with two quotes for your consideration:
“Life is chaos; be kind.” - Michelle McNamara
"In times of stress, the best thing we can do for each other is to listen with our ears and our hearts and to be assured that our questions are just as important as our answers.” - Mr. Fred Rogers