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Posts tagged ‘calm’

Music Changed Lives

Today’s JetPack prompt was:
Describe something you learned in high school.

Here’s my answer:

When I was in high school,
I sang in the choir
and I played clarinet in the band and orchestra.
I learned a lot about music.

During the summers of my junior & senior years,
my parents made it possible for me
to attend Music Camp at the College of the Pacific.

I learned there that the accordion was not considered a real instrument.

(Hah! “Welcome to heaven, here’s your harp.
Welcome to hell, here’s your accordion.”
My friends always shared jokes about it.)

I had to learn to play the piano!
That was so hard.
(My hands are small
and my fingers
don’t reach an octave!)

I also learned that a choir or band/orchestra conductor
could be very humble and quiet
and still demand and receive respect.

During my senior year,
I viewed those conductors
in my high school
with a new set of eyes and ears
after singing and playing under the guidance
of folks like Jester Harrison,
Dr. Bodley,
and Curt Herbert Adler
during summer camp.

And because I was exposed
each summer to music therapy at C.O.P.,
I listened to music and internalized it
with a whole new set of ears.

This video is an experience with music
that my Swiss family shared.

Different kinds of music
creates different responses.
You can blow it off.
You can dance to it,
or you can join in!
Hah!
That music makes me hyper!
That’s our DeDe and her hubby, Andre’ in there!!

Music from a cello
or other soothing stringed instrument
sets my mind and body at ease.
Piano music can be very soothing.
Depends on the choice, of course.

This is my choice for soothing music.
If you have some time and want to just listen for a while,
see how this music relaxes you!
In contrast, ask “Alexa, shuffle music by Fluffy Machine.”
That’s my grandson, Nicky’s band. Oh my, it’ll jazz you up!

What’s one way I used “Music Therapy”
in my classroom?
It’s based on the Iso Principle.
Match the mood of the music
to the person’s mood;
Change the mood of the music,
and the person’s mood changes with it.


When my students came in from recess,
they were all hyper.
I played hyper music on my accordion
to match their mood
and gradually changed it to
calmer sounds.
Then we sang a song,

“It’s math time, math time,
Time to have some fun.
Please get out your books now,
Turn to page ___,
Be ready.
OK, we’ve begun.”

black click pen on white paper
Photo by Lum3n on Pexels.com

It worked!
They were all on the right page
and ready to begin!

Parade Magazine once had an article about music.
In it, the author wrote,
“Can you imagine your life without music?
It’s almost impossible.
Whether we are cruising in the car
headed to the beach on a hot summer day
or listening to muzak at a doctor’s office,
we are constantly surrounded by song.
Makeups, breakups, parties, hanging out with friends,
singing along with our kids, or caroling a Christmas tune
music stamps nearly every aspect of our life.
Much in the way a killer soundtrack accompanies a movie,
most of us have songs that accent each phase of our lives,
melodies that instantly bring us back
to specific moments or memories
when we hear them even years later.”

Is there a song or a piece of music that impacted your life?
Here is one of my favorites.

You can go to YouTube to hear this music
or you can ask “Alexa” or “Siri” to play this song by Susan Boyle.
It is the Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi.
I love it… and I want to be exactly that.

Let music change your life – every day!
Thank you, JetPack, for this prompt.
Thank you, dear blogging friends, for visiting.

See ya tomorrow.
Love,
JanBeek

Embrace the Flow

Although the flow
May feel like a free fall,
Embrace the flow.
There’s Someone at your call.

He’s right there to catch you
When you’re about to land.
He won’t let you crash –
He’ll hold out His hand!

Yesterday Bob & I dashed off to Bozeman for three reasons –
and there ended up being four… oh actually five:

  1. Drop off his pickup at “Dark Horse Snug Tops” to replace the hinge on his hatch cover
  2. Go to an appointment with the nephrologist (what’s that? -the doctor who deals with the branch of medicine related to physiology and diseases of the kidneys-)
  3. Keep an appointment with the cardiologist (you all know that’s a heart doctor), and an unexpected
  4. X-ray of his abdomen… oh, and I was there for a 5th reason:
  5. To shop for the veggies to make vegetable soup for tomorrow’s fellowship at church

We were hoping that the nephrologist would say his kidneys show no signs of protein or amyloid deposits – and so a biopsy would not be necessary. God answered that prayer!

We were hoping the cardiologist would say all the preliminary tests are done and show no signs of AL Amyloidosis (the cancerous kind) – and so no more labs and scans before our trip to Mayo Clinic in January. God answered that prayer.

The unexpected x-ray showed yes, the abdomen area is full of air (that’s why it sounds like a kettle drum when you tap on it) – but it’s not fluid – and he’s not showing signs like pain or vomiting – so we won’t deal with that issue right now. God is good! We trust His timing on this – (and all our other decisions).

I got my veggie shopping done (Thanks, CostCo, for your lovely fruits and veggies) – and …

The pickup latch cover hinge was fixed and BONUS: they replaced the key mechanism that was troubling (God answers prayers you didn’t know to mention … He’s way ahead of you!)

So, go with the flow…

John 7:38

“Out of the believer’s heart
will flow rivers of living water.”

Today’s word in Unity‘s Daily Word is FLOW. The introductory thought is, “I flow with the nourishing life of God.” John 7:38 is the featured scripture. The devotional (quoting Lao Tzu) says, “The supreme good is like water, which nourishes all things, without trying to.”

As believers, we know that “supreme good” is God. We know God is “The Flow.”

Unity‘s Daily Word goes on to say, “Whether I experience this flow as a current of a river, the swelling of ocean waves, or my body’s life-sustaining circulation, I am in sync with this flow, which by its nature knows which way to go and what to do.”

How refreshing is that thought to you? It nourishes my soul. By the Holy Spirit, I know God’s life is in me – moving, changing, dancing and singing. I am one with the flow. I need not dash and rush and worry about things happening on time! I need not worry about Bob’s heart and kidneys, his abdomen or his pickup. I need not worry about his lack of stamina on the drive home. Just go with the flow – and trust. Follow along in the car – and honk if his pickup drifts and he seems to be falling asleep!!

Sometimes the flow is slow and steady … and I am out there in a fiery mood, trying to rush it along.

Don’t be in a rush
To try to get too much done.
Let the smooth flow of God
Stop you mid-run!

Delight in the sneakiness
Of a red sunset’s glow,
And take time to relish
The soft taste of snow.

Embrace the joy
Of vegetables’ texture and smell,
The magic of herbs as they cook,
And bid stressing farewell!

Embrace the flow
Of God in your life.
Let Him slow you down
As you eliminate strife.

Don’t worry about health.
Don’t stress over unfinished tasks.
Just go with the flow –
And take time for some laughs!

Overflow this Advent season
with the love of Christ Jesus,
the guidance of the Holy Spirit,
and the easy flow of God
answering prayers
in your life.

See ya tomorrow (God willing)
Love,
JanBeek

Embrace the Flow!

And Have a Relaxed, blessed Advent Season!

Embrace Majestic Calmness

Happy June 1st to you.
The “Official” start of summer!
And we finally have springtime in the Rockies.

Life can be hectic
Embrace Majestic Calmness
Play some “Spa Music”


Life can be stressful
Embrace Majestic Calmness
Take a walk outside

Life is difficult
Embrace Majestic Calmness
Take some time to pray

A life filled with faith
Embraces Everyday Calm
Knowing Who’s in charge


Have a Terrific Tuesday, my friends.
I hope you’re enjoying that spa music
And it is calming your soul.


What other ways do you have for finding calmness?

See ya tomorrow.
Love,
JanBeek

Embrace Thoughtfulness

Embrace Thoughtfulness

It’s Thoughtful Thursday
A day to step back – reflect
What does today hold?

I won’t jump right in
I’ll stand at the water’s edge
Dip my toe in it

Think about the day
Ponder possibilities
Hear my soul speaking

Photo by Manuela Adler on Pexels.com

Embrace Thoughtfulness
Listen to thoughts as water
Falls with purity



Pile rocks as you pray
Putting important things first
Each rock is a task

Choose them carefully
Tasks are opportunities
Order thoughtfully

Photo by Daisa TJ on Pexels.com

Let your thoughts reflect
Then allow them to emerge
As a daily plan

Pause, pray and listen
Plan, and then jump in with faith
Embrace Thoughtfulness.

Photo by Camila Cordeiro on Pexels.com

Philippians 4:8

Finally, brethren, whatever is true,
whatever is honorable,
whatever is right,
whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely,
whatever is of good repute,
if there is any excellence
and if anything worthy of praise,
dwell on these things.


Have a calm, thoughtful, and a purposeful Thursday.

See ya tomorrow.
JanBeek

Embrace Calm

Let’s all embrace calm
Quiet our souls and listen
Hear each other’s hearts

Let’s all embrace calm
Be still and let minutes pass
In loving silence

Embrace calm with me
Sync your heart to the tick-tock
Of peaceful minutes

Embrace calm today
Reflect on the poignant words
Of Amanda’s poem

Anderson Cooper
Interviewed that young lady
Then posted a link

Many people wrote
Responded to interview
With posts like this one:

Replying to @andersoncooper and @TheAmandaGorman
“Awww I loved that,
you all sat and talked about poetry for at least 5 minutes.
So relaxing.
Probably the least stressed ya have been for 4 years.
Words have power for good too..
let’s rinse off the negative.”

Amanda Gorman’s Inauguration Poem:
“The Hill We Climb”

It was posted in paragraph form.
I am sure that’s not how she wrote it.
I have tried to separate the stanzas as she might have,
I am sure I don’t have them all right, but I tried…
and the poem is so beautiful that
even written as prose – it is downright gorgeous!



Mr. President, Dr. Biden, Madam Vice President, Mr. Emhoff, Americans and the world,


When day comes we ask ourselves
where can we find light
in this never-ending shade?
The loss we carry a sea
we must wade.
We’ve braved the belly of the beast.
We’ve learned that quiet
isn’t always peace.
In the norms and notions
of what just is isn’t always justice.
And yet, the dawn is ours before we knew it.
Somehow we do it.
Somehow we’ve weathered
and witnessed a nation
that isn’t broken,
but simply unfinished.
We, the successors of a country
and a time where a skinny black girl
descended from slaves
and raised by a single mother
can dream of becoming president
only to find herself reciting for one.

And yes, we are far from polished,
far from pristine,
but that doesn’t mean
we are striving to form
a union that is perfect.
We are striving to forge
our union with purpose.
To compose a country
committed to all cultures, colors,
characters, and conditions of man.
And so we lift our gazes
not to what stands between us,
but what stands before us.
We close the divide
because we know to put our future first,
we must first put our differences aside.
We lay down our arms
so we can reach out our arms to one another.
We seek harm to none and harmony for all.
Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true.
That even as we grieved, we grew.
That even as we hurt, we hoped.
That even as we tired, we tried
that we’ll forever be tied together, victorious.
Not because we will never again know defeat,
but because we will never again sow division.

Scripture tells us to envision that everyone
shall sit under their own vine and fig tree
and no one shall make them afraid.
If we’re to live up to her own time,
then victory won’t lie in the blade,
but in all the bridges we’ve made.
That is the promise to glade,
the hill we climb if only we dare.
It’s because being American
is more than a pride we inherit.
It’s the past we step into
and how we repair it.
We’ve seen a forest that would shatter
our nation rather than share it.
Would destroy our country
if it meant delaying democracy.
And this effort very nearly succeeded.

But while democracy
can be periodically delayed,
it can never be permanently defeated.
In this truth, in this faith we trust
for while we have our eyes on the future,
history has its eyes on us.
This is the era of just redemption.
We feared it at its inception.
We did not feel prepared to be the heirs
of such a terrifying hour,
but within it, we found the power
to author a new chapter,
to offer hope and laughter
to ourselves so while once we asked,
how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?
Now we assert, how could catastrophe
possibly prevail over us?

We will not march back to what was,
but move to what shall be a country
that is bruised, but whole,
benevolent, but bold,
fierce, and free.
We will not be turned around
or interrupted by intimidation
because we know our inaction
and inertia will be the inheritance
of the next generation.
Our blunders become their burdens.
But one thing is certain,
if we merge mercy with might
and might with right,
then love becomes our legacy
and change our children’s birthright.

So let us leave behind
a country better than one we were left.
With every breath from my bronze-pounded chest
we will raise this wounded world
into a wondrous one.
We will rise from the gold-limbed hills of the West.
We will rise from the wind-swept Northeast
where our forefathers first realized revolution.
We will rise from the Lake Rim cities
of the Midwestern states.
We will rise from the sun-baked South.
We will rebuild, reconcile and recover
in every known nook of our nation,
in every corner called our country
our people diverse and beautiful
will emerge battered and beautiful.
When day comes,
we step out of the shade
aflame and unafraid.
The new dawn blooms as we free it.
For there is always light.
If only we’re brave enough to see it.
If only we’re brave enough to be it.

-Amanda Gorman,
USA national poet laureate

Photo by Brett Sayles on Pexels.com

Let’s embrace calm –
and be brave enough
in our calmness
to “step out of the shade
aflame and unafraid…”

Ready to join the cause of unity and peace.
Ready to work for social and racial equality.
Ready to do our part to make the world
a better place.

Love to you,
JanBeek

Seaside

164913C0-2470-4FB3-9B62-D527FF2F3DDD.jpeg

Serenity is

Calm rhythm of the seaside

It soothes my spirit

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