Writing Ribbons

Every now and then I'll hear or read something that I think is a message everyone should hear.   The most recent message was Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Drum Major Instinct" sermon.  I had about two-thirds of a thoughtful blog post finished when my flatmate Dan came in asking me what I was doing.  Before I knew it, we were both getting right into listening to the sermon and then I didn't have the motivation or words to finish the post afterwards hoping to pick it up later.  Unfortunately I don't think blogging works quite that way.  Or at least not to create the spontaneous and continuous ribbons of thought that I like to post. So I decided to scrap the post for now and start fresh when I can pound out one complete work in one sitting.  I'm finding that blogging more closely related to improvisational drumming than writing an essay.  I just kind of let whatever's on my mind come to my fingertips with out really suppressing it.  Go with the flow.  Luigi and Brian, my previous drum teachers both told me that improvisation was largely about not stopping.  Letting the crazy ideas, habits, and responses just flow from brain to hand without worrying so much if it's "right" and not stopping when something doesn't go exactly as planned.  Collect yourself on the fly and move on to the next phrase, fill, or in this case word that you get to create. (Applicable advice for more than just drumming and blogging.)  In this light, blogging becomes a snapshot of my thoughts in the moment as it exists right now.  Put in succession with other posts, hopefully we start to see a photo album of consciousness.  We'll see if I keep up with the ol' blog when I get home but for now I quite enjoy it.  It's a good sort of active meditation and reflection for me.  And it fills in the gaps between skype conversations, or fills in half the gaps I should say since blogging is a pretty one sided method of communication.  Kind of like talking with your pets.  You feel they're listening but input on their end tends to be lacking.  With that, time for bed.   This weekend's forecast included sunshine and I've thrown in a chance of farmer's market and hiking just for good measure.  Love you all.