Sustaining the Notes

I hear songs. I suppose that I write songs since I do write them down, but generally I hear them first. Not sure why although I have noticed that my kids hear them too. I have lots of songs, not sure of the actual number but it's probably well over 100 by now. At first I thought that hearing songs meant that I was supposed to sing them, preferably in front of large audiences for large amounts of money. But over time I've realized that that's not really what they're for.

I was listening to Simon Schneidermann on CBC the other day and I heard him say that we need the arts to make sense of the chaos that we are living in. They're a necessary part of understanding ourselves. I suppose one could extrapolate that having written more than 100 songs, I must have a really good understanding of myself. I suppose I do. Or it means that there is an awful lot of chaos in my life.

In the book, The Turbulent Mirror: An Illustrated Guide to Chaos Theory and the Science of Wholeness, the authors John Briggs and David Peat illuminate the patterns that exist in the chaos, the chaos that for so many years, has been beaten into submission by numbers and mathematical equations. I like to think that the songs I hear lead me to the patterns that anchor me in this world, even when it appears I am floating free or out of control.

Sustainability is about acknowledging and honoring the patterns, and songs help me find them. A pretty good fit I think. And so the songs instead of leading me to enormous audiences and concert stages, have taken me on a journey of heartache, hell raising and healing, a masters degree and several community development projects. That is why I believe that arts are integral in educating for sustainability. They help us see the world in completely different ways.