Rhapsody In Blue Jeans

Jim Valvano said, “There are three things you should do everyday.  You should laugh everyday…you should think – you should spend some time in thought…you should have your emotions moved to tears you cry – that’s a full day.  You do that seven days a week and you’re gonna have something special.”

Rhapsody:  a piece of music that is meant to express a lot of emotion and does not have a regular form

a (1) : a highly emotional utterance (2) : a highly emotional literary work (3) : effusively rapturous or extravagant discourse
b: a musical composition of irregular form having an improvisatory character

Life is musical.  Sometimes cacophonous. Sometimes harmonic.  A lot of mundane elevator tunes.  But musical.

The treble clef of day – sometimes a flurry of eighth and sixteenth notes, many quarter and half notes.  Up and down and full of emotion.  It creates the ambience of life on which is played our individual ballad.

The bass clef of night.  Deep notes, rest.  It is always impending.

Together the clefs work to hold the music of our lives.  Each day a measure.  Each week a line.  Each month a refrain.  Each year a verse.  The never-ending ballad of life.

Yet irregular.  If one thing can be expected in life, is it not the unexpected?  Unexpected news.  Unexpected parting.  Unexpected health situation.  Unexpected meeting.  Life is music moving in unexpected patterns and rhythms.

Whether one’s life exudes a sweet serenade or a cacophonous cackle or something in between often depends on one’s skills to improvise following the unexpected.  Some panic.  Some buckle.  Some change course.  Some become bitter.  Some laugh.  Some cry.  Some turn inward.  Some lash out.  And each of us becomes who we are.

As we live life.

A rhapsody.