Is there anything better than an evening listening to smooth jazz? I find listening to KennyG, Nat King Cole, Sade, Paul Taylor and others brings a comforting mellowness to my mood. I am relaxed and able to block the turmoil of my country out for awhile. Sipping Pinot Noir also helps erase the tension I usually feel.
And why do I feel tension? Because I watch the morning and evening news. And why, in fact, do I watch news that cause me to feel hopeless and helpless? Because I want to know what good and bad happenings are occurring. I believe I have an obligation to follow events taking place throughout my country and world. I want to be informed and be knowledgeable about politics, science, history, humanity, and worldwide events. How else can I make a positive difference and hopefully teach others to think about how their actions affect others? How else can I participate in knowledgeable discussion and make valid decisions on how to live my life?
As I listen to these jazz musicians I notice they are mostly Black artists, and I wonder how they can create such beautiful music when they have felt deprivations of freedoms that I have always enjoyed? The music is peaceful and comfortable. There is no hatred in this music. I hear romance, love, serenity and friendliness. Can you imagine what it felt like to be Nat King Cole or Ray Charles or the hundreds of black musicians who, after entertaining their white audiences, were not allowed to dine where whites ate or enter the same hotels as those who applauded them? I believe those terrible days are in the past, and yet there are those who still show disrespect and hate toward black skinned human beings. I find that unimaginable. I do understand the enmity many black citizens feel toward we white skinned people. We have allowed hate-filled whites to terrorize our black neighbors and cause them to be fearful of walking through our mostly white neighborhoods and our cities. I see the Black Lives Matter movement, which includes participants of all colors of skin, to be a hopeful step toward a better, kinder nation and world. I would like to see this happen during my lifetime, and since I am well into my 70’s, the world better hurry.
And as usual, I wander from my initial thoughts, and so now I return to my mellow, or is it melancholy, mood. I finished my wine, I’ve listened to hours of awesome music, and I am tired.
PaintedAppy 