Revealing Pain Through Beauty

Last week while I was at the Texas Counseling Association conference in Dallas, Texas, my wife, daughter and I went to hear the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. They were performing Concerto in E minor for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 85 by English composer Edward Elgar. They also performed Pavane, Op. 50 and Requiem, Op. 48 by French Composer Gabriel Faure’. I had never heard of these composers so we attended the lecture prior to the performance to learn more about the composers. I highly recommend taking advantage of any community lectures before a classical performance as the information adds to the enjoyment of the performing of the musical works.

With Edward Elgar I was surprised that I was familiar with one of his works. Matter of fact anyone who has graduated would be familiar with his Pomp and Circumstance No. 1 that is played as a march at most high school and university graduations. His cello concerto was composed in his later years. It is a dark emotional work reflecting the mindset of Elgar, who had become disillusioned like many after WWI with the atrocities of mass killings and mustard gas killings. Also his wife that he loved dearly was gravely ill and he was facing illness as well. The program listed a quote from a letter he wrote that showed Elgar’s mindset, “Everything good and nice and clean is far away never to return.”
Knowing what his mindset was, I was setting up myself to hear a depressing sad piece. Yet as the young cellist, Alisa Weilerstein, performed her magic on the piece, I was captured with the beauty of the notes and emotion rising from the music. Yes, melancholic and dark, but still beautiful at the same time. It made me think of the wonder of the creative mind of Elgar to be going through personal pain yet creating music that could showcase the beauty of the range of tones from the cello.

With Gabriel Faure’ he was a contemporary of Elgar and the pre-performance lecture noted they had even met. Faure’ was trained in his schooling to go into church music and he started as a church organist. The requiem was a funeral mass piece Faure’ composed. So again at the lecture I was thinking another depressing piece about death. A difference was mentioned though compared to regular funeral mass music Faure’ wanted to take a different view of death. Most requiems that were popular at that time period, emphasized judgment in death. His requiem focused on solace and rest. The program notes listed a quote from Faure’ “It has been said that my Requiem does not express the fear of death and someone has called it a lullaby of death. But it is thus that we see death: as a happy deliverance, an aspiration toward happiness above; rather than a painful experience.” What a powerful statement as a way to look at death. It caused me to think back to my mother’s death years ago and the joy that was expressed at her home-going celebration at her church, remembering hymns she enjoyed and also as people shared kind thoughts about her.

When we heard the Requiem performed the Dallas Symphony choir performed along with the piece. The piece was far from depressing instead sections were majestic and powerful and other sections where light and airy. The solo “Pie Jesu” was performed by soprano Susanna Phillips. Her voice was amazing in capturing the emotion and lightness of the piece. In the reflection section below I have a short video clip of Barbara Bonney performing this solo. Do give it a listen.

Pain and death are subjects we don’t like to consider but they are part and parcel of our life journey. It helps us to understand these negative aspects of life through the creative mind of the artist, poet, or music composer as they bring bring beauty and different ways to understand the topics.

Reflection - What solace do you turn to during times of pain or grief through loss? To these composers who lived in difficult times of the hardships right after WWI music was a solace to use as an outlet. Take a listen to “Pie Jesu” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJanc3-a320 and think over what you felt after listening to it

The Book of Eli and Summer Reading

As I was in the grocery story recently I noticed Oprah Winfrey’s recent issue of her O magazine. Actually it was a byline that caught my attention. The line was “O’s Summer Reading List”. That is one aspect of Oprah I have always appreciated is her steady support of reading. It reminded me that reading is often promoted during the Summer months. As I have stated before I was always involved with the Summer Reading Programs at my hometown library in Barberton, Ohio from second grade on up. Those programs helped shape me into becoming a Bookhead.

As I see fewer and fewer College students reading or even complaining about reading I believe it is important to keep promoting the importance of reading. In the lounge areas of campus you used to see students with books open now they just sit there blankly staring at the screens of their ipads with headphones on. As I glance at the screens there is often some type of video or movie playing. I think to myself what are we creating for the future. For the most part a continual diet of videos perpetuates a passive mind as the mind is simply soaking in the sounds and images. Reading text forces the mind to be active in seeking meaning and builds creativity as the mind has to create the images being described instead of being spoon fed the images via video.

Pondering what I see in people addicted to staring at their plastic video screens caused me to ponder what if society lost literacy and reading altogether. A movie I had seen some time ago then popped into my mind. I watched it again as I was thinking over the importance of reading. The movie is The Book of Eli. It is R rated as it has some graphic violence, so it is not a movie for small children but it is good for the older viewer to think through human nature and I found important concepts related to reading in it.

In the movie Eli, played by Denzel Washington is on a mission given to him by a mystical vision to carry a copy of the King James Bible out West to a destination unknown to him. It is based in the future after a great war that has decimated the country and the world. In his travels he comes to a town that is run by a despotic controlling man named Carnegie and his thug henchmen. Eli stops to get a rare commodity in a bar – water. After a fight scene the despot ruler of the town understands there is something different about Eli.

Carnegie is a collector of books and he is looking for a copy of the Bible as they were all burned after the war but he knows a supposedly one copy still existed. He is looking for the Bible as he feels it will give him power and control over people. It is clearly seen that this ruler of the town is the only one who can read. His thugs that look for books in their illiteracy think it is foolish to just be looking for books. Carnegie discerns that Eli can read and a short interlude between them speaks volumes to the importance of reading:

Carnegie “Do You read?”
Eli “Everyday”
Carnegie “People like you and me are the future”

The two of them were the only two in the town who could read. The town was brutish and full of savagery. Is that how life would be without literacy? The movie shows the human nature conflict between Carnegie in his quest to get the The Bible from Eli once he finds out Eli has it. There is much to be learned about human nature and good and evil as Carnegie wants the book for controlling purposes and Eli humbly on a mission, wants to get the book to somewhere out West to it’s rightful destination.

Back to the three line conversation that spoke to me. In promoting reading we need to show young people the importance of reading for their future. Readers are building the creative and critical thinking skills needed for the future. The best way to promote reading is to read ourselves. Then we can also encourage others to read. In using this movie I do see the importance in other media. Yet back to the concept of the passive mind versus the active mind. I have observed even in myself, that when I am watching a movie unless it is a documentary my mind is definitely more passive that when I am reading.

So as you go through this Summer make reading a part of it. Then remember reading doesn’t end with Summer make it a year round activity. Support your local books stores and local libraries.

Reflection: What book or books are you reading this Summer? Why is reading important for our lives and society?

Appreciating Passion for Creativity in Artisans

Whether it is browsing through Chicago street fairs, small towns across America or little family run shops along the Texas/Mexico border I have always enjoyed viewing the creative skill that goes into the crafts of pottery, tapestries, figurines and the like. Possibly because I have zero artistic talent I am often awestruck with the artistry and painstakingly detail found in many art crafts. At art fairs there is opportunity to speak with the artist and hear his or her story of their passion concerning the creative process. When in a store and the crafts are on the shelf one can only wonder about the artisan who did the creating of the craft piece.

What would we hear if we could hear the stories of the artisans being the pieces of arts and crafts in store shelves or street fairs? Travis Whitehead, a newspaper reporter in the Brownsville and Harlingen, Texas area, who I have had the pleasure to know over the past number of years, has used his creativity and storytelling skills to bring to life the stories of artisans. These stories can be found in his first book, Artisans of Michoacan – By Their Hands. (Click on the title to learn how to purchase a copy).

The Artisans he focused in on are from the state of Michoacan in Mexico. He spent years of travel to that area of Mexico getting to know the local artisans interviewing them to hear their stories of their lives and why they followed the career path of being an artisan. He delves into the variety of crafts that can be found throughout that region of Mexico. Some of the craft covered are pottery, weavings of cloth and baskets, lacquer ware, metal crafts and musical instruments. My favorite story came at the end of the book. Since one of my passions is guitars it came to no surprise to me that a story of a guitar maker in the town of Paracho was the most important in my view. Travis showcases the story of Carlos Pina who had been hand making guitars in this small town for the past 43 years. Pina’s pride in making a quality handmade guitar rings throughout the interview. His story shows how his one son is following in the footsteps of his father, as the father Carlos teaches his son the artistic trade of guitar making.

Reading the many stories I saw commonalities come through each of the stories that we all can learn and grow in our own career paths. Each person whether their craft was pottery or weaving had a personal passion for what they were doing. There is no sign that they were weaving simply to just get by. Obviously for them it was their bread and butter economically but they show a deep personal interest in their artistic craft. Because of this personal passion they had a positive sense of pride in their workmanship. Also in most of the stories I saw a desire not to stay stagnant but to continually improve and learn how to do their craft better. This mindset relates well to lifelong learning. It is easy to get into a rut in any kind of work if there is no desire to improve or continue to grow. I saw the growing and improving mindset in each of the stories of the artisans Travis interviewed.

Travis by using his artistic talent of capturing the hearts and passion of the artisans’ stories helps each of us appreciate the work that goes into the arts and crafts we see in stores that sell handmade crafts. By hearing their stories we also can reflect on the artistry of our own callings as teachers, nurses, engineers, or customer services representatives. Do we carry an attitude of passion and continual growth into our daily work? How can we keep improving in the work we have been called on to do?

Reflection: Next time you are at a craft store or street market take some time to explore some of the handmade crafts. Imagine the stories behind the craft piece you are looking at. Think over your occupation and write down three ways you can improve and learn more to improve your work.

Creative Expressions for Your Career Journey

I breathed a sigh of relief yesterday as I viewed the 2011 National Career Development Poetry and Poster winners on the NCDA website. This ends my two years of being national chairperson for the contest. I have enjoyed being a part of promoting the contest here in Texas and these past two years on the National front. The NCDA has a volunteer chairperson every two years so new people can add input into improving the contest.


The purpose of the contest is to allow all ages to dream of their career ideas using the creative mediums of poetry and posters. Creativity can touch all areas of our lives even our work life. We spend over 100,000 hours of our lifetime is the work area of our lives. So the contest concept is to encourage people to look at their vocational life so as to move towards something they will enjoy doing in that significant time frame.


As I look over my vocational side of my life, I have had all types of occupations, library and janitorial work through my high school and college years. There have been various companies I have worked for in shipping/receiving, warehouse work and customer service during college and after college. More recently I enjoyed working with students at a South Texas college and university. I am thankful as I have enjoyed my various jobs for the most part. I believe it is helpful to take time to savor our more enjoyable times in our work life. Poetry and posters are one way to do this.


By creatively savoring our career journey we can gain insight on improving our present work situation. It gives a new angle to looking at the routines of our work and see how we are making a difference for other people and the world through the work we do. Writing a short poem about your passion for your work can be a motivator as you keep the poem nearby at your work station. We can also possible open our minds to new career shifts as well.
We can also learn from seeing how others view their careers. That is one reason I enjoy the NCDA career contest. By looking over the poems and the artwork I can learn how others appreciate their work dreams. I encourage you to take a few minutes and look at some of the winners’ poems and posters by clicking here on NCDA Career Contest.



Read over some of the poems and view some of the posters. Take some quiet time to think over what you felt or learned from the poems or posters you looked at? Reflect over some of your favorite moments in your various work situations. Maybe it was a special impact you had on a co-worker or customer. Maybe is was a project you had a passion for and you saw it come to fruition. Work can be a constant drudgery if we have a negative attitude. Work does not have to be that way. I believe work is not meant to be that way. We can keep an attitude of creative expression to keep spiraling up to better service and positive relations with those we serve with and the customers we serve. That is what I saw exuded in the students career dreams and the dreams of the adult winners. So as you start your work day go into it with a positive attitude of creative joy.


Reflection: If you enjoy poetry writing write a poem about your philosophy of work and enjoying your career. If you are not a poet try drawing a picture of the same concept. Or you can make a collage of pictures and positive words about enjoying your career in a poster format. Creatively express yourself. Also check out the NCDA website www.ncda.org in September to see the theme for next year’s contest and join in on the career creativity.