words

Growing up in a musical family, I practiced the flute daily. I worked hard to stay true to what I saw on the page, translating lines and spaces into something I could hear in my mind’s eye. These days, a different kind of practice holds me to account.

Writing in the early 20th century, philosopher Simone Weil described attention as a rare and pure form of generosity. Attention, Weil contended, is something like prayer. More recently, author-activist adrienne maree brown characterized attention as one of our most valuable resources. Attending deeply is the foundation of learning and liberation. It is also the foundation of my practice. To be present – to our surroundings and stories, to the systems that shape our worlds, to our full selves, and to one another – is what Wendell Berry calls our “real work.”

Mine unfolds here, in a melody of my own making, born of harmonies gifted generations ago. Practicing presence, I return to the page and listen. These transcriptions capture moments when breath and music and word become life.

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