Bright colors, bright ideas, bright minds, bright hearts. Blue skies and grey skies and all that accompanies them. Moonlight and rivers and cool, mossy stones. Quiet time and good tea. Hiking, walking, watching, being. Health and wholeness. Connecting with people on a deep level. Writing about everything. Remembering to breathe. Contemplation, the meeting of heart and mind. Rocks and stones and shells and bones. All paths of love.
People who inspire me. People who are courageous. People with twinkles in their eyes and good stories to tell. People who understand the value of a good hug. People who are tired of violence in all its manifestations. People who aren't afraid to be who they are. People who know their truth and live it fearlessly. People who want to change the world. And the love of my life.
Honestly, I prefer silence over listening to music most of the time. I can only devote my attention to one thing at a time, and when I listen to music, I don't want to be doing anything else. I rarely make the time to just listen to music, though...sometimes while cooking or taking a hot bath. Right now, I have been really enjoying soothing, mellow music like Loreena McKennit and Sarah McLachlan. I also like Gillian Welch and The Be Good Tanyas. Simon and Garfunkel. John Denver. Joni Mitchell's earliest work. I've been a huge Tori Amos fan for years. I'm also drawn to Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, We're About 9, and Crosby, Stills, and Nash. Even though I'm a classical musician, I don't listen to much of that genre. Occasionally Bach's choral music, as well as music from the Renaissance. There are occasionally days when I crave loud, noisy, angry, or really fun, upbeat music, too...but it's been awhile.
American Beauty. I Heart Huckabees. Contact. Out of Africa. Defending Your Life. What the Bleep do we Know? Baraka. Amelie. The Sound of Music. The Wizard of Oz. Microcosm. Pleasantville. The Truman Show. I love movies that show the depth and sensitivity of being human, that are thought provoking, and that move me. I'm not interested in EVER seeing another violent film. If we create the world around us, then violent films feed our reality by infiltrating our consciousness.
I HATE TV!!!! I'm thinking about making mine into an aquarium.
Good God, there's not enough space in My Space for this list. Jack Kerouac, Tom Robbins, Henry Miller, Linda Hogan, Milan Kundera...that's a start. The subject matter is really irrelevant if the writer's voice captivates me. I prefer literary fiction as opposed to pop-fiction. I really love poetry, too, mostly stream-of-consciousness or abstract style. Rumi and Hafiz are utterly breathtaking, so far as ancient poetry is concerned, but I also love Mary Oliver and Linda Hogan. They are so earthy and deep. Then there's the great philosophical texts of the world...though I value the traditions of the west and have a lot to learn, my heart has always connected more with eastern philosophy. Osho's mystical writings have influenced my life greatly in the last year, and I highly recommend "Love, Freedom, Aloneness."
People who face the world with a belly full of fear, a heart full of butterflies, and a mind full of compassionate determination. People who embrace their truth and live it fully. People who refuse to sell out to the world because they know deep down what's more important. People who embrace their human nature with intelligence and understanding. People who live LOVE above all else.