Last month when we were in Ontario, we had the chance to spend three days in Parry Sound. Greg was competing in a 24 hour Adventure Race called Wilderness Traverse and our Ontario visit happened to coincide with the race so we were lucky to be included as enthusiastic supporters.
Greg’s team finished up at about 5:30am (1st place) on Sunday morning. Once we transported bikes and teammates and once they had a chance to sit down and think about their race, we headed back to our rented cabin to get some sleep before Cara and Greg had to head for home. I had managed to get a few hours sleep the night before, while the race was still on, so although I did go back to bed, I woke before 10:00. I decided that the best thing I could do was to get out of the cabin so that the others could get a few more hours of sleep. I put the leash on Jasper and we headed out for a good long hike along the Park to Park Trail.
It was a perfect morning and this reclaimed rail trail was really showing off its beauty on this spectacular fall morning. We passed ponds that provided a perfect resting place for blue herons, for families of ducks and even for the rare eagle. The path entered forests, broke into sunshiny meadows and was sometimes flanked on both sides by the magnificent granite of the Canadian Shield.
Periodically along the path there would be a bench, made of this beautiful granite. These benches welcomed hikers to stop, rest and take in the beauty. It appeared that many of these benches had been donated, as they were often engraved.
The one that remains etched in my mind had the name of a woman on it. Underneath her name were inscribed a couple of musical notes and the words, “Tempo Rubato”. I am a music lover but I am not a music expert and I did not know this term. However, I had the strong feeling that if I could find out the meaning of “Tempo Rubato”, then I would surely understand the essence of this woman. I could just feel that this musical term must have been a perfect metaphor for her life.
Sure enough this week I finally remembered to look up Tempo Rubato. Wikipedia defines it this way:
Tempo Rubato: (free in the presentation, Italian for: stolen time) is a musical term referring to expressive and rhythmic freedom by a slight speeding up and then slowing down of the tempo of a piece at the discretion of the soloist or the conductor.
Just as I had suspected, the little nuances associated with his musical term could certainly capture the essence of the life o f this person. What a lovely tribute to her. I now felt that I could imagine the energy and spirit that she brought to her life.
And of course it got me thinking. If my life were to be summed up by a musical term, what would it be. Would I be Allegro: a direction to play lively and fast? Or Grazioso: to be played gracefully? Or Legato, indicating that the movement should be played smoothly? Hopefully not Rococo which is a musical style characterized as excessive, ornamental and trivial!
Music touches people in many different ways. Sometimes it even affects the listener in ways that may have been unintended by the artist. When used to describe a life it speaks much more to who we are being than what we are doing in our life. I don’t know enough musical terms to know which one would perfectly describe me but I can feel what I want the music of my life to be.
It is a worthy exercise to take a minute to think about what melody you are creating as you go about life. Make sure it is the one you want to be remembered by and that others will want to hear over and over again.
Trying to write the song of your life? Contact me today to learn more about how we can work together to facilitate the change you want.
Greg’s team finished up at about 5:30am (1st place) on Sunday morning. Once we transported bikes and teammates and once they had a chance to sit down and think about their race, we headed back to our rented cabin to get some sleep before Cara and Greg had to head for home. I had managed to get a few hours sleep the night before, while the race was still on, so although I did go back to bed, I woke before 10:00. I decided that the best thing I could do was to get out of the cabin so that the others could get a few more hours of sleep. I put the leash on Jasper and we headed out for a good long hike along the Park to Park Trail.
It was a perfect morning and this reclaimed rail trail was really showing off its beauty on this spectacular fall morning. We passed ponds that provided a perfect resting place for blue herons, for families of ducks and even for the rare eagle. The path entered forests, broke into sunshiny meadows and was sometimes flanked on both sides by the magnificent granite of the Canadian Shield.
Periodically along the path there would be a bench, made of this beautiful granite. These benches welcomed hikers to stop, rest and take in the beauty. It appeared that many of these benches had been donated, as they were often engraved.
The one that remains etched in my mind had the name of a woman on it. Underneath her name were inscribed a couple of musical notes and the words, “Tempo Rubato”. I am a music lover but I am not a music expert and I did not know this term. However, I had the strong feeling that if I could find out the meaning of “Tempo Rubato”, then I would surely understand the essence of this woman. I could just feel that this musical term must have been a perfect metaphor for her life.
Sure enough this week I finally remembered to look up Tempo Rubato. Wikipedia defines it this way:
Tempo Rubato: (free in the presentation, Italian for: stolen time) is a musical term referring to expressive and rhythmic freedom by a slight speeding up and then slowing down of the tempo of a piece at the discretion of the soloist or the conductor.
Just as I had suspected, the little nuances associated with his musical term could certainly capture the essence of the life o f this person. What a lovely tribute to her. I now felt that I could imagine the energy and spirit that she brought to her life.
And of course it got me thinking. If my life were to be summed up by a musical term, what would it be. Would I be Allegro: a direction to play lively and fast? Or Grazioso: to be played gracefully? Or Legato, indicating that the movement should be played smoothly? Hopefully not Rococo which is a musical style characterized as excessive, ornamental and trivial!
Music touches people in many different ways. Sometimes it even affects the listener in ways that may have been unintended by the artist. When used to describe a life it speaks much more to who we are being than what we are doing in our life. I don’t know enough musical terms to know which one would perfectly describe me but I can feel what I want the music of my life to be.
It is a worthy exercise to take a minute to think about what melody you are creating as you go about life. Make sure it is the one you want to be remembered by and that others will want to hear over and over again.
Trying to write the song of your life? Contact me today to learn more about how we can work together to facilitate the change you want.
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