''Can I have a prescription for a happy life please, Doc?''

''There is more than one way to live a life,'' he said.

I agreed.

                           Is there a ''prescription'' for life that guarantees a ''happy'' life?

                           Is there a prescription that guarantees a pain free life?

                           Is there a prescription that guarantees a life free from hardship?

                           Is there a prescription that guarantees a life of fulfillment?

                           Is there a prescription that guarantees a life free from bouts

                            of loneliness, sadness, regrets, guilt, and a bunch of ''if only's''?

                                 

Sadly, no such thing exists.

But then again, what kind of life would life be

if it was free of anything that is difficult, complicated,

sad or hard to deal with?

Wonderful, you may suggest, but, would it really be wonderful?

We may prefer ''positive'' experiences over ''negative'' ones,

but is it perhaps possible that within our negative experiences lies

the potential for something positive to come from it?

Sometimes the way we learn how much something really means to

us is when it is taken away from us.

After a few sleepless nights with a tooth ache/head ache etc. we 

learn to truly appreciate the absence of pain and the satisfaction of a

good night's sleep.

After losing a good friend due to an argument, we may learn that

it's preferable to lose an argument than a friend.

After losing our temperament and saying something hurtful to

our spouse, partner, child, parent, etc. we may learn that

it's preferable to swallow our pride than to hurt someone we love.

Since it isn't possible for us to go to a doctor and get a ''prescription''

for a happy life, it is incumbent on each of us to find our own

prescriptions.

The possibilities are numerous, but commonly those of a life

affirming (positive/healthy/uplifting) kind tend to have 

the most positive long-term results in my view..

For some the prescription for a happy life,

is a path void of hardships and free of strife.

For others such as dreamers, leaders and believers,

the path they want to follow, ... imaginary rivers.

Helen Keller: ''A happy life does not consist in the absence, but in

the mastery of hardships.''

''In life there will be obstacles.

Wisdom, insight and maturity are the gifts

that come with them.''

(Citizen Z)

Music. What is it?.....

Music. 

What is it?

According to recent research, music activates parts in

our brains that relates to memory, emotion and movement.

And it does so in all those parts all at once. 

Even a person lost in the ''fog'' of

dementia can be be temporarily released from that

fog with the assistance of listening to music that once

meant something to that person.

Okay, but what is music?

Some say that music is a combination of sounds, and sound is

basically vibration/s. Some say that music is the combination

of melody, harmony and rhythm.

Some say that it is sonic vibratory frequencies.

Watching a documentary on the way music and 

memory is linked I was astonished by how

people with severe dementia could be ''awakened''

with the help of music.

 Ongoing research is demonstrating that whatever we

deem as ''music'', is something that seem able to enter

into our consciousness and memory banks through a ''side-door''.

How? What side-door?

With the help of iPod's and headphones, each iPod 

programmed with playlists 

to suit each person's personal preferences, 

dormant minds seem to be able to be accessed (momentarily)

 through listening to music that

means something to each individual.

(Look up Music & Memory for more information.)

For me what perhaps fascinates me the most,

is how we decide what music we like and what we don't.

What kind of music touches us, what music we connect with,

what music we deem as ''good'' and what we deem as ''bad''.

When I worked as a music teacher, I often asked my

students what kind of music they liked. 

If I asked them why they liked it, the most common 

answer was ''I don't know, I just like it''.

If pressed further, they would often say that they

liked it because they could feel it.

That's the thing with music, it often evokes an emotional 

response of some kind, hence we have music to accompany

a multitude of different events in our lives.

Weddings, funerals, sports events, dances, parties, dates,

ceremonies, etc.etc.etc.

For many of us, ''soundtracks'' are attached to many of our memories.

''That's the music/song that was playing when.............''

Studies into the connection between music and memory

are suggesting:

Learning a new language can be easier if phrases and words
are sung rather than just spoken.

For people who have suffered traumatic brain injuries (TBIs),

music can assist in bringing back autobiographical memories.

A recent brain imaging study shows that music activates

the auditory, motor, and limbic (emotional) areas of the brain,
basically, it activates a large area of the brain.
In short, music is good (food?) for the brain.....actually,
music can help us to relax, comfort us, energize us,
improve our mood, lower our stress level, help us sleep better,
 help us cope with pain, not to mention make dancing a whole
lot easier, etc.etc.

''Music is a moral law.
It gives soul to a universe,
wings to the mind,
flight to the imagination,
charm and gaiety to life and everything.''
(Plato)

Poppies for the fallen........

We drove for hours.

All of us crammed into a car without air-conditioning. 

Windows all wound down but offering us little relief.

My t-shirt was sticking to my body as if I had showered with it on.

I looked forward to arriving at the gig which I was pretty

sure was air-conditioned.

Not that I was looking forward to doing the gig, the gig

was one of those ''it pays the bill's'' gigs, but having traveled for hours,

 I was really hankering after an ice cold, tall, glass of fresh water.

The heat was so stifling that all of us had run out of the

energy to carry on a conversation.

We drove in silence, all of us grinning and baring it.

Mostly, the landscape that we drove through seemed to

be bush, more bush, some sugar cane and a whole lot of gum trees.

Occasionally we would pass a lonely and worn out petrol

station, stop and stock up on petrol and cold drinks, then

hit the road again.

Finally, we spotted our turn-off.

We turned on to the gravel road and in the distance we could

see the RSL (Returned and Service League of Australia/soldiers) club,

the venue where we were going to play.

We parked, unloaded our music equipment, and headed for the bar.

As I was standing at the bar downing one glass of ice-cold water 

after the other, an old man dressed in a khaki coloured uniform

came up to me and asked me if I wanted to buy a poppy badge.

'Sure', I said and handed him some money. 

As I pinned the poppy badge to my t-shirt, I asked him 

what the poppy signified. 

'The poppy is a symbol for soldiers fallen in war' he answered.

I have never experienced war, nor have I ever served as a soldier,

but as I looked into the eyes of the old soldier I felt

compelled to say 'Thank you for your service'.

Stage set and ready, we began to play to an audience full

of men and women in uniform. Some old, some young, some in wheel chairs,

some with missing limbs, and some with a far-away look in their eyes.

Suddenly, in the middle of our first set, everyone stopped what

they were doing. Bewildered I tapped the bass player on the

shoulder and asked what was going on.

'Sssh, it's the 11th month, 11th day, 11th hour....one minutes silence

for our fallen soldiers. Remembrance day, mate'.

I really have no words to describe the atmosphere that descended

on that venue at that moment, but it was palpable and unforgettable.

All heads bowed, all eyes closed, all still, and all somewhere else.

Somewhere else only accessible for each individual's personal memory.

Once the minute was up, everything went back to 'normal'.

We carried on with our 'show', people kept on laughing, drinking, 

joking, telling stories, ..... living.

''War is the greatest plague that can afflict humanity,

it destroys religion, it destroys states, it destroys families.

Any scourge is preferable to it''. (Martin Luther)

''War is the greatest harm that humans can inflict on humanity.

It destroys hope, it destroys faith, it destroys minds.

It destroys families, it destroys nature, it destroys animals,

it destroys whatever is alive.''

 (Citizen Z)

''War cannot be humanized. It can only be abolished.''

(Albert Einstein)

about the painting: Title: ''Poppies''

oil pastel on board