Tempo

At the behest of my one fan, I'll try to pick this blogging thing up again. Thank you, Caleb.

Rhythm.

Dynamics.

Tempo.

I feel rhythms. I don't know if it is something you're born with, or something you are able to learn, but there is a feel to them. I have heard the old verse of "You either have rhythm, or you Don't" plenty of times, and from my observations, I apparently have Rhythm. I'm not sure if I can explain what this magical property is, but I can tell you that, to me, it is marrow. Marrow like your bones have a core inside of them that is essential for life itself, Rhythm is inside of me and its a disease.

A disease? I suppose if I could be frank, it has all the makings of an affliction. When you hear music and you have Rhythm, you begin to itch. You itch to move, to breathe, to heartbeat, to synchronize, to FEEL and BE that Rhythm. Your body screams to the Rhythm to move, to sway and your frail body cannot fight back! You get the shakes and begin with the foot tapping, the hand clapping, the head nodding, the body swaying. It gets in you and there's no going back. Your being is in harmony with beat, with the THUMP THUMP of drums, with Groove, with assimilation of yourself into pure expression. The Rhythm is a terminal disease, there is no end but to Break Out, not in hives or a rash, but in Dance.

Dance is the expression of Rhythm. Its the telling of a million stories, of a tale of woe or wonder, of silent moments of body language that speak more than words ever could. It is your body telling you that you sit too much, talk too much, be still too much, be tame too much, be someone else but yourself...too much. Dance is art. Artistry that is a moment, a performance, a shared communication between the Artist and the Changed. I used change instead of audience, because not everyone in the audience really cares, or really watches Art. Only when Art truly communicates, does it change. I think we as humans do a horrible job of appreciating. We make fun of people for how they dance, for how they feel (or don't feel) The Rhythm. If I could make a wish, I would wish that people could (and would) Dance like they feel, Feel like they Dream, and Dream Big.

Dream Big? What is this, some NBC Saturday Morning Cartoon special where Michael J. Fox comes on and says "Hey kids, don't smoke Pot" *Cue "The More You Know" music*? Yeah, its pretty cheesy, but there is some truth to the Public Service Announcements. If all you want in life is a paycheck and a party; well, have fun leaving the world completely unaware of your existence. There has to be more out there for a person to aspire to. Maybe I'm just an Artist. Maybe I'm some idealistic idiot visionary that the world hasn't stomped flat and pressed into its cookie cutter market demographic mold yet. Make a goal. Make more than one, even. Be an Astronaut, or a Cowboy, or a Fire Truck, if that's what you aspire to. Just DO SOMETHING. Especially if you haven't done it before. Experience LIFE.

You've probably heard this all before. Its what every hack of a motivational speaker says. So I'll keep it simple:

Dance.

That's right, Dance. Get your lazy butt off the chair, stand up, and wiggle around. Put on your favorite CD, DVD, Tape, or Record and "shake your groove thang". Jump up and down if that's all you can do, wave your hands around, BE SILLY. Go crazy with yourself. Its expression, and it is essential to human life. If someone looks at you funny or makes fun of you, ask them why they don't Dance. Have them read this, sure, why not. I won't make fun of them. But the important lesson is that you did something different. Why not make this a start of something better? Find whatever expression suits you best, be it Music, Visual Art, Graphic Art, Dance, Theater; anything you put your mind to that shows who you are to the World, DO IT. You'll find it infinitely rewarding.

Live, Love, Verse.

J. Beatnik