Lifelong Learner

They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Bah Humbug. Poppycock. Rubbish. I am proud to call myself a lifelong learner. As an old dog, I am committed to learning new tricks in a variety of subjects.

I have spent a large part of my life in formal education. From kindergarten through graduate school I think the total is 22 years. In addition, there were many years of piano lessons, ballet lessons (very briefly), and martial arts lessons. I also took a few classes in conversational Japanese. One might think I would have tired of school but in reality I love learning and I love school. Currently I am taking lessons in Gaelic, choral composition, and voice. Based on my career path I also am required to do continuing education classes. I don’t necessarily include those in my personal definition of lifelong learning. Those classes aren’t based on my curiosity and desire to know and understand something. Instead those are based on what somebody else wants to me to know.

Lately I’ve seen quite a few articles on lifelong learning. Brian Fairbanks posted an article for Phoenix University (August 2021). He defined a lifelong learner as someone who seeks continuous development and improvement of knowledge and skills for employment and/or personal fulfillment. This would include both formal and informal learning opportunities. I’m focused on the personal fulfillment aspect at this stage of my life.

Emma Parkhurst, Extension Assistant Professor at Utah State University, wrote that lifelong learning may include returning to school, taking stand-alone workshops, or using an app to learn a new language or cooking skills. Emma also noted that the important component is that the activity is useful, interesting, meaningful, or enjoyable. I’m not sure how useful my Gaelic lessons are but they are definitely interesting and enjoyable.

Many articles cite benefits of lifelong learning. These often include:

I Can and I Will affirmation
  • increased self esteem
  • increased confidence
  • improved cognition and memory
  • decreased risk for dementia
  • increased social connection (expanded base of like-minded people)
  • positive feelings of accomplishment

That sure sounds good. I have noted several of these benefits, particularly the increased self esteem, increased social connection, and positive feelings of accomplishment. As for the decreased risk of dementia, I am an “old dog” so only time will tell about that.

Have you ever wanted to learn a language, explore cake decorating, play a musical instrument, or learn the tango? Why not give it a try? Join the ranks of lifelong learners. Experience the pleasure. Reap the benefits.

My God Accept My Heart This Day

Red tree shaped like a heart in field of red

My God Accept My Heart This Day was written by Matthew Bridges (1800-1894). According to songsandhymns.org he was born in Maldon Essex and raised in the Anglican church. He later converted to Catholicism. After residing in Canada for a while, he moved back to England. He then lived at the Convent of the Assumption at Sidmouth Devon until his death.

According to wikipedia.org he began his career as an author at the age of 25 with a poem named Jerusalem Regained. He later wrote The Roman Empire Under Constantine the Great. Bridges also wrote several hymns. One of the most well known hymns by Bridges is Crown Him with Many Crowns. I really like that one.

I found My God Accept My Heart This Day in Songs for Christian Worship (1950). What I liked most about it was the image of offering myself to God to be a part of God’s family. The hymn does not shy away from the fact that we are sinners and require God’s assistance to live a life that would be pleasing to God. I later learned that there is a 5th verse to this hymn that was not included in my hymnal. Verse 5 references the Holy Trinity. All Glory to the Father be, All glory to the Son. All glory, Holy Ghost, to thee, while endless ages run.

In this composition I considered not only a vocal range that would be accessible for nonprofessional singers but also a melody that reflects the lightness of heart one would enjoy after giving over their life to God. I really like a tune that sticks in your head or that you might hum as you leave worship. I think the flow of this piece accomplishes that.

See the full hymn HERE or send me a message.

Savior Teach Me Day by Day

Savior, Teach Me Day by Day was written by Jane Eliza Leeson in 1842 and it has been included in Hymns & Scenes of Childhood. It is considered a hymn of obedience to God.

Jane Eliza Leeson was born in 1807 or 1808 in Wilford England. She was christened at St. Mary’s Church in Nottingham and then converted to Roman Catholicism as an adult. She died on November 18, 1881 in Leamington, Warwickshire. Leeson was a prolific hymnwriter, published many collections of hymns, and published English translations of hymns that were originally written in Latin.

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Savior, Teach Me Day by Day is currently in public domain. One of my favorite lines includes “loving Him who first loved me” which ends each stanza. 1 John 4:19 says, “We love, because He first loved us” and this Bible scripture appears to be a primary source for the hymn. Other Biblical references are numerous. Hymnary.org lists quite a few. Matthew 11:29 makes reference to learning from God and John 14:15-18 offers instruction for obedience to the commandments of God. Both concepts are present in this hymn.

I chose to use the words and re-set the tune. It is set in the key of D, and within a range that is easy for most choirs and congregations, using 4-part harmony. I love congregational hymn singing so it was important to me that it didn’t feel uncomfortable for a congregation to sing. It can be sung a cappella or with piano accompaniment. I also added a 2 measure Amen at the end. As I have said before, I love an Amen at the end of a hymn. If you are interested, my version can be found here.

Dementia Sucks

The title really says it all. Dementia sucks. This is more than a general observation. Like so many others, dementia has touched my family. According to the Alzheimer’s Association more than 6 million Americans have Alzheimer’s Disease, one form of dementia. 73% of them are age 75 or older. About 1 in 9 people age 65 and older (10.7%) have been diagnosed. That is a lot of families mourning the loss of their family members even while those family members are still alive.

It is only a matter of time until my mother will no longer know who I am. She usually doesn’t remember where I live or what I do for a living. She only intermittently knows who her sisters are, and sometimes she insists that she doesn’t have siblings at all. She has trouble remembering her grandchildren. This is very hard to watch. She looks like my mother, but there is very little that is otherwise recognizable. She can still sing most of the hymns she has ever known, some patriotic songs, and songs from old Broadway musicals. Only when we sing together does this feel like my mom.

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There is some evidence that the disease begins 20 or more years before the memory symptoms begin. Looking back, I can now identify signs and symptoms that were present but easily overlooked. Typical symptoms include memory loss, problems with planning and problem solving, difficulty completing tasks, confusion about time and place, problems with visual and spatial relationships, problems with language, misplacing items, decreased judgment, withdrawal, and changes in personality and behavior. It basically destroys the person you love right in front of your eyes.

Like me, you might not even notice the symptoms at first. For a while the afflicted person might be able to deny the symptoms or make plausible excuses. Eventually there is no way to explain the changes away. While current medications may slow the progression, they don’t cure the disease.

Dale Bredesen, MD does offer some hope. His book, The End of Alzheimer’s, describes a program of diet, exercise, supplements, and life style change that appears to have been helpful to many people, particularly when the symptoms are mild. Replications of his studies are underway. Am I believing because I want to? Possibly. But Dementia sucks. Yes, I want to have hope.

The Lord Be With Us As We Walk

Anybody feeling stress recently? Loneliness? Anxiety? The Lord Be With Us As We Walk is a hymn offering comfort that we are not facing the trials of living alone. God is always with us. The words to this hymn were written by John Ellerton. You can find a brief bio of John Ellerton here.

This is another hymn that I chose to write a new melody and harmony for since I liked the words but was unfamiliar with the music. In this particular arrangement I added the Amen. I’ve always liked a good Amen at the end of hymns and I don’t really understand why they have been left out of newer hymnals.

The prayer for God to walk with us along our homeward road seems to have two different meanings. This could refer to our daily travels and activities, or perhaps our journey toward our heavenly home that we reach at the end of life. There is also a reminder that we should be mindful of God in our thoughts and our conversations.

Asking God to be with us through the night also makes a lot of sense. The fear of dying in one’s sleep is really pretty common. The belief that bad things are more likely to happen at night is also prevalent. All of the verses appear to be a prayer for comfort and safety, and acknowledging our need for God in our lives.

My setting of this hymn is generally in a comfortable range for non-professional singers. It also has alto, tenor, and bass parts that compliment the melody and generally emphasize the text with moving parts.

If you are interested in viewing the entire hymn click HERE.

Where Is Home?

Where Is Home

Where is home? It seems like this would be a pretty easy question to answer, but it turns out to be more complicated than I had initially thought.

https://www.thefreedictionary.com/home offers multiple definitions of home, including:

  • A place where one lives; a residence; the physical structure within which one lives
  • A dwelling place together with the family or social unit that occupies it
  • A household
  • An environment offering security and happiness
  • A valued place regarded as a refuge or place of origin
  • The place where one was born or has lived for a long time
  • The native habitat, as of a plant or animal.
Where is Home

The above list of definitions adds very little clarity about what home is.

Consider these quotes:

“The ache for home lies in all of us, the safe place here we can go as we are and not be questioned.” ~ Maya Angelou. In this quote the word home may not actually refer to the place we were born and raised. For some people that was not a safe place. Questioning and judgment may have be prevalent. But, that home could have been with a friend, neighbor, other family member, or somewhere else.

Where is Home

“Home is where one starts from.” ~ T.S. Eliot. While this appears a simple statement about the place you lived in childhood, I think there may be more to it. How one defines the word “start” could have significant impact. Did I start from a place, a family, a mindset, or even a culture?

“Never make your home in a place. Make a home for yourself inside your own head. You’ll find what you need to furnish it – memory, friends you can trust, love of learning and other such things. That way it will go with you wherever you journey.” ~ Tad Williams. I particularly like this one. It allows a lot more freedom and doesn’t have ties to something from the past that might have been unpleasant or unhealthy and also suggests individual agency and responsibility.

Home has meant different things to me at different stages of my life. At times it has been a house where I lived, and other times it has been a feeling of safety. Currently home is more of a sanctuary that puts distance between me and the drama and chaos that seem to be everywhere around me. That said, I am working toward the Tad Williams definition. How about you? How do you define home? Is it the same as how you defined it when you were younger? How and why did it change? That is a topic I plan to explore more in my morning journal.

This is the Light of Day

When I started composing choral music I spent time going through old hymnals (I have a lot of them) and picking hymns that I didn’t know, were in public domain, and I liked the words. That seemed like a good place to start. One hymn I discovered was This is the Light of Day by John Ellerton. I really liked that it was a description of the Sabbath. He included light, rest, peace, prayer, and first of days as the characteristics of Sabbath.

John Ellerton was born in London in 1826. He graduated from Trinity College at Cambridge in 1849 (B.A.) and 1854 (M.A.) and was ordained in the Church of England in 1851. Ellerton served in many capacities including Curate of Easebourne Sussex, Lecturer of St. Peters, Brighton, and Vicar of Crewe, Roding. He also worked as a hymnologist and wrote or translated about 80 hymns.

My favorite line is in verse one. O Dayspring, rise upon our night and chase the gloom away. I had to look up the word dayspring. The dictionary indicates that it is an archaic word for dawn. One source suggested that sunrise/dawn is a symbol of God’s intervention into our world. I think that fits well with this text. The other image that popped into my mind was a lighthouse. People often compare Jesus to a lighthouse that guides us to safety. The metaphor of night and gloom seems representational of all the chaos in our world that will be dispelled with the return of Jesus to our lives.

Interested in seeing the full hymn (my version)? Click HERE.

Dayspring

I’m Back…Again

Hi everyone. I’m back. I know I’ve said this many times. I always mean it too. Then life gets busy and I fall off the path. That sounds like life has been a struggle, but in many ways I’m living my dream. While I’m still working a full time job, and a part-time job, the rest of time is dedicated primarily to music; playing music, and listening to music, and composing music.

sign of encouragement

In May I had the intense pleasure of hearing my choir sing several of my compositions and in June I submitted a composition for publication. Yesterday I uploaded some compositions to MusicNotes.com for sale. This really is a dream come true. It just goes to show that one is never too old to reach for their dreams. It just sometimes seems like it. Do I wish that I had done more sooner? Of course, but all of this life experience has brought me to this moment. I just can’t feel sorry about that.

Some days my most difficult choice is whether I’m going to play piano, write music, play my hammered dulcimer, or play my mandolin in my free time. This is a really great problem to have. What about you? Do you have a dream or ambition that you feel ready to pursue? If you don’t quite feel ready, what is holding you back? For me, it was self doubt. I’m glad I kicked that way of thinking to the curb. If I can do it, you can too.

So, I said that I’m back. You might wonder what that means. It means that I have made a commitment to myself to return to regular posts on this blog. Some of the posts will be about my music. Other posts will continue to be insights on daily living. I’m asking for your help in this. Feedback is an important part for me and it helps to keep me motivated. If you like something, please tell me. If you have questions, please ask me. I really would like to hear from you.

Black-eyed-susans with Embrace New Beginnings sign

Saying No

“No is a full sentence.” ~ Jessica Ortner

yes or no

Most people I know struggle with saying no. We often feel that we must give an explanation, particularly if we are giving what seems to be an answer that might upset or disappoint someone. The reality is that NO is a full sentence. It is ok to offer an explanation if you want to. It is less helpful if you feel an explanation is required. Have you ever said yes when you wanted to say no, primarily because you didn’t want to tell someone why you were saying no? I have.

There may be multiple reasons why we are uncomfortable saying no. The first one that pops into my head is the response 2-year-olds get when they say no to adults. I can’t think of a single example when the adult (including me) didn’t immediately ask why. We have been programmed from an early age to explain so that we don’t get in trouble. And that explanation really needed to be a good one. Admittedly, although I’m working on it, I still have a tendency to ask why when someone tells me no. More often than not, but not always, it stems from curiosity rather than entitlement these days.

Offering an excuse or explanation before being asked can be an attempt to do an end run around the potential for conflict. This may include a belief that our reasons are not valid or acceptable, or a belief that other people’s feelings are far more important than our own. Habit? Sometimes low self worth? Often necessary? Not always.

It bears repeating, it is ok to explain a reason if it adds anything to the situation. Let it be purposeful. This requires mindfulness about the situation and one’s own motivations and emotional responses. I don’t really recommend that you walk through your life just saying no. Life is often more fulfilling if you say yes frequently. I do recommend that you begin to say no without explanation to people that you are not really close to since they won’t have any real expectations about how you generally operate. When this gets more comfortable try some people that know you well, but that you feel safe with. Notice what happens.

Why is this important? It is important since it contributes to a strong sense of self worth and confidence that will enhance how you interact with the world and other people. Go ahead. Get in touch with your inner toddler. NO!

Cinnamon Buns

We have been having a pretty big adventure here at my house. My neighbor took this picture, but I didn’t know about it until after the bear was at my house.  This bear is standing on the driveway leading to my house.  She named this bear Cinnamon Buns. At first I was telling people that I had a brown bear at my house and they looked at me rather strangely. Of course a brown bear is also know as a Grizzly Bear, and we don’t have those where I live. What I didn’t know is that Black Bears come in many colors, and one of them is cinnamon brown. When the sun was on his back you could definitely see the cinnamon color.

A few days after the driveway picture was taken, I had just come out of the shower and was heading for my closet. I looked out my bedroom window and saw a bear climbing up onto the picnic table in my backyard.  I really didn’t think I was really seeing a bear! How could that be? He laid down and started licking his paws.  Then started getting down.

Cinnamon Buns in the tree

A few days later I saw this.  Cinnamon Buns was up in the tree eating the apricots that hadn’t fallen yet.  Not only did he sit in the tree eating apricots, he also stood up and shook the branches to make the apricots fall. From where I was watching I could have literally reached out and touched him if I had opened the window. I confess I really wanted to touch him and see what that fur felt like, but caution prevailed and I didn’t do it.

Cinnamon Buns was exploring my yard and eating all the apricots that were on the ground around the trees.  There were probably close to 1000 apricots on the ground.  That’s a lot. I probably got 2-3 gallons of them picked before the bear showed up. I have 3 apricot trees and he cleaned them all out. We always thought it was the birds that were eating the apricots before I was able to pick them. Now we are not so sure about that.

Curious Bear

He seems to be a very curious bear. It was fun to watch him checking out the garden. He was a good boy and didn’t eat any of my tomatoes or herbs.

My dog Seamus was outside on Thursday when Cinnamon Buns came to the house and scared the bear and made it run up a tree.  It was difficult to get Seamus to come back in the house.  Silly me, I went outside to get the dog! Just a few steps….. but when I got back into the house I couldn’t believe I had done that. The bear stayed up in the pine tree for a long time and was panting from the quick climb up the tree.  This picture shows Cinnamon Buns walking on my garden wall back toward the apricot tree.

I haven’t seen him since then.  All of the apricots are gone from the trees and the ground. While it is better for all involved – the bear, my dogs, and me – I really miss him. I bet he will be back next year.