A Maze Of Notes

To live content with small means, to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion, to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich, to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly, to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart, to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely, await occasions, hurry never... in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common. This is to be my symphony.

William Ellery Channing, the 19th century Unitarian preacher, does serve us a hearty meal of thought when we read his words. We forget the meaning of some of the common words we use to describe us. It’s easy to put the word elegance in the same verbal pot as luxury, but they mean two different things. Refinement and fashion may be similar, but there is a big difference in their meaning. The word wealthy is certainly different than the word rich, and worthy and respectable have two different connotations.

What we are is what we believe the words mean. We change as we expand the conditions within the meaning of the words. We try to define what we are by our actions, but our actions are nothing more than the flow of energy that comes from our thoughts. If our thoughts are distorted by our beliefs then our actions reflect that distortion. Distortions are not necessarily right or wrong unless we put them in one of those categories.

Channing fashioned his life around a certain refinement. The refinement of certain points or distinctions. The focal point of his life was appreciation for what he called the unconscious aspect of who we are. He believed that aspect is the maestro in our human symphony. He believed we all have an individual maestro. That maestro leads our symphony through a maze of notes which contain insights, intuitions and probabilities. We have the ability to personalize our notes, and then we experience them. Each note has its own tone and flavor.

We choose to play our notes at different points in time. Some are rich, and some are luxurious. Others notes are refined while other notes are fashionable. At times we act brave, cheerful and never hurry. We live all our notes in order to feel our desires. We are who we desire to be. Our desire to be has no expiration date, and there are no common words to define it.