Too much. There is far too much tension in the world today. The River of Life is being engineered to toss and turn us around until we are so hopelessly confused and exhausted, we forget we are possessed of the skills and gifts necessary to escape the chaos. There are days this average Jane and maybe some of her fellow Patriots appreciate a reminder of what we actually are, of the spaces in which natural order wishes our hearts and minds to dwell.
American Eagles are not helpless victims of thermal updrafts and other air currents. Intelligent raptors take advantage of lift so they are able to soar above the treetops, creating their own destinies in harmony with what is natural. Intimidating, magnificent creatures – not even gravity can tell them what to do if they are willing to put in the effort. Flap flap . . . airborne . . . joyously free.
SIDENOTE: ‘Bald’ eagle is a misnomer. They are actually wearing white berets. Death from Above, OG. 😉
The 2020 General Election campaign season has been absurd. That’s the long and the short of it. As we get closer and closer to the point of no return, November 3, the absurdity continues to spawn outrageous, inhuman, unnatural behaviours. While I could spend the next month and a half fretting over deceits crafted by cunning Man, this ‘Merican would prefer to spread her wings and fly on back to the centered calm of Balance. To shake off the unnatural dis-ease born of manmade facility in order to face the world with unrestrained vim and vigor. So, a new kind of campaign is being launched – Celebrate Joy. 🙂
Every day until the election results are finalised, I will (try to) share a “feel good” people story to remind myself, and all of us, that humanity holds more beautiful promise than it does hopeless disgust. Nature provides all the balm we could ever need to soothe our besieged minds and souls. Including, human nature.
First up – Paul Harvey Flute Guy
Eau Claire, Wisconsin holds a national treasure, Mr. Paul Smoczyk. As he was wandering through a music shop in South Dakota a few years back, his hand landed on a flute. Picking it up, Mr. Smoczyk began to experiment – gently blowing and fingering the instrument until he was able to play a melody.
“Started to play and [the store employee] was like, ‘Hey if you keep playing and somebody buys one I’ll give you $100 off.’ I kept playing and he said, ‘well nobody is buying but I’ll give you 60% off.’ That’s how I picked it up.
“I’ve never had any music lessons but I can play almost any woodman instrument, clarinet, saxophone, bagpipes. Native American style flute, Irish flute,” he continued. “I’ve pretty much been able to pick it up and play.”
In other words, Paul is self taught and plays by ear . . . a natural gift, discovered and developed, free of “proper” restraint.
One of the things that makes this talented mans story so special is who he is. Father of two, Smoczyk is a former youth pastor and an iron worker. He’s a big, strong, hardworking straight man of faith who happens to be a flautist. And, has chosen to bless us by sharing his gift. He started a YouTube channel after people told him how relaxing it was listening to him play.
“I had uploaded a couple videos and I was like you know whatever, but then I recorded at that 40 story tower that I was working on, I uploaded it to Reddit and it just blew up,” he said. “My niche is finding unique places to play. Abandoned buildings, underneath bridges, construction sites. Wherever I can find that natural acoustic.”
People message him directly and leave comments, thanking Paul for sharing his gift, for calming shredded nerves and lifting people up out of the blues. The reactions have been a surprising blessing for this flute playing iron worker, people love what he does as much as he loves doing it. Paul Smoczyk has found his joy and is spreading it around.
“I think the combination is this sort of big, burly iron worker playing a flute. I get a lot of ribbing from the guys at work but it’s worth it because being able to bring peace to people, and getting those messages, that’s where it’s at. Being able to help, even in a small way is awesome.”
You’re awesome, Paul.
Paul Harvey Flute guy YouTube Channel
Jump on in and share your stories of good news for modern man! Wait, I think that’s already been written. No plagiarising without giving credit to the original author, please. (Was that a lightning strike?)
See Also: Always with the negative waves man