Reminder...

Yes, it's true. This is my reminder for what I should do next week. You say, "Oh, isn't that lovely. Flowers, branches, greenery..." and that it is, but it's also my sign to wake up out of the grey, winter doldrums and the slew of detail that seems to be taking over my job, and get out into my "dreaming" world.

Have you ever noticed that going for a walk is one of the few chances we have to truly just be alone with our thoughts? Of course, this doesn't count if you are walking in step with whatever newest, favorite song is, downloaded on your iPod. No, here we are talking about a true stroll out in the woods with only brain and feet in gear. It's a great chance to tumble things around between right and left hemispheres - to turn on the blender and let one side work out the other's problems. Things get boiled down to their essentials more easily, and decisions that need to be made crystalize magically---or they don't, but at least you can feel as though you've made progress with them, or made peace with them.

So, all I'm saying is that, I need to get out and do that. I need to walk around the property, see what's blooming, make my estimates on when the azaleas will pop out, walk the gravel trails, and rid myself of the web of detail that has been clouding my cubicle. (Aha! the noble alliteration,)

There are no guarantees, but I suspect it will work as well now as it did before, if not better.

"Musical Minds"

Did anyone happen to see the Nova program last night about neurologist Oliver Sacks' case studies about how the brain reacts to music? Fascinating stuff.
One part that I found most interesting was the differences shown on a functional MRI when Sacks was listening to Bach as opposed to when he was listening to Beethoven. For many people, the pieces of music would have been so similar as to have not had any differing effect. However, the plan was for him to indicate with an electronic instrument when he felt most emotionally pleased, which happened to be during the Bach, and when he was least pleased, which was during the Beethoven. By his own description, it was not that the Beethoven was displeasing - it just left him "flat". When they showed the brain scans during those musical segments, the Bach brain was lit up like a Christmas tree and the Beethoven brain was not lit up at all - it was very flat!
One point made was that it does seem that people's brains actually can be "deaf" to pitch, or rhythm, or melody, or other musical attributes - that it is not necessarily just something that was a lack of environmental stimulation. It is all in the wiring. Some truly can't hear pitch differences no matter what, or feel a rhythm enough to dance to it, or be able to hear the intervals in a melody well enough to recognize or reproduce it. I know, of course, that there is plenty of evidence to this, but as an educator, I always wanted to think that if a child were exposed to music early enough, the "wiring" could be affected in some way. Actually, I think I will still choose to believe that to some degree, but the research at least provides plenty of insight for an abundance of patience!