i went for a walk at night, the way i do when i am clinging to the sweet breezy coolness of spring that lasts only a total of 10 days a year in houston. the sounds of joplin's The Entertainer wafted from one of the houses. the stars were visible (in houston, texas- can you believe it?)

i thought about the part of my adolescence that was spent playing beethoven, chopin. practicing it over and over. abhoring the practicing and monotony, plotting the best way to murder the metronome and get rid of any evidence. i remember the years later, when it dawned on me that i missed the beauty of it. of making the music. it ran right next to me, passed me by, and i never stopped to listen.

i continue to believe that the universe gives us exactly what we need. today, the first thing in my inbox from someone who thought i would like it, but little did they know that i needed it: this is water.  "you get to consciously decide what has meaning and what doesn't. THAT, is real freedom."