Friday, October 01, 2010

On A Clear Day (You Can See Forever)

One of my spiritual practices is spending time singing, playing the piano and/or the ukulele. It is good for my soul to make music and whenever I do it, I emerge more joyful, more peaceful and clearer about life. One song that I have recently come across is an Alan Jay Lerner and Burton Lane song called “On A Clear Day (You Can See Forever).” Here are the lyrics: “On a clear day rise and look around you and you’ll see who you are. On a clear day, how it will astound you that the glow of your being outshines every star. You feel part of every mountain, sea, and shore. You can hear, from far and near, a world you’ve never heard before. And on a clear day, on that clear day, you can see forever and ever more!”

Today is a “clear” day. And according to the weather forecast on my Google homepage, we are destined for cloudless skies all through the weekend and into next week. And I feel that way. I feel clear. This year has been very hectic. Ministerial credentialing. Internship. A lot of travel. My wedding. Becoming a step-mother. New job. Did I mention the wedding?? This past Sunday was my ordination and my family is hopeful that it was the last of many intense experiences for the year. It is fitting then that the weather has suddenly turned clear and cool. It makes sense that following all of these identity-shifting activities of 2010, that suddenly now all is clear and I can “look around” me and see who I am.

I also know that there are many in our communities who, despite the cool, clear weather, do not feel such clarity. I know that illness, grief, job loss and other concerns can obstruct the vision and make it hard to see “who you are.”

What I like about music is that there is still truth no matter what your circumstances or vision. I love that for those of you who can’t see who you are, that even still “the glow of your being outshines every star.” And that whether you feel it or not, you are “part of every mountain, sea, and shore.”

I'm sharing here a wonderfully dated video of Barbara Streisand singing “On a Clear Day.” Regardless of where you are this day, may you find something in a young Barbara belting her heart out.