HARMONY

 A series of essays....

~ A MALE AND FEMALE CARDINAL ~
HARMONY IN NATURE

....as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E Hughes

Harmony is the balance we all require to make life, with all of its intriguing parts, sing with notes of joy and togetherness. It is a reverberation requiring years of practice and skill that bounces the animated tones of the sweetest bird songs from tree to tree in the fresh, morning breeze. We slow our heartbeats down in order to listen to their early calls while they pluck an early worm to take back to their little ones for breakfast, mouths wide open in the comfort of their cozy nest. Harmony is found in the music of nature; a natural counterbalance to conflict and discord. Listen. Listen. Listen for the high-pitch note of the cicadas on a hot summer afternoon, the chirp of the nocturnal cricket, their mating call, used to navigate the nighttime dating scene, and the cacophony of tree frog barks as they emerge at dusk to feed on crickets and earthworms after hiding from the heat of the day. 

THE CLOSED COSMOGONY OF UTOPIA
THOMAS MORE'S WILDLY INFLUENTIAL BOOK THAT
WAS PUBLISHED 500 YEARS AGO

Courtesy of Frieze.com

The musical balance we find within the harmonious structure of nature contributes to an orderly and pleasing combination of elements in a whole; the order and harmony of the universe. Nature’s color palette is studied and adapted by great artists while designers breathe life into man-made surroundings by using nature’s harmonious plans of color, arrangement, and textures. What is pleasing to the eye can, in turn, be pleasing to the heart and soul. In matters of the heart, our own relationships characterized by lack of conflict or strife is a harmonious balance worth striving for, but often too complicated to wholly achieve. Given the possibility in which various components could exist together without destroying one another, and a sense of well-being could be reached by the harmonious coexistence between all of mankind, humans would be living in a utopian ideology, brilliantly captured within the imaginations of authors such as Sir Thomas More, Utopia and Margaret Cavendish, The Blazing World. 

A ZEN MOMENT BY
ARTIST AND SCULPTOR: NADINE FOURRE
FROM: EYGALIERES, PROVENCE-ALPILLES, FRANCE

Harmony is the flow of life, a feeling of happiness, acceptance, completeness, and peace, with peace being the highest form of happiness. If we are in harmony with ourselves, we will easily be able to welcome it into our lives while accepting its gifts of balance of mind, body, and soul... Those who sing in harmony are in tune with one another. Like nature’s own song, music can be the natural stabilizer between discord and a true sense of peace. Music consists of three main elements: melody, rhythm, and harmony. It is the third element, harmony, that can elevate a piece from common and predictable to challenging and sophisticated. The harmony of a cappella vocals rises to the occasion in clear and natural tones and, just like the bird songs, amaze and delight our senses with their creative blends of pitches and sounds that mimic everything from musical instruments to nature itself. For purposes of euphony, the pleasant sounds of a favorite poem can evoke a melody that moves our bodies and, as we sway to the rhythm of its tone and arrangement, our mood is elevated to a state of happiness and well-being.

Harmony reaches out to all of us in many ways, touching our life with its dignity and encouraging us to discover personal peace and long-lasting happiness within our very souls, spreading this joy among nature, poetry, music, and all of the lives we touch in one lifetime. If and when we, finally, recognize the importance of harmony, we will know what it’s like to live in an atmosphere of social comity and respect; a lesson those in Washington D.C. must aspire to in the weeks, months, and years to follow...

"Utopia is intentionally flawed. it is an irritant that makes a pearl. It makes you think."    ....Carol Mavor

Copyright © 2020 by Jacqueline E Hughes

All rights reserved