"I traveled through my history
From certainty to mystery"*
Songwriting is poetry; songwriters, poets. Listening to music is a way we are exposed to poetry even if we don't read or listen to that genre per se. We're attracted to the rhythm of songs, the instruments used, the beat, but we're also captivated by the words and some speak to us depending on what's going on in our lives. With my favorite songs, I know they're my favorites because they touched me at the precise time I needed them. When I hear them at later times, they have the power to bring me right back to where I was when I first heard and enjoyed them.
The lines from Carrie Newcomer's song describe me, describe us perhaps. I used to think I was different from everyone else; I don't any more. I see that every person goes through the same phases and cycles, and we're more alike than different.
I love aging; truly. OK, the lines on my face are just beginning to get to me, but not that much. I've earned every line. I am outside every day, in Maine, so what should I expect? I'm out in the rain, the wind, the sun, and the snow. Being outdoors is more important to me than lines on my face. And it's OK with me if when you look at me you recognize a woman who has spent a lifetime outdoors. My sister calls my Mom a Shar-Pei; perhaps that's where I'm headed due to genetics!
I like who I am and what I know now more than what I was and knew when I was twenty. At twenty, I was filled with certainty. The world was black & white. I charted my course and set out steadfastly, without a worry or concern, so certain that what I gave would yield precisely what I wanted. What aging does is soften us (even our faces). The certainty becomes a little uncertain and more uncertain as time goes on. We start out sure of ourselves; we end, sure of very little. The black & whites all become gray. Aging is turning gray....which is not all bad.
*Source: "Leaves Don't Drop (They Just Let Go)" from Geography of Light 2008 Rounder Records, Song written by Carrie Newcomer © Carrie Newcomer Music BMI Bug Publishing & Michael Mains BMI
