Simple Things

NPR describes its popular series, This I Believe, as "an international project engaging people in writing, sharing, and discussing the core values that guide their daily lives." One fascinating observation is just how often simple or traditional activities come up as he center of one's most meaningful experiences in life--things such as singing, dancing, or walking -- or gardening or jogging or even meditating.

Singing: The Key To A Long Life (11/23/08) - British composer and activist Brian Eno talks about the joy of singing, a subject taken up as well by Eunice ("Make a Joyful Noise") and Paige ("Singing, My Anti-Drug"), both in written form only. More pieces on singing here.

Dancing All the Dances As Long As I Can - Best-selling author Robert Fulgrum expounds on his joy of dancing, a subject found in the written pieces, Dancing Is Dreaming with My Feet. More dancing pieces here.

Walking Across the Grand Canyon (6/13/2008) - Radio producer Scott Carrier describes a walk in the desert with his son. From the This I Believe series comes two written pieces, I Believe in Walking and I Believe in Hiking.

Musings

• Not surprisingly, when it comes to core values and beliefs, people often focus on some of life's simplest things. Why do you think this is so? In your response make a reference to one or more of these NPR pieces. Here's a link to the complete NPR series, This I Believe.
  
• Much of the pleasure from simple things often comes from following a prescribed regiment, a set of rules for doing something the right way. Describe your own pleasurable or enriching experience doing something simple that entails its own set of rules.
  
• Many things about modern-day Amish (mostly associated with rural Pennsylvania) is controversial, except perhaps the undeniable visual beauty of their world, at least as captured in Bill Coleman's photographs. Which photographs do you find especially appealing and why?
  
• The Amish community use all sorts of complex technologies, including horse-driven lathes and wood-saws. What they reject basically is something we take for granted (except during hurricane season)--that is, electricity. Still, when you think about it, as much as we depend on electricity, almost all of us have special times, activities and so forth (even something as simple as taking a walk) that requires needs electricity or even batteries. Describe one such pleasurable experience or activity in your life that is free of electricity or batteries.
  
• The once prosperous (and now nearly extinct) religious community known as the Shakers played an important role in pre-industrial American life. You can read about their Culture and Artifacts here @ Wikipedia, and a fascinating video @ YouTube. Today Shakers may be best known for their classically simple furniture and for a single (simple) song: Here's a slightly jazzed-up version of the classic Shaker hymn, Simple Gifts.
  
  The tune was also the basis of the John Williams piece performed at President Obama's first inauguration. The song may be better known for its melody than its lyrics--the melody being incorporated into one of the most beloved of American symphonic composition's: Aaron Copeland's Appalachian Spring. Here's a brief analysis of the piece @ NPR emphasizing the work's simplicity (There's also a link to a full perfomance, under "hear the Music'), and below are the original lyrics, written in 1848. Your job here: In your own words, describe the lasting appeal of the Shaker world--its artifacts, the song "Simple Gifts," or just general sense of the Shaker world.

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where you ought to be,

And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gain'd,
To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,

To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come round right.