Music To My Ears

[The Stage is on Fire] is a page-turner in which, much like life, there are no easy answers and yet each step of the journey yields insight and hope. This work of heart must not be missed!

Melanie Faith

Creative Writing Teacher, Essayist & Poet.

Katie Steedly’s first-person piece [The Unspeakable Gift] is a riveting retelling of her participation in a National Institutes of Health study that aided her quest to come to grips with her life of living with a rare genetic disorder. Her writing is superb.

The Society of Professional Journalists

In recognition of receiving the Dateline Award for the Washingtonian Magazine essay, The Unspeakable Gift.

I thank you … It is the authenticity of your “class notes”; and it is the delicacy and skill with which you present the nuances of classroom life and the actuality of your students’ and fellow teachers’ lives.

Maxine Greene

Philosopher and Education Scholar

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Music To My Ears

Music has played a huge part in my life. My life has been a soundtrack of sounds and songs that center me, inspire me, and touch me. When something is music to my ears it makes me smile deep in my bones, it reminds me of dear moments, and it allows life’s noise to fade. It is a music of the heart. It slows things down to the point where my pulse rests and breathing eases. It is a music of the mind. It provides comfort in times of confusion, doubt, and fear. It is a music of awareness and presence. It is the music of home. It makes things makes sense. It is what I know for sure.

A Handful Of Things Are Music To My Ears

A cat’s purring, a cello being played, morning roosters waking, crashing waves, bathing water being drawn, barge horns signaling, steamboat calliopes chirping, my Grandfather’s lullabies soothing, bacon sizzling, whales breeching, and hymns rising. Show tunes, Reggae, loved ones voices, birds, crickets, frogs, and trains. Children’s laughter, popcorn, Christmas carols, church bells, wind chimes, and pipe organs.

Music Saves

When I listen to Yo Yo Ma, or Glen Gould, or Carole King, or India Arie, or James Taylor, or Aretha Franklin, or Stevie Wonder, or … When I listen to nature. When I dance. When I sing. When I run. When I pray.

Keep Music Close

Make a list of the music to your ears. What would it include? Would it include particular artists or instruments? Would it be more about your yesterdays or your tomorrows? Would it evoke memories of particular people, places, and times? Would it be joyful, sorrowful, hopeful, angry, or blissful? Would it serve a particular purpose, like motivation, relaxation, or expression? Would nature play a part? Would seasons and milestone play a role? Pay attention to the music to your ears.