All that matters is to be at one
with the living God
to be a creature in the house of the God of Life.
Like a cat asleep on a chair
at peace, in peace . . .
feeling the presence of Peace
like a great assurance
a deep calm in the heart
a presence
as of the master sitting at the board
in his own and great being
in the house of life.
Music is sound AND silence. It is the spaces BETWEEN the notes that create rhythm, melody, and meaning, and the greater the composer -- and the perfornance -- the better the quality of the silence. Legendary pianist Artur Schnabel said that it wasn't the notes but the silences between them he played better than other people. A few seconds more or less at crucial moments in the performance of a piece may mean the difference between a mundane and a transcendent experience.