It’s always interesting how people perceive things within themselves, as well as things outside themselves. You see a tree, and I see the roots deeply implanted in the ground, stretched beneath the earth, pushing out in all directions. I see the large trunk that I know is rough to touch, and can feel it without my hand ever meeting its surface. I see the branches that scatter aimlessly in all directions hovering above, the leaves that live and those that fall – consequences of time, age, or simply just the way of things. I take in the smell that brings about a sense of calm, that reminds me of being raw, at peace. Silence, the wind, and the desire to be perpetually in that moment.
You see, lately I keep having experiences where I feel like my perception of what is happening is far different from other people’s. And that’s perfectly alright. For some reason, instead of doing my reflecting when the new year arrives, I always start to look deeper at things come fall.
Perhaps it’s the leaves changing, or the sense of routine that comes back to me once fall hits, but it always gets me to slow down a bit, observe more, and just really take it all in.
I’m always creating music lists come fall, so I thought I’d share some of my favorite songs that I always seem to bring back into my life around this time of year. Listen to one, or a few, or even them all.
Ben Harper – Walk Away
Erich Hutchinson – All Over Now
John Legend – Ordinary People
Bell X1 – The Apple of my Eye
Kate Walsh – Tonight
Mindy Smith – One Moment
Patrick Park – Life is a Song
Ron Pope – Seven English Girls
Matt Nathanson – Still
The Civil Wars – Poison and Wine
Laura Marling – Ghosts
Ben Lee – We’re All in This Together
Ron Pope – Headlights on the Highway
Laura Jansen – Use Somebody
Ben Kweller – Thirteen
Caitlin Rose – Things Change
And perhaps you’ll like a song off this list, and someone else won’t. But that’s the beauty of it – we all perceive things so differently. And instead of being concerned about my perceptions being “off “lately, I’ve started to embrace how I see things differently from others – because that’s something I get to own, and that’s a pretty exciting thing.