The Peace Song of the Day, as chosen by Susanna, Duchess of Peace, is “Somewhere, Someone” by Long Island singer/songwriter, Gary Ivan.
Below is a video of Gary Ivan performing this song at PeaceSmiths Coffeehouse in Amityville.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxvH-QV2gEs]
More about why Duchess Susanna chose this song…
Three Reasons that Gary Ivan’s song, Somewhere, Someone, is The Peace Song of the Day
The chorus of Gary Ivan’s “crying” song, goes like this, “Somewhere someone’s cryin’. Somewhere someone’s hurt…”
Duchess Susanna has studied conflict resolution enough to understand that the path to harmony lies in everyone acknowledging their own needs and feelings, as well as acknowledging the needs and feelings of others. So, any song that vibes on feelings can be considered to promote peace and understanding. Songs about sadness and crying are particularly useful in awakening the deep feelings of people who may be lost or asleep. (See also, It’s Alright To Cry, sung by Rosie Grier and our Everybody Hurts by REM post.)
The music of Gary Ivan’s song has an upbeat rhythm. He performs it with great energy. Just watching the video, you can feel the Qi moving. Often, art and music use heightened senses to change the beating of your heart, to change the vibrations in the room, to change the direction of the emotional dialogue among a group. In this way, music moves the Qi (also spelled, Ch’i) or life force. It is a gentle push, in a new direction, towards the abundant, ever-renewing, energy of life. For more about the principle of Qi in Chinese culture, you can look it up Ch’i at Wikipedia: here.
Duchess Susanna values the way that people who envision a better world use a change in Ch’i to move in new directions. Changing the Ch’i is a powerful strategy in nonviolent, social change.
The third reason why this song is so appropriate, is that Gary Ivan is a local musician in the community of The Duke and Duchess of Peace. They all live together on the little island called Long Island, in the state of New York. It is always a beautiful thing to nurture people who are close to you, whose authenticity and talent you have experienced first hand. The best music is local music — wherever you live!
____________________________________
Please share your thoughts!
Hope you might take the time this week to nurture your Ch’i, and create a shift for change, by learning this song, and/or by attending live, local music in your own community. If you do, please tell us about it in the comments! (We sift through our spam filters every evening.)