A Musical Perspective Of Our Modern Times, Pt. III Read Count : 105

Category : Articles

Sub Category : World

Today, society's new chaotic way of thinking is no different. We are collectively suffering as a result of our linear, "progressive" way of thinking. Western society is being blasted with cognitive dissonance—contradicting ideas and actions being reported by mainstream media outlets—subversively causing both internal and external conflict. With our growing addiction to digital technology, we are distracted from recognizing it. Our lack of awareness consequently feeds the growing collective apathy towards what really matters. The world could be ending but people couldn't care less, so long as Dancing with the Stars is on.


If this is so, how am I still here? The only things we have control of in our lives are the choices we make, which determine the kind of person we become. I had made a choice to put an end to my insanity and took necessary actions to prevent myself from ever using heroin again. 


Our situation is no different. Today, we stand at a crossroads where a collective choice must be made to determine the future of humanity. We must choose to take a different route if we are to recover from the chaos we have created. 


D.C. al Coda is a repeat, going back to the beginning of a particular place (Coda). In larger works, this might occur after one or more repetitions of small sections, indicating a return to the very beginning. This is a return to our cyclical way of thinking, but there’s more to it than that. There is a musical piece written with a repeat to the beginning that consists of two contrasting sections, where the first is in a continuous binary form, starting in a key then changing into another, better known as Da Capo Aria.


Da Capo Aria is a return to the original key from the beginning and is usually adorned with more expression, emotion, and reflection, using harmonious notes that are usually improvised. In opera, it is used to stop the action and reflect on a character’s feelings or a theme, notion, or idea before returning to the beginning or action. We are in a societal crisis today, and with the second principle of the Kybalion, “As above, so below,” there thus exists a crisis on a micro level—that of identity within an individual. We have become so distracted and bombarded with external forces trying to influence us, we don’t even know who we are anymore.


Does anyone truly have the time anymore to ponder what their or our purpose is here? We are here to flourish and prosper, living a life that meets all of our needs. Right? 


Perhaps, but it wouldn’t be the whole story for human beings. It could be that our purpose is simply to be alive, but that would place us within the same natural hierarchy as plants and animals. Although these are conscious beings, we are much more than that. We are able to not only do things but can understand or are aware of what we are doing.


Every part of the human body has a purpose or function that benefits the whole. Since our hands, feet, eyes, etc., all have their tasks or purpose, we can safely say that, in the same way, each human has his own task beyond all of those. We are each born with specific skills and talents that we must uncover, understand, and master. They are then used to create new things or ways of doing things that are beneficial to one’s self. And if they are of good morals, they become valuable to the whole when we share them with the world.


“It’s the activity of the soul,” as Aristotle claimed, “that expresses our virtues.”


Life consists of recurring sections or life lessons that are repeated until we see the situation from a different perspective, thus allowing an understanding of the lesson gained for us to grow and move on. Today, we have entered the contradicting second section of the Da Capo Aria, where things are different, distorted, or completely inverted. With the need of a return to our foundations of cyclical perspective of time, the Aria will result in bringing us back to the beginning, along with the knowledge and wisdom of experience learned, which makes it easier for us and better able to express ourselves in more creative and innovative ways—our true purpose in life.


Just as one finger doesn’t work the same as the whole hand, everyone must make this change and continue to create throughout our lives. One sunny day doesn’t make a summer; therefore, it isn’t enough to make one flourish and prosper unless we all participate as the natural human collective.

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  • Jan 18, 2022

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