Slowly and Songlike

How was your week? Were you busy?
Although I go through the same things day after day, I had a very busy week.

Last week, I read an article in a Korean newspaper about a conductor named Gum Nan Sae. Although he may not be an internationally famous conductor, Gum has become very popular among Koreans. Now 60 years old, Gum stated in the article that the motto of his life is “Andante Cantabile”.

To be honest, I don’t know much about music, and I did not know what Gum’s motto meant. So I searched it online. I found that “Andante Cantabile” is both the title of one of Tchaikovsky’s orchestral pieces and a musical term that means “slowly and songlike”.

To me, “slowly and songlike” is a very good phrase. Though we all live such busy lives, wouldn’t it be great to just take things slowly and smoothly for a while?

As you may know, working at a dry cleaner is a constant battle with time. I have to clean, press, and iron all of my clients’ clothes by the time they come back to pick them up. But are cleaners the only ones who struggle with time? Of course not. We are all busy.

We are all busy, and sometimes we just need to take a break.
Sometimes we just need to take a moment and enjoy time. Slowly and smoothly.

Hermann Hesse once said that to be able to hear the sounds of waves, even in the later years of your life, is happiness.

In the midst of our busy, busy lives, to be able to hear the sounds of nature is to live a life of happiness.

So after this busy week, I hope that, even if it is just for a moment, you will be able to slowly and smoothly enjoy life.

 

Afternoon on a Hill
By Edna St. Vincent Millay

I will be the gladdest thing
Under the sun!
I will touch a hundred flowers
And not pick one.

I will look at cliffs and clouds
With quiet eyes,
Watch the wind bow down the grass,
And the grass rise.

And when lights begin to show
Up from the town,
I will mark which must be mine,
And then start down!