Trumpet and spirit, part II:

First, a disclaimer: I don't play the trumpet!

The trumpet demands an integrity, a thoughtfulness about breathing, that's more intense than for some other instruments, simply because the trumpet is audible. It's a signifier for the audible, everywhere. To "trumpet": a verb for making audible. How you start breathing, how you stop, how to speed the air or slow it--all this is audible in the sound of the trumpet.

This is a metaphor for the state of mind necessary in the world. Most people have two choices: to be careful or careless, thinking or thoughtless, making attempts to create or attempts to destroy. The daily choice is for many of us not even a choice but a thoughtless slip down a slope. For others, who choose to engage with the world and the Lord, every moment brings its choice. And it's no more difficult to choose one path than the other, I think.

I heard this integrity for the first time when I was twelve years old. Then when the year 2002 arrived, the precise nature of this integrity came to my attention for the first time. As a result, my approach to music changed. I developed a more intent focus. My attention was returned to the Lord. The memory of my first encounter with the spirit and music was recalled to mind.