TNEL Day 32: Inspiring music

Last night Rich & I went to a concert by Bruce Cockburn here in town at the Grand Theatre. Errol looked after the kids for us, & we met up with our good friends Gary & Corina and enjoyed a great visit with them as we waited for the concert to start. We don't go to many concerts but Bruce Cockburn is on our "must see/hear" list so we bought our tickets way back in the fall when we heard he was coming. Bruce is 66 now but still puts on a great concert. He's an amazing guitarist; last night he had only acoustic guitars and the sound was wonderful. His voice is as strong and passionate as ever if kind of raspy around the edges at times. But his song writing still stands out as his best attribute. He sang some of his classics like "Rocket Launcher," "Wonderin' Where the Lions Are," "All the Diamonds," "If a Tree Falls," and one of my favourites, "Lovers in a Dangerous Time": Don't the hours grow shorter as the days go by? You never get to stop and open your eyes One day you're waiting for the sky to fall; The next you're dazzled by the beauty of it all. To me those words really embody Bruce Cockburn's vision: he sees all the terrible things happening in the world, and it angers and frustrates him -- yet there's still joy and beauty all around as well. I find that very inspiring because it is tempting to focus on all that's wrong and needs changing, and forget that this world is beautiful and God is still God.