with strings and keys

as i mentioned earlier, my fella and i were able to attend the symphony!
one of my favorite things about adam is his love for classical music.
actually,
perhaps love is too weak a word for it.
the boy connects with it in such a magnificent way.
it was really one of the first things i fell in love with in him.

towards the beginning of Us,
we'd talk on the phone nearly all night.
i say nearly
because one of us would usually fall asleep.
if i was the one to do so,
and i usually was,
adam would stay on the phone.
i knew this because i could hear the faint sound of a symphony playing in the background as i'd periodically wake to shift positions and drift back to sleep.
without fail,
each time i'd fall asleep
he'd turn his little radio on and listen.
i think this really affected my dreams,
because during this time i had very peaceful and heavenly ones. 

after a while,
when we added little daily email correspondences to our LDR communication standards,
he'd send me little youtube clips of pieces he loved
with little notes like "makes walking to work more epic" and "reminds me of the soft way your curls fall down your back".

i was never really into classical music, per se.
of course, i enjoyed it
but not the way this man did.
this man understood the phrases and harmonies in such a wonderful way.

he told me
that when he was younger
and his mother would go to the grocery store,
he used to ask to stay behind in the car
and turn on the radio to this music
and watch people out the car window
going about their days.
there were songs that made everyone look tragic,
made everyone more attractive,
made the world look bleaker
and made the world look more beautiful.

adam once tried explaining his feelings surrounding it to me.
he said that classical music is not meant to be listened to simply for leisure...
it's almost created to be an accompaniment to life
and all its wonders and hardships and beauty.
the melodies are like listening to human emotions.

adam started sending me clips & challenges to complete while listening to them.

this one would accompany a walk around an airport or train station.

{which had me picturing everything in slow motion and gave strange meaning to the mundane}

this one was to be played on a rainy day.

{which sparked many mental metaphors for umbrellas as they might apply to a grander scheme}

this one while combing/braiding my hair, finishing it with a ribbon, & then applying lipstick. 

{which made me feel quite beautiful, actually}

this one i was to listen to on my way to work as the sun was rising.

{which really filled me with peace and tranquility first thing in the morning}

this one while sitting on a bench watching strangers pass by. 

{which made everyone look rather peculiar and mysterious}

this one was one to be listened to while remaining perfectly still.

{which, naturally, had me in tears within the first ninety seconds... the imagery it evokes!}

i found my world shifting into something much more amazing than the one i lived in before.
my skin seemed softer.
my strides seemed more delicate.
strangers had a greater purpose
and simple and daily occurrences, such as a light breeze, took on a new meaning.
i found myself feeling incredibly grounded and centered.

it manages to pick the whole of you up into its enveloping arms and carry you for 5, 10, 20 minutes and then gently place you back into your life,
branding you & leaving...
yet not abandoning you forever.

we moved from the recognizable to the obscure,
from simpler situations to more complex.
it became a huge part of our exchanges,
of our entire relationship.

part of the reason we enjoyed the movie liberal arts so much
is because they practically took the words out of adam's mouth about classical music.
the two main characters in the film would send classical mixtapes to each other
with similar challenges.
it. was. uncanny.

the symphony the other night moved adam to tears several times,
and i finally, fully understood why:
the passion of the composer, the conductor, the pianists, the cellists...
raw emotion can be created with strings and keys,
and this music demands to be felt... not just heard.

i'd highly recommend we all take The Adam Challenge often:
put on a little tchaikovsy while we ride the waves of normalcy in our lives
and watch the world turn into something beautiful.

do you have any favorite pieces?