Feel No Pain...

                                                                  

      "The rhythm is in your blood.  Your heartbeat is the drumbeat of your soul..."
                                                                                    --African Proverb
                                                  

                   

  In all of nature there is rhythm...It is in the patter of raindrops on a window pane, in the haunting call of an owl in the night; it is in the crashing of waves on a rocky shore, in the flutter of a bird's wings in flight.  Rhythm is found in the first sounds we hear while still in our mother's womb-- the beating of her heart.  The rhythm of her breath.  The drumbeat of her soul...


                         

Quite by accident,  Siobhan and I came upon a djembe drum circle four years ago.  The circle members were pleasant people from all walks of life; the powerful drumming and the African dancing were enchanting.  We were hooked;  Siobhan and I bought our own drums, joined their circle, and never looked back.  Four years later, we are still drumming...and we now have our own drum circle here at Travellers' Rest.                                                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                                      
African drum music is strangely powerful...The ancient rhythms envelop you--you feel them in your hands and arms as you play.  You feel rhythm through the very floor itself as the drum vibrations flow into your feet and legs.  Waves of resonance, rich and full, wash over you as the rhythm of each drum fills the air... When the music hits you, you feel your heart beat change to match the rhythm.  And then you ARE the music, and the feeling is incredible.
                                                                                              
                                   

African drumming is even more beautiful when paired with traditional African dance.  Each dance is as old as Africa herself, and tells its story with graceful, precise movements.  It's quite wonderful how the dancer and the drummers complement each other, adjusting speed and matching tempo so seamlessly.


 
               "If the rhythm of the drum beat changes, the dancers must adapt."

                                                                                   --African proverb

      

                                                                           

    Siobhan and I love our drum circle--the Surround-Sound drumming, the freedom of the dancing, the easy comeradery, the sense of Belonging.  But every now and then, just before sunset, we like to grab our drums and head outside--just me and my sweet daughter Siobhan, a bottle of  muscadine wine, a couple of steaks sizzling on the grill, and Bob Marley groovin' in the background...Then life is good, and the music is sweet.  (And the wine ain't half bad, either.)   Feel no pain.

                                                     

                                                         

                                                                       

"One thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain."  --Bob Marley