The Magnificence of Ordinary Things

One of my goals for this blog is to write about some of my favorite works of art and what I love about them. I don't feel very qualified to write about music, since my knowledge of technical terms is very limited, and it's hard to describe the qualities of my favorite music in any sort of professional way. But, I'm not really here to be professional, am I? I just want to discuss things that I love and things that I've experienced. And, ever since I attended the long-awaited Owl City concert last week (as I wrote about in my previous post), Adam Young and his incredible gift of music have been very much on my mind.

The song I want to tell you about today is called "The Real World," from the 2011 album "All Things Bright and Beautiful." Of course, I'm going to recommend that you go listen to the song (Owl City's "The Real World" on YouTube), because I can hardly do it justice just by describing it! But I want to try to capture some of what I love about it.

The vivid imagery Adam uses combines with the loveliness of the music, conjuring a beautiful place in my mind. I can imagine being the person he is describing: "I saw the autumn leaves/ Peel up off the street./ Take wing on the balmy breeze,/ and sweep you off your feet." It's like a gorgeous dreamscape as the song goes on: "And you laughed as they scooped you up,/ on sugar maple wings./ To gaze down on the city below,/ ablaze with wondrous things." He makes me feel like I'm in a joyful, peaceful place, able to take in the wonder of creation with nothing weighing me down, and the musical interludes make me think of soaring over beautiful sights in a completely relaxed frame of mind. I love the magical quality that Adam is able to impart to everyday sights, like leaves dancing in the wind and the view of a city. His art encourages the listener to look around with renewed eyes and find the magnificence of ordinary things.  

I think Adam Young uses his music to share his own unique brand of beauty with the world. Seeing him in concert renewed my desire to share with the world the particular beauty that only I can create. God makes each of us unique, and we each have things that only we can give. The best work we can do is to discover the gold mine that lies in each of us and find ways to bring that treasure into the light.