September 15, 2010

Reminiscing on Art

The other day I was reminiscing over my childhood.  It seems I'm doing that a lot of late.  Hm. Curious.  Anyhow, my thoughts had taken me to a question.  Why do I love music and art so much?  They do seem to be something I was born to desire.  And indeed I believe that the desire to create those things rests inside each of us.  I mean, who doesn't admire a gorgeous sunset or the majesty of snow-capped mountains?  Or the fireflies that dance in the trees and fields during the heart of summer or the plethora of animals and fauna?

Art, beauty, music... they are all things that we know how to do without needing anyone to tell us about them.  Children can sing and hum before they even speak!  And what child doesn't know how to color or draw?

But as I thought on all these things I remembered certain influences from my childhood and one of them were the Walt Disney cartoons.  Now I know that Disney is a far cry today from what it had once been.  Disney has become something questionable and in many ways immoral.  Which is very sad.  It is not at all what Walt Disney had envisioned.  But I'm getting off track.

Back when I was a child Disney was still good.  And one of my fondest memories was of a movie they created called Fantasia.  It married gorgeous animation with gorgeous music.  The images still bring back the same wonder and delight they had given me when I was a little girl.  I would like to share one of my favorite moments from that movie with you.  So sit back, raise the volume, and enjoy the following video.



Its such a shame that this level of quality is not the norm for kids these days.  I grew up with animation and music of this caliber all the time!  As a Christian I believe that God has instructed me to be wise with my talents and to use them to bring Him glory.  I think that the arts in general are a very dark world.  Their is a lot of soul searching that goes on with artists.  Many tend to be very sensitive and that can make them vulnerable to choices that destroy them.

There is freedom in art and music but it must be utilized with wisdom.  Music and art invoke emotions and many times trigger feelings and memories.  So we all have to be careful what we watch and listen to.  And I'm speaking to myself when I say this too.  Its not always an easy thing to do, is it?

Looking at all the beauty that is possible and exists in this world and then thinking about what is to come in heaven just blows my mind!  Can you imagine it?

"And now dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise." Philippians 4:8 

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