Thursday, February 17, 2011

Grace notes

In music, a grace note is an ornament. It is something of an extra, which gives something more to the note to which it is attached. A grace note adds a little extra, and exactly how much (and what) emphasis it is given, is up to the individual performer.

Life offers many opportunities for grace notes. Too often, we don't take advantage of those opportunities. Too often, we don't even realise there are such opportunities.

Lotus Health, a Chinese massage centre in Camberwell, have a particular grace note that I like. There is a small vase of flowers on the shelf below the head hole, in their massage tables. So you can look at three cheerful little gerberas while you're flat on your stomach with your head poked into a hole. You may (or may not) be surprised that it was the masseur's wife who came up with this lovely idea.

A grace note is a gift. A small moment of generosity - of spirit, of thought, not necessarily of money. I suspect such gestures nourish the spirit of both the giver and the recipient.

This is post 37 of 43 posts.

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