fulfilled destiny

I can still remember it like it was yesterday….though it was over 20 years ago…my first ever live concert!
How amazing!!
Over 60 000 individuals, from ALL walks of life, cultures, ethnicities, religions, races, creeds, socio-economic backgrounds, moving together as ONE to the beat of the MUSIC filling the room, our ears, bodies, minds and souls.
How INCREDIBLE!
How POWERFULL!
The sound vibration of MUSIC to transcend ALL segregating boundaries, and for that moment in time, UNITE ALL as ONE!

I have been blessed the eyes and ears of awareness since then, and have witnessed several occasions when seemingly impossible connections between people, individuals of such diversity have been transcended through the BEauty of MUSIC.
However, none has touched me, as did my first experience, until NOW!

Mark Johnson, Grammy Award winning Producer/Engineer & Award winning Film Director has taken the BEauty, Power and Transcending element of Music to a height as yet seen by ANY!!

Amazing as it is to pay witness to scores of strangers uniting to the sway of music, even more amazing is to witness scores of musicians, unknown to one another, unseen by one another and yet, collaborating TOGETHER to create a United Masterpiece!!

From the streets of New York to New Orleans, the jungle of the Congo to Monestaries in Tibet, Mark and his fantabulous team have united musicians from all walks of life together through the BEauty and Sound of Music.
He calls his quest, “PLAYING FOR CHANGE: PEACE THROUGH MUSIC”.
The short video I witnessed, thanks to my BEautiFull Starry Soul Sister, Aline, embraced the essence of my Soul and brought tears of joy to my eyes.
ALLways I ask, why drop bombs when we can drop roses? Why segregate when we can congregate? Mark and his team have shown through their
remarkable documentary, the unbelievably transformative power of music.

Travelling around the world, Mark and his team recorded multitudes of musicians singing and playing classic songs, such as “Stand By Me” and Bob Marley’s “One World”. These musicians, worlds apart, were essentially created a new mix of these old classics, known the world over, even by those whose mother tongue is not English, in places as far away as Zimbabwe.

Each musician was given no direction other than the ability to listen to a recording of those Mark had found before them, and the freedom to add from their own tradition, their own means of creating Music, to the collaborative ensemble.

The result is a Miraculous Masterpiece of United BEauty, Art and Creativity! It is an expression of the TRUTH of WE, the potential to BE the Universal Family WE ARE!!

During the course of Mark’s quest to show how music brings people together regardless of their cultural differences uniting musicians from around the world, he and his team were so moved by the people they encountered, they founded “The Playing For Change Foundation” which provides resources (facilities, supplies, educational programs, etc) to impoverished people, musicians and communities around the world. The foundation is currently working to build the Mehlo Arts Center in Johannesburg, South Africa and building and supporting the Ntonga Music School in the South African township of Guguletu. In addition, Playing For Change is working to enhance and rebuild Tibetan refugee centers in Dharamasala, India and Kathmandu, Nepal.

In Mark’s own words:

“the main thing was, and I can’t stress it enough, we wanted all different races, gender, economics, politics, religion, we wanted everybody we could think of that could juxtapose each other to show that we can overcome all our differences through music. Look at them. If they can all sing songs together then that’s a good start. Maybe we don’t have to have all these struggles with each other.”

Check out their Web site: Playingforchange.com (for Flash users) or Playingforchange.org for more information, to join in this fantastical quest of LOVE & Peace and to simply enJOY the BEauty of WE!!!

Blessedly BE
the
TRUTH
of
WE
ONE UNIVERSAL FAMILY
Angels Divine,
within the Embracing Light of
PeaceFull LOVing Serenity &
one Fantastical, Amazing, Adventurous, Party’in Journey
Roni Lipstein and YOUr Soul’s Family