December 15, 2010
Kalimba Magic NEWS
Message from Mark
Words I Live By
As Christmas approaches, I can't help but feel a longing for the kind of magical Christmas one hears tell of in books and films, but meanwhile we are surrounded by the showy hollowness of an "international festival of consumerism" (to quote our new Friday tipster Ian Clothier). My solution? Focus on how I can give and bring Christmas to life for others through music and Kalimba Magic. But that doesn’t always come easy. Sometimes I find myself dragging my kalimbas out to yet another December concert, exhausted and just wishing I could spend a quiet evening at home with Deb—only to realize in the course of the evening that I have been deeply renewed by the experience, by the joy I saw lighting up the faces of the elderly or the sick or the lonely in my audience.
Christmas music is our specialty at Kalimba Magic. In last month's issue we provided you with a comprehensive list of all our Christmas music products. In this issue I provide you with the free tablature with demo for the lovely Carol of the Bells as well as Hava Nagila in Middle Eastern tuning (a humble acknowledgement of the Jewish persons in the audience who endure all this Christmas hoopla). The very first Christmas music, played at the time when Jesus was born, was probably played in this tuning. Also in this issue, we share with you how Kalimba Magic had the opportunity to provide kalimbas for a wonderful project creating ethnically authentic dolls for children of families in need in Lower Manhattan.
It’s easy to get stressed and overextended during the holidays. We’re trying to get everything together in just the right way. But remember your priorities, remember your family and friends, and remember to take time for yourself. Don't run yourself ragged - but do be receptive to giving opportunities that can surprisingly bless you - as well as your recipients. It is the unexpected generosity and opening of the heart that invites the magic into our lives. Be understanding, just as you would like the people on the other end of whatever situation you find yourself to be understanding. And if you ever get to a place where you don't know what to do, just play kalimba. The world will wait, and you might even help someone find a little peace along the way. Anyway, those are words I live by.
Work through me, oh Lord, to do your will in this world. I am but a lowly creator of music, but Your plan is of a sublime nature.
—Mark Holdaway
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