Monday, April 5, 2021 - What Is Normal?

I’m thinking a lot of what normal will be after the virus is under control and what it was before. How do we ever settle on what normal is in the first place? Many things we do in our society are very different than what other societies accept and practice. It goes to how we create norms in our societies in general. Most are based on some sense of fairness and morality. I’m fascinated with Greek city-states who experimented with different forms of philosophy and laws. Some were pretty wild in their practices, and many of our ideas are based on one or other of the experiences and relative successes they had. In my mind we base our norms upon some sort of common respect we build around what we want for ourselves. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is a pretty concise statement of what most have wanted since humanity set out. Love your neighbor as yourself seems to be a pretty good guide too. Basic awareness of who we are and why we are here seems to help general morality. And this deep dive I just made is all pointing back to where we will find normal after the virus is over. If we proceed with a new-found respect and awareness of our situation and our interdependence I think we can hope for something slightly better than what we went into the virus with. We have a pretty short memory though, and I suppose it is just as logical that we will drift into complacency and myopia. I will continue to spread as much joy and love in hopes that our new normal will be more beneficial to humanity and our condition together. I hope you do too. 

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What have I been up to? 

I had a couple senior shows indoors last week. Even with a good mask it still feels odd being back in these facilities. Still it is so good to see some of these folks whom I haven’t seen for a year. Of course we have lost several folks over the year too, and thats saddening to have their faces absent. 

My Thursday show was doing rain and Spring songs, and it was wonderful singing about all of joys of Spring and rebirth. We have such a good group of celebratory folks. 

My Sunday show doing favorites had several new songs and some old favorites. It was a more mellow show than I usually do, and it was gratifying to see that people were okay with doing some slower songs with deep meaning since I gravitate towards those myself. 

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What am I up to this week? 

I have three senior gigs this week, and one of the facilities I haven’t seen the folks since last summer. It will be so good to see their faces again. 

My Thursday show 7-8:30 mountain time will be doing my own original songs. I haven’t done a show of my own songs for a few months, and I have a couple new songs that I’m anxious to play again. I had hoped that this COVID year would have inspired me to write more, but like everyone I have had more angst and less of the mindset I need to write songs from. It will be a fun evening of songs, and I’d love to have you along if you’re free. 

My Sunday show 7-8:30 mountain time will be doing favorites and requests as always. Some of the songs that people have been pointing me towards lately have been really special, and I look forward to the gems that I’ll find every week. I haven’t had time to seek out much new music although it seeps thorough the cracks occasionally. Come on out if you can. 

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What’s on the horizon? 

I have several gigs on the calendar for this summer, and there are several who are trying to set up events for this summer that I’d love to play. Hopefully we won’t have any surges in cases that will slow down the recovery. This time is a real test in patience and responsibility. My calendar is always online if you’re interested in what’s coming - http://tommunch.com/calendar. 

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That’s it for this week. Every day is interesting in this life. Waking up with beauty inside and outside makes it all worthwhile. It’s fun to decide what normal is for each of us. 

Best always, 

Tom 

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Details this week: 

Who:  Tom Munch  
What:  playing and singing an online concert of original songs 
Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts   
When:  Thursday, April 8, 7-8:30 pm mountain time  

Who:  Tom Munch  
What:  playing and singing an online concert of favorites and requests  
Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts   
When:  Sunday, April 11, 7-8:30 pm mountain time

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