Katharine Key Music

The other day I was talking with a friend who is in recovery from drug addiction.  In the course of the conversation, he mentioned all kinds of things that had happened to his family and friends, like his sister getting pushed out of a window to her death, and his friends being shot in drug-related skirmishes.  And I thought, so many people don't even know who they really are.  Baha'u'llah tells us that each and every one of us was created noble. What if we all got that as a fact of life?  Really got it? What would we do with our lives if we were truly conscious of our innate nobility?  How would your life be different if you got that about yourself?

Through his recovery process and his study of the Baha'i Faith, my friend is gradually coming to know who he really is and what he is capable of in this life.  My prayer and my work is for more and more people in the world to see this in themselves and act on it.  How are you working to help others to see their own nobility and their capacity?


~
Here's a song sketch that came out of these ruminations.



amnesia

i found my sister
in an old apartment
lying on the floor
beaten to the core

i said sister, do you remember me?
do you even remember you?
don't you know you're the daughter of a king?
why are you here? are you listening?
you're the daughter of a king.

i found my brother
in an old apartment
brandishing his fist
how did it come to this?

i said brother, do you remember me?
do you even remember you?
don't you know your father is a king?
why are you here? are you listening?
your father is a king.

beloved sister, beloved brother,
here's a message from our father
it says, "noble have I created thee
noble have I created thee
...yet thou has abased thyself."

He wants you to
"rise then unto that for which thou wast created."

you don't even know who you are
you were created noble
you've got to know who you are
you are noble, noble

a princess would never put up with this
a prince would never raise his fist
you've got amnesia
you're noble, noble

Baha'is just concluded a 19-day period of fasting from sunrise to sunset. For me, every year brings a special gift or instructive test. This year my gift has been pure joy. As I was reflecting on why I should receive such a sweet gift, I realized that today is my 15th Baha'i birthday. :-) My Baha'i friends, what has been your gift from the Fast this year?

Hey, The American Baha'i magazine did a feature on my traveling musical firesides. Thanks to the Baha'is in Arlington, Houston, Atlanta, Chattanooga, LA, Orange Country, Seattle, Tacoma, DC, and Dallas for hosting my performances in 2010! It was a great year. I do travel for my day job; if you are interested in hosting something if I come to your city, please let me know. I will be coming to Boston, Durham, Atlanta, and Seattle in 2011, and perhaps other cities as well. And anything within driving distance of DC is fair game for a Saturday night or Sunday morning. Message me at www.justkat.com/contact.html.