Ahead . . .

You've always been ahead of me
One fact that I
In my infinite wisdom
Could not always see
But in the end you always convinced me
Things aren't always
What they appear
The things I've always looked for

Once long ago before we met
I thought I could
Single handedly make the
Spinning world go away
Just like some king
from back in those bygone days
But I was wrong
I don't belong
Inside this category

Seemed to be
At the time to me
To my advantage
Missing why
Not knowing
When to try
To start believing
In my very own
Self determination

Sometimes at night
When I'm alone
The solitude
And the quiet can bring out
All the worst in my head
But now it seems that isn't so big or bad
I've learned a thing

Or maybe two
And just ahead
There's
Always
You


Always You
©2005 Raymond M. Jozwiak
from the 2006 release Put A Finger On It available at CD Baby

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Always . . .

. . . you

You've always been ahead of me
One fact that I
In my infinite wisdom
Could not always see
But in the end you always convinced me
Things aren't always
What they appear
The things I've always looked for

Once long ago before we met
I thought I could
Singlehandedly make the
Spinning world go away
Just like some king
from back in those bygone days
But I was wrong
I don't belong
Inside this category

Seemed to be
At the time to me
To my advantage
Missing why
Not knowing
When to try
To start believing
In my very own
Self determination

Sometimes at night
When I'm alone
The solitude
And the quiet can bring out
All the worst in my head
But now it seems that isn't so big or bad
I've learned a thing

Or maybe two
And just ahead
There's
Always
You

Always You
©2006 Raymond M. Jozwiak

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On and On . . .

. . . flow the hours
Like rolling waves upon the sea
And like so many and so varied flowers
Each one some nectar for the bee

We're keeping tabs and writing numbers
Logging each minute in the book
We have a choice to
Either dread the counting
Or see the bricks if we just look

Store the knowledge
Hoard the wisdom
Take the years
And just run like crazy
Party’s only
What you make it
Make it into the
Best you can

There’s no protection from the power
We’re generating everyday
The blazing lights shine
From each lofty tower
Just to illuminate the way

Things that never occur to you
In the spring
Become clearer with each moving
Season passing

All options must be on the table
All points of view be kept in sight
And if you don’t do ev’ry thing you’re able
Make sure you do those which are right

Store the knowledge
Hoard the wisdom
Take the years
And just run like crazy
Party’s only
What you make it
Make it into the

Best you can

©2014 Raymond M. Jozwiak

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Best . . .

“Information is not knowledge.
Knowledge is not wisdom.
Wisdom is not truth.
Truth is not beauty.
Beauty is not love.
Love is not music.
Music is THE BEST.”

― Frank Zappa

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Trying . . .

. . . to attain a certain level of 'Wisdom'

"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something."
-Plato

"A wise woman puts a grain of sugar into everything she says to a man, and takes a grain of salt with everything he says to her."
-Helen Rowland

"Wise men are not always silent, but they know when to be."
-Unknown

"Deep doubts, deep wisdom; small doubts, little wisdom."
-Chinese proverb

"A wise man is he who does not grieve for the thing which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has."
-Epictetus

"The wise person has long ears and a short tongue."
-German proverb

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Bad . . .

. . . poetry

. . . nobody said they'd ALL be gems! . . .


Its all been said
And its all been done
Its all been played
and its all been sung

But that doesn't mean
We'll be singing no more
We don't sing it now
Like we sang it before

Back when we were young
All our cares were so few
Now with wisdom acquired
Our singing is new

So with aforementioned wisdom
We're forging ahead
Pouring all heart and soul
Into song. . .

. . .  til we're dead

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My latest solo offering, Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak, featuring original, instrumental piano music is now available at - Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak

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Waltz . . .

. . . me NOT!  (the composition 'Wisdom' has evolved [or devolved] back to its original non-waltz format.  Click below to hear.)


(from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waltz_(music)
". . . The name "waltz" comes from the German verb walzen, in turn taken from the Latin verb volvere, which describes the turning or rotating movement characteristic of the dance. Although French writers have attempted to connect the waltz to the 16th century volta, firm evidence connecting this Italian form to the earliest occurrence in the mid‑18th century of walzen to describe dancing is lacking. . . Classical composers traditionally supplied music for dancing when required, and Franz Schubert's waltzes (including the Valses Sentimentales and Valses Nobles) were written for household dancing, without any pretense at being art music. However, Frédéric Chopin's surviving 18 waltzes (five he wrote as a child), along with his mazurkas and polonaises, were clearly not intended for dance. They marked the adoption of the waltz and other dance forms as serious composition genres. Other notable contributions to the waltz genre in classical music include 16 by Johannes Brahms (originally for piano duet), and Maurice Ravel's Valses nobles et sentimentales for piano and La valse for orchestra (Lamb 2001). . . The long period of the waltz's popularity was brought to an end by the First World War, which destroyed the Austro-Hungarian monarchy and the Viennese culture which had nurtured it for so long. European light music shifted from Vienna to Berlin, and compositions by composers such as Gustav Mahler, Igor Stravinsky, and William Walton treated the dance in a nostalgic or grotesque manner as a thing of the past. Waltzes nevertheless continued to be written by composers of light music, such as Eric Coates, Robert Stolz, Ivor Novello, Richard Rodgers, Cole Porter, Oscar Straus, and Stephen Sondheim. The predominant ballroom form in the 20th century has become the slow waltz, which rose to popularity around 1910 and was derived from the valse Boston of the 1870s. . ."


Wisdom
Composition-in-progress, ©2015 Raymond M. Jozwiak





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(and, if you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD) OHO is Jay Graboski, David Reeve & Ray Jozwiak.  Please Visit http://www.ohomusic.com 


My latest solo offering, Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak, featuring original, instrumental piano music is now available at - Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak

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Developing . . .

Wisdom
©2015 Raymond M. Jozwiak

This piece is evidence of my musical fascination with modal improvisation, although technically it is not modal.  It is, in fact, a simple pattern of 13th chords. It is very similar to IMPRESSIVE (from Another Shot ©2010 Raymond M. Jozwiak) but while the latter leaned more toward the modal, two consecutive chromatic 13th chords only,  WISDOM actually contains six, arranged in a slightly more complex pattern.  And for some inexplicable reason, 13ths seem to require a 3/8 or 6/8 time signature for me. Note even the melodies of these musical cousins contain a family resemblance, although my WISDOM is not yet complete.

Can one's wisdom EVER be complete?


Wisdom
©2015 Raymond M. Jozwiak

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(and, if you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD) OHO is Jay Graboski, David Reeve & Ray Jozwiak.  Please Visit http://www.ohomusic.com 


My latest solo offering, Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak, featuring original, instrumental piano music is now available at - Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak

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Interpretation . . .

I never have put much stock in the interpretation of dreams. The vast and varied array of characters, places and circumstances always appeared to be too outrageous, too unbelievable, to be able to place any stock in or to glean any worthy or rational lesson, instruction or insight therefrom. It almost seemed as if the nature, detail or level of gruesomeness contained in my dreams was purely the result of the food that I consumed at the dinner table and nothing more.

But now in my increasing years (and hopefully accompanying wisdom) dreams, like so many other aspects of life that I (and we all) ponder from time to time, no longer seem to be such a cut-and-dried affair (black-and-white, if you will and NO pun intended). On a (for lack of a better word) 'higher' plane, and when one does not attempt to skew, elucidate or embellish the significance of any one aspect, interpreting dreams may not be so ridiculous a pursuit as I once thought.

In short, I now view dreams in a broad, very, very human way as first, reflecting many and varied thoughts that cross our minds during the course of a normal day.  But in addition to a reflection, maybe dreams are also a mechanism to reassure, comfort, or even dare I say - instruct us about situations or issues with which we are confronted being the mortal animals that we are. Much like the strength we glean from the support of friends, family and community in the instance of an abnormal human tragedy.  Or even not unlike the comfort we receive during bereavement which girds and grounds and sends us back into the fray of our everyday lives.

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(and, if you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD) OHO is Jay Graboski, David Reeve & Ray Jozwiak.  Please Visit http://www.ohomusic.com 


My latest solo offering, Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak, featuring original, instrumental piano music is now available at - Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak

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Wisdom . . .

(from http://www.notable-quotes.com/w/wisdom_quotes.html)
Knowledge is flour, but wisdom is bread.
Austin O'Malley, Keystones of Thought


The difference between a wise and foolish man is this--the former sees much, thinks much, and speaks little; but the latter speaks more than he either sees or thinks.
William Scott Downey, Proverbs


An ignorant man is always able to say yes or no immediately to any proposition. To a wise man, comparatively few things can be propounded which do not require a response with qualifications, with discriminations, with proportion.
Horace Mann, Thoughts


There is a wisdom of the Head, and ... there is a wisdom of the Heart.
Charles Dickens, Hard Times


Let men be wise by instinct if they can, but when this fails be wise by good advice.
Sophicles, Antigone


Wisdom is not communicable. The wisdom which a wise man tries to communicate always sounds foolish.... Knowledge can be communicated, but not wisdom. One can find it, live it, do wonders through it, but one cannot communicate and teach it.
Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha


Wisdom is the daughter of experience.
Leonardo Da Vinci, Thoughts on Art and Life


Wisdom comes only through suffering.
Aeschylus, Agamemnon


Be very slow to believe that you are wiser than all others; it is a fatal but common error.
Charles Caleb Coltron, Lacon


An intelligent man believes only half of what he hears, a wise man knows which half.
Evan Esar, 20,000 Quips & Quotes


Wisdom is a treasure, the key whereof is never lost.
Edward Counsel, Maxims


Wisdom is the perception of the unimportance of the things we call great, and of the importance of the things we call small.
Charles Edward Jerningham, The Maxims of Marmaduke
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Wisdom
©2015 Raymond M. Jozwiak





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OHO's "Ocean City Ditty," the CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD) OHO is Jay Graboski, David Reeve & Ray Jozwiak.  Please Visit http://www.ohomusic.com 


My latest solo offering, Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak, featuring original, instrumental piano music is now available at - Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak

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Bucket . . .

. . .  list . . .


. . . I have many times felt an aversion to certain popular buzzwords, jargon, lingo. . . whatever you want to call it.  As an adolescent I always thought the words 'girlfriend' and 'boyfriend' carried a demeaning or minimalizing connotation;  as in "you and your little girlfriend."  One of my latest semantic pet peeves is the term 'bucket list.'  I understand its meaning. I appreciate the humor in it. I just don't really like.  And I do not have one.  Other words suffice very well, thank you. . . words like 'goal', 'objective', 'desire', 'need' or 'WANT' . . .


. . . and right now I really, really WANT. . .


. . . the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

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(and, if you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD) OHO is Jay Graboski, David Reeve & Ray Jozwiak.  Please Visit http://www.ohomusic.com 


My latest solo offering, Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak, featuring original, instrumental piano music is now available at - Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak

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Serene. . .

. . . conceived as a prayer, but remove 'God' and the wisdom remains. . .


(from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serenity_Prayer)
". . . Though clearly circulating in oral form earlier, the earliest established date for a written form of the prayer is various versions printed in newspaper articles in the early 1930s by or reporting on talks given by Winnifred Crane Wygal, a pupil and collaborator of Niebuhr's. Wygal included the following version of the prayer in her 1940 book, We Plan Our Own Worship Services, attributing it to Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971):

O God, give us the serenity to accept what cannot be changed,
The courage to change what can be changed,
and the wisdom to know the one from the other

Various other authors cited Niebuhr as the source of the prayer from 1937 on. Niebuhr included the prayer in a sermon at least as early as 1943, followed closely by its inclusion in a Federal Council of Churches (FCC) book for army chaplains and servicemen in 1944. Niebuhr himself did not publish the Serenity Prayer until 1951, in one of his magazine columns, although it had previously appeared under his name. The prayer is cited both by Niebuhr[4] and by Niebuhr's daughter, Elisabeth Sifton. Sifton thought that he had first written it in 1943, although Niebuhr's wife wrote in an unpublished memorandum that it had been written in 1941 or '42, adding that it may have been used in prayers as early as 1934. Niebuhr himself was quoted in the January 1950 Grapevine as saying the prayer "may have been spooking around for years, even centuries, but I don't think so. I honestly do believe that I wrote it myself." In his book Niebuhr recalls that his prayer was circulated by the FCC and later by the United States armed forces. Niebuhr's versions of the prayer were always printed as a single prose sentence; printings that set out the prayer as three lines of verse modify the author's original version. . .'

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My latest solo offering, Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak, featuring original, instrumental piano music will be released April 7, 2014  Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak

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Beating . . .

. . . a dead horse. . . (also known as bitch, bitch, bitch) . . .
I really am an artist.  In most senses of the word.  I am very sensitive to everything.  But I am not however, one for melodramatics.  No false or exaggerated emotions and no pop-culture sentimentality. I find it infinitely amazing and entertaining how some folks can drivel on about the Emmys, Oscars or fartzies, or post endless arrays of kitten and puppy videos much the same as I marvel at the gullibility of some of the most intelligent people when it comes to Internet falsehoods, hyperbole or political hyper-spin. In this day and age when we all have an infinite library at our fingertips, there is simply no excuse to fall for such crap.

I also find no need to be a cheerleader.  First, I don't have the looks or the physique.  Second, I don't have the motivation.  Never did.  Never will. If a sports franchise happens to be based in my hometown I do not automatically feel a deep and immediate connection.  Guess I've simply learned through the years that my personal time is finite and I still don't have enough to expend it upon things in which I AM interested, let alone those in which I am not. I am not begrudging or criticizing those folks who do take an interest in professional athletics.  I have family members who do. But, much as in high school when the mantra of 'school spirit' was preached incessantly to my deaf ears, I simply am not feeling it (sports/pop-entertainment) and my life will be no worse off for any lack thereof.

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