Sometimes when I stop and take a look around me, my life can feel like a dream. From the very beginning of the process of brainstorming for this piece that was commissioned by Pennsylvania-based trumpeter John Maurer and opened up into a fundraiser for the Fredericksburg Brass Institute - which will culminate in a benefit concert that will take place this upcoming spring - this very dream-like feeling has stuck with me. Everything about this project represents the very type of thing I've wanted to do all my life, and yet it was a dream seeming so distant that I'm not sure even I knew this to be what I might be doing one day until it became a reality.
Introducing "Fantasie of Passage" for Trumpet/Flugelhorn and Piano
A study of the Celtic Runes and their meanings can easily inspire a self-reflection on life and its beauties, and how man-kind can fit in - or stand out from - that which exists in the world in which we live. The result of such a metacognitive process can be one that brings about a sense of spiritual growth, personal development, and the experience of a greater self. When John Maurer came to me about a concept for this piece and mentioned the runes, a piece inspired by such passage and self-reflection was inevitable.
"Fantasie of Passage" is a play on words loosely describing the type of piece - a "fantasie" - that one might expect to hear, juxtaposed with the idea of a journey (or a passage) to enlightenment, eventually leading the soul-searcher to a dream-like state of peace, or a "fantasy" (or "fantasie"). Its reference to the common phrase "rite of passage" eludes to the phrase's meaning, signifying a point in one's life where an important transition must occur in order to lead to a new chapter in life. Simply put, this 2-movement piece is about a journey into enlightenment.
Movement I primarily features a dialogue between flugelhorn and piano which can be described as slow, soaring, reflective, and passionate, exploring life's struggles and conflict, but in the presence of seeking one's rewarding and fulfilling destiny. Along the way, some friends, concepts, and ideas must be parted with while others grow closer bonds than ever before. In the end, the passage to growth and enlightenment never has to be traveled alone; rather, success can be traveled upon while marching shoulder-to-shoulder with the truest of friends and most loving of family. Movement I is named after the rune "Wunjo", eluding to the harmony of like forces such as family, friendship, and community, ultimately leading to a feeling of joy or perfection.
Movement II primarily features trumpet and piano and can be divided into two subsections - the first representing the realization of the "light at the end of the tunnel" and an energetic and climactic race towards reaching it, and the second representing a resolution of celebration and a sense of freedom upon reaching the light. The "light" represents the end of a struggle upon a journey or personal goal, but it also represents the illumination of important life lessons learned along the way that have resulted in a better person and a more beautiful world. Throughout the process, those most committed to you will make it a point to stick through the worst of moments before ever claiming entitlement to the privilege of seeing the best moments, and in the end, that's what makes the "fantasie" most wonderful. Movement II is named after the rune "Raidho", meaning "adventure" or "journey through life".
For a piece accentuating the beauties associated with a journey traveled upon with the company of a loving and supportive community, it is only appropriate that such a commission aims to engage music communities of all sorts in the act of supporting the continuous journey of the enrichment of music education for students who may otherwise not have the resources, through a high-impact low-cost summer music festival such as the Fredericksburg Brass Institute. I do hope that you will consider investing in the cause and becoming a supporter of this fundraiser.
This piece is scheduled to be premiered by John Maurer this upcoming Spring. Learn more about the details of the fundraiser and consider making your donation by clicking here.
Marcus Grant
Teacher, Composer, Trumpeter
http://www.msgrantmusic.org
http://www.facebook.com/msgrantmusic
http://www.twitter.com/msgrantmusic
http://www.soundcloud.com/msgrantmusic
Saturday, August 15, 2015
Saturday, July 11, 2015
My Experiences With The Couchmen 2015
Wait a minute... writing a blog post about the Couchmen would be WAY too much work. I'm going back to sleep.
Marcus Grant
Teacher, Composer, Trumpeter
http://www.msgrantmusic.org
http://www.facebook.com/msgrantmusic
http://www.twitter.com/msgrantmusic
http://www.soundcloud.com/msgrantmusic
Teacher, Composer, Trumpeter
http://www.msgrantmusic.org
http://www.facebook.com/msgrantmusic
http://www.twitter.com/msgrantmusic
http://www.soundcloud.com/msgrantmusic
Previous blog post: The Beautiful Fredericksburg Brass Community
Sunday, June 28, 2015
The Beautiful Fredericksburg Brass Community
This time last year, I had so much respect for the organization, quality, and genuine class that Austin Boyer and Buddy Deshler put into the 2nd annual high-quality, low-cost summer workshop they held - known as the Fredericksburg Brass Institute - that I felt the need to sum it up in its very own blog post. Now that we're on the other side of the 3rd annual FredBrass week, I've seen a year's worth of growth in the activity as well as in its faculty and can attest from a genuine place that these directors really seem to get it; they know what's important in today's music world.
Many non-musicians seem to think that it's almost impossible to be successful as a musician for a living. We as musicians - both young and old - seem to think that if we work hard enough at mastering our instrument, we will be successful. I do not believe that either of these statements hold true on their own. In music, there's something more.... Community. Comradery. Fellowship. A genuine desire to help others and want to see others do well. Music brings about a loving, caring, uplifting, and supportive community, and any musician in the 21st century that goes against this community or doesn't become involved with it will have a hard time being successful, no matter how talented or hard-working that musician may be. On the other hand, if you are involved such a community with such genuine desires, you might actually find that not only can you be successful, but it will actually be pretty hard to fail because the music community will be so supportive in your endeavors.
Why was #FredBrass15 so successful, and why do I see Fredericksburg Brass sticking around for a VERY long time? Simple - Austin and Buddy didn't stop at being hard workers and talented musicians; they immersed themselves in the supportive community and culture that exists in the music world, and within such a community, they were able to find incredible young professionals to join them as resident faculty in the venture AND gain the respect and support highly established professionals in the business to invest their time into the project. Not only this, but they recruit from the same perspective, as if to invite young and developing musicians and human beings on a personal and name-by-name basis to join the community and see what makes music such a great part of our lives today. The friendship and mutual respect in the bond between the faculty members and participants will translate to longevity for FredBrass, and the longer the institute exists, the stronger the chemistry between its members will grow, thus the more successful the institute will be.
Three years in the making, FredBrass has begun to naturally develop its own sub-community that functions on its own as a loving and supportive family. Returning members of the family strengthen the bond with one another every year, and new members are welcomed with open arms into the community. I personally believe this accounts for the quality of the music making that existed at the institute, including with the 2015 Faculty-Student Side-By-Side ensemble, which could have almost been mistaken for a professional brass ensemble with years of experience. These participants have unknowingly become a part of the very type of community that makes incredible musicians like its directors so successful, and whether they choose to pursue music or not, they already have a tremendous head start in their success because of the experiences that they have shared with one another in Fredericksburg.
The existence of the Fredericksburg Brass Institute contributes in epic proportions to my philosophy for quality music education and how it can make the world a better place, and because of this, I will devote my life to supporting the institute and its founders.
Marcus Grant
Teacher, Composer, Trumpeter
http://www.msgrantmusic.org
http://www.facebook.com/msgrantmusic
http://www.twitter.com/msgrantmusic
http://www.soundcloud.com/msgrantmusic
Previous blog post: I've Never Been Savvier!
 |
| The Alpha Quintet performing for Marty Hackleman at #FredBrass15 |
Why was #FredBrass15 so successful, and why do I see Fredericksburg Brass sticking around for a VERY long time? Simple - Austin and Buddy didn't stop at being hard workers and talented musicians; they immersed themselves in the supportive community and culture that exists in the music world, and within such a community, they were able to find incredible young professionals to join them as resident faculty in the venture AND gain the respect and support highly established professionals in the business to invest their time into the project. Not only this, but they recruit from the same perspective, as if to invite young and developing musicians and human beings on a personal and name-by-name basis to join the community and see what makes music such a great part of our lives today. The friendship and mutual respect in the bond between the faculty members and participants will translate to longevity for FredBrass, and the longer the institute exists, the stronger the chemistry between its members will grow, thus the more successful the institute will be.
 |
| The Penn State Graduate Quintet performing for #FredBrass15 participants |
The existence of the Fredericksburg Brass Institute contributes in epic proportions to my philosophy for quality music education and how it can make the world a better place, and because of this, I will devote my life to supporting the institute and its founders.
Marcus Grant
Teacher, Composer, Trumpeter
http://www.msgrantmusic.org
http://www.facebook.com/msgrantmusic
http://www.twitter.com/msgrantmusic
http://www.soundcloud.com/msgrantmusic
Previous blog post: I've Never Been Savvier!
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
I've Never Been SAVVIER!!
My experiences at the 2014 Fredericksburg Brass Institute led me to meeting Henry Attaway of The Brass Roots, which eventually led to becoming the official composer/arranger in residence with the group and planning a multitude of incredible events between one another.
One of the events that Henry prompted me to take part in was this year's "Savvy Musician In ACTION" Arts Entrepreneurial Workshop. He prompted me of what I could expect in the best way that he possibly could, but there was no way anyone or anything could have accurately prepared me for the inconceivably enlightening, inspiring, invigorating-yet-exhausting experience I had in front of me headed to the 5-day INTENSIVE workshop that took place June 3rd-7th.
The reality of the world I live in has never looked so bright in my life. I've always had a tendency to be ambitious... to dream big... But it's important to always reflect and be honest with oneself; before attending SAVVY, there had always been a part of me that wondered:
I discovered at the workshop that my life goals are not just achievable; they are extremely doable. In a team with 6 of the most intelligent, hardest working, successful, inspiring, committed, DIVERSE people I have ever met in my life, we were pushed to limits I never knew existed, enlightened to an extent I never envisioned achievable, and accomplished far more than I have ever expected from myself. I've always been taught to be efficient in my pursuit for success... to work smarter, not harder. Well, I've got to tell you: "smarter, not harder" was not good enough to achieve what was expected of us at this workshop; we needed both brawn and brains to succeed, and the result of our hard work brought me excitement to the point of tears in front of a group of 60+ music entrepreneurs on our final day, a cathartic reaction that has not happened to me since I was 6 years old. I am determined to bring that Cloud-Nine feeling back into my life again. Thus, I live with a new motto:
Since returning from my trip to SAVVY 2 days ago, I have set up a new mailing list via my website, created an official business-related twitter account, launched my brand-new official business email account, set up a detailed and intricate revised version of my post-grad-school business model, and launched two new huge long-term projects for my future (you'll hear more about both of them if you head to my website and sign up for my mailing list)! I met over 60 incredible and inspiring arts entrepreneurs ages 20-72, and I am determined to keep in touch with as many of them as I possibly can and involve them all in some way with my future endeavors, as they are ALL talented professionals who have changed my life forever.
I've never been more exhausted in my life, and I know my 60+ new best friends and business partners are experiencing similar sentiments, but the reality is that my SAVVY experience is just beginning. I look out into a beautiful future that holds more adventures than I ever could've imagined a week ago. Thank you, Savvy Musician In Action, for changing my life.
Marcus Grant
Teacher, Composer, Trumpeter
http://www.msgrantmusic.org
http://www.facebook.com/msgrantmusic
http://www.twitter.com/msgrantmusic
http://www.soundcloud.com/msgrantmusic
Previous blog post: Playing The National Anthem At The NCAA Tournament Championship Game
One of the events that Henry prompted me to take part in was this year's "Savvy Musician In ACTION" Arts Entrepreneurial Workshop. He prompted me of what I could expect in the best way that he possibly could, but there was no way anyone or anything could have accurately prepared me for the inconceivably enlightening, inspiring, invigorating-yet-exhausting experience I had in front of me headed to the 5-day INTENSIVE workshop that took place June 3rd-7th.
The reality of the world I live in has never looked so bright in my life. I've always had a tendency to be ambitious... to dream big... But it's important to always reflect and be honest with oneself; before attending SAVVY, there had always been a part of me that wondered:
Am I being too ambitious? Are these goals really realistic and achievable?
 |
| My fabulous Arts Venture Team, "Janet's Band" |
Work smarter AND harder.
Since returning from my trip to SAVVY 2 days ago, I have set up a new mailing list via my website, created an official business-related twitter account, launched my brand-new official business email account, set up a detailed and intricate revised version of my post-grad-school business model, and launched two new huge long-term projects for my future (you'll hear more about both of them if you head to my website and sign up for my mailing list)! I met over 60 incredible and inspiring arts entrepreneurs ages 20-72, and I am determined to keep in touch with as many of them as I possibly can and involve them all in some way with my future endeavors, as they are ALL talented professionals who have changed my life forever.
 |
| My new SAVVY family! |
I've never been more exhausted in my life, and I know my 60+ new best friends and business partners are experiencing similar sentiments, but the reality is that my SAVVY experience is just beginning. I look out into a beautiful future that holds more adventures than I ever could've imagined a week ago. Thank you, Savvy Musician In Action, for changing my life.
Marcus Grant
Teacher, Composer, Trumpeter
http://www.msgrantmusic.org
http://www.facebook.com/msgrantmusic
http://www.twitter.com/msgrantmusic
http://www.soundcloud.com/msgrantmusic
Previous blog post: Playing The National Anthem At The NCAA Tournament Championship Game
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Playing the National Anthem at the NCAA Tournament Championship Game
By popular request from some of you guys at home. Sure - I'll talk briefly about it!
A little more than a month ago, the IU Marching Hundred and IU Trumpet Professors Dave Woodley and Joey Tartell (respectively) sent word to all the trumpet players in the marching band and in Jacobs School of Music that the U.S. Army Herald Trumpets wanted to put together a mass trumpet ensemble to perform at the NCAA Final Four Championship game, which took place last night at Lucas Oil Stadium. Though not quite the first of its kind, this was an extremely bold and monumental undertaking in the music and athletic worlds because of the sheer size of the project, both with regards to the number of involved trumpets and the 70,000+ people watching in person along with the hundreds of thousands watching live on television.
There were approximately 110 trumpets in total from three different universities from Indiana (IU, Ball State, and Purdue), approximately half of which were from IU. This could have very easily been an organizational nightmare and a gigantic disaster. However, the staff from NCAA and supporting schools and organizations were so incredibly organized that the entire night went extremely smoothly, and our dress rehearsal even ended early because of how smoothly and efficiently it ran, leaving plenty of time for the social media feeds of the participating trumpet players' friends and colleagues to blow up with selfies and action shots of the stadium and rehearsal process before the game began.
Anyone who has followed my career knows that I have incredibly lucky, blessed, and fortunate to share very many once-in-a-lifetime experiences - a good number of which have showed up on television and in the newspapers in some regard - but the colossal significance of this particular event was the mass exposure of world class musicianship by professionally trained musicians who stand among the best in the business, who chose to share the same experience with up-and-coming professionals of the future music world.
Any classically trained musicians concerned about pep bands and pop music replacing highly trained and professional musicians in the public eye can rest easy as they watch last night's national anthem float all around the social media with comments of love and adoration from all over the world, musicians and non-musicians alike. Musicians of all backgrounds can, in fact, co-exist in harmony. As I have said multiple times for years. Music is about contribution, and ALL types of music exist for EVERYONE to enjoy. This performance was another reminder of this simple beautiful concept, and I'm glad it has been captured to reminisce upon for the rest of my life.
Marcus Grant
Teacher, Composer, Trumpeter
http://www.msgrantmusic.org
http://www.facebook.com/msgrantmusic
http://www.soundcloud.com/msgrantmusic
Previous blog post: Five Easy Steps To Testing Out A New Trumpet
A little more than a month ago, the IU Marching Hundred and IU Trumpet Professors Dave Woodley and Joey Tartell (respectively) sent word to all the trumpet players in the marching band and in Jacobs School of Music that the U.S. Army Herald Trumpets wanted to put together a mass trumpet ensemble to perform at the NCAA Final Four Championship game, which took place last night at Lucas Oil Stadium. Though not quite the first of its kind, this was an extremely bold and monumental undertaking in the music and athletic worlds because of the sheer size of the project, both with regards to the number of involved trumpets and the 70,000+ people watching in person along with the hundreds of thousands watching live on television.
There were approximately 110 trumpets in total from three different universities from Indiana (IU, Ball State, and Purdue), approximately half of which were from IU. This could have very easily been an organizational nightmare and a gigantic disaster. However, the staff from NCAA and supporting schools and organizations were so incredibly organized that the entire night went extremely smoothly, and our dress rehearsal even ended early because of how smoothly and efficiently it ran, leaving plenty of time for the social media feeds of the participating trumpet players' friends and colleagues to blow up with selfies and action shots of the stadium and rehearsal process before the game began.
Anyone who has followed my career knows that I have incredibly lucky, blessed, and fortunate to share very many once-in-a-lifetime experiences - a good number of which have showed up on television and in the newspapers in some regard - but the colossal significance of this particular event was the mass exposure of world class musicianship by professionally trained musicians who stand among the best in the business, who chose to share the same experience with up-and-coming professionals of the future music world.
Any classically trained musicians concerned about pep bands and pop music replacing highly trained and professional musicians in the public eye can rest easy as they watch last night's national anthem float all around the social media with comments of love and adoration from all over the world, musicians and non-musicians alike. Musicians of all backgrounds can, in fact, co-exist in harmony. As I have said multiple times for years. Music is about contribution, and ALL types of music exist for EVERYONE to enjoy. This performance was another reminder of this simple beautiful concept, and I'm glad it has been captured to reminisce upon for the rest of my life.
Marcus Grant
Teacher, Composer, Trumpeter
http://www.msgrantmusic.org
http://www.facebook.com/msgrantmusic
http://www.soundcloud.com/msgrantmusic
Previous blog post: Five Easy Steps To Testing Out A New Trumpet
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
5 Easy Steps To Testing Out A New Trumpet
*Wanring. The folowing post involvs the exploitation of exrteme sarcasm and the delibreate nelgect for spell check and grammer. Reader disgresson is advsied.*
The National Trumpet Competition takes place this month, and never mind the fact that I get to share an original piece of music with one of the most experienced and knowledgeable groups I could possibly perform for. The REAL excitement is EXHIBIT TIME!!!!!! I can hear the incredibly tasteful and clever musical intuition from inside the exhibit hall already.
If you're not sure how to test out a trumpet to see if it's good or not, here's a step-by-step process that is GUARANTEED to give you the best results you could ever hope for when trying out a new trumpet (or your money back)!
Step 1: Choose your trumpet. Be sure to choose one that's not like the others. If it looks like a normal, typical trumpet, it's not worth trying out. After all, that fourth valve and those pentagon-shaped valve caps will really improve your tone quality and facility, as well as your sense of musicality.
Step 2: Empty the water key/spit valve. Because heaven forbid all that spit built up in the slides from the trumpet standing idle on a table should prevent you from getting an accurate read on how well the horn executes this next step for you.
Step 3: Attempt to play the highest note you can possibly play. There's no need to warm up or to have any concern for the quality of sound that comes out of the instrument. It also helps if you spread your legs and raise the horn to a vertical plane as you take the world's biggest breath. Be sure to scrunch your face up and squat as you simultaneously pull the horn back to its horizontal plane and press the instrument as hard against your face as possible, all the while forcing all the air you can through the instrument at the same time.
Step 4: Fail. If a note actually comes out somewhat clearly and doesn't sound like someone slaughtering a herd of baby cows, you're not playing high enough or loudly enough. Please repeat step 3 and elevate your standards, because you're clearly not trying hard enough.
Step 5: Blame the trumpet. Remember: it's the horn, not the player. Before you place the instrument down, be sure to pull it away from your face and give it a weird and judgmental look so that everyone around you knows it's the instrument's fault.
Step 6 (bonus step!): Pick a new trumpet and repeat steps 2-5 until you find the right horn for you. Or until you can't feel your lips anymore. Whichever comes first.
I know. What would you do without me? Say no more, I'll be at NTC in a couple weeks and will be happy to sign my autograph on your everything. I'll even sign the first 10 autographs for free!
Happy practicing! (Just kidding - we all know the only way to get better at trumpet is by buying a more expensive horn.)
http://www.facebook.com/msgrantmusic
http://www.soundcloud.com/msgrantmusic
Not a large enough dose of sarcasm for you? No problem. Check out this video: How To Comment On Drum Corps Videos
The National Trumpet Competition takes place this month, and never mind the fact that I get to share an original piece of music with one of the most experienced and knowledgeable groups I could possibly perform for. The REAL excitement is EXHIBIT TIME!!!!!! I can hear the incredibly tasteful and clever musical intuition from inside the exhibit hall already.
If you're not sure how to test out a trumpet to see if it's good or not, here's a step-by-step process that is GUARANTEED to give you the best results you could ever hope for when trying out a new trumpet (or your money back)!
Step 1: Choose your trumpet. Be sure to choose one that's not like the others. If it looks like a normal, typical trumpet, it's not worth trying out. After all, that fourth valve and those pentagon-shaped valve caps will really improve your tone quality and facility, as well as your sense of musicality.
Step 2: Empty the water key/spit valve. Because heaven forbid all that spit built up in the slides from the trumpet standing idle on a table should prevent you from getting an accurate read on how well the horn executes this next step for you.
Step 3: Attempt to play the highest note you can possibly play. There's no need to warm up or to have any concern for the quality of sound that comes out of the instrument. It also helps if you spread your legs and raise the horn to a vertical plane as you take the world's biggest breath. Be sure to scrunch your face up and squat as you simultaneously pull the horn back to its horizontal plane and press the instrument as hard against your face as possible, all the while forcing all the air you can through the instrument at the same time.
Step 4: Fail. If a note actually comes out somewhat clearly and doesn't sound like someone slaughtering a herd of baby cows, you're not playing high enough or loudly enough. Please repeat step 3 and elevate your standards, because you're clearly not trying hard enough.
Step 5: Blame the trumpet. Remember: it's the horn, not the player. Before you place the instrument down, be sure to pull it away from your face and give it a weird and judgmental look so that everyone around you knows it's the instrument's fault.
Step 6 (bonus step!): Pick a new trumpet and repeat steps 2-5 until you find the right horn for you. Or until you can't feel your lips anymore. Whichever comes first.
I know. What would you do without me? Say no more, I'll be at NTC in a couple weeks and will be happy to sign my autograph on your everything. I'll even sign the first 10 autographs for free!
Happy practicing! (Just kidding - we all know the only way to get better at trumpet is by buying a more expensive horn.)
Marcus Grant
Teacher, Composer, Trumpeter
http://www.msgrantmusic.orghttp://www.facebook.com/msgrantmusic
http://www.soundcloud.com/msgrantmusic
Not a large enough dose of sarcasm for you? No problem. Check out this video: How To Comment On Drum Corps Videos
Friday, February 27, 2015
You Are Royalty; You Are Family
It's been a long time since I've posted a TRUE blog topic - 6 months to be exact - and I know how greatly my millions and millions of passionate loyal fans have missed my invaluable insight on the internet. My good golly gosh, I am SO terribly sorry to have kept you waiting for so long!
You may even find that this blog post isn't quite the post you were looking and hoping for. This topic is religion-based, and it helps to explain some of the reasons I live my life from the perspective that I do. Not your cup of tea? No problem - come back in a week or so, and we'll be back to music-based topics... or visit my YouTube Channel and check out the Band Geek Tag I completed as my first official vlog.
But if you disapprove of this topic and continue to read on anyway, and you claim that I have shoved my religion down your throat, sorry! That won't work here... Can't help you there! You knew what you were getting yourself into and could have stopped at any time. I'd go as far to say that if you chose to read this entire post and feel uncomfortable or threatened by it, it could be God's way of letting you know that it's not too late to let him in your life. Once again - entirely your choice to put yourself in that situation. Still reading? Great - I hope you enjoy the ride!
*** *** ***
I've been called out multiple times in multiple situations for a wide variety of reasons about a passionate and unswerving belief that ALL human beings in our world deserve to be loved, valued as wonderful people, and cared about by the world - no exceptions. The reality is, as many would argue, that some people genuinely rejoice in finding ways to make your life miserable. Why, might you ask, would I want to love someone who spreads false rumors about me, wishes me nothing but misery and failure, and goes out of his or her way to knock me down?
The answer is simple. In fact, you don't even need a Bible to answer this; it's an incredibly simple and fundamental concept of Christianity, so simple and fundamental - in fact - that the majority of us look right over it and miss it completely. Want to know what it is? Check it:
1) God is the King of All Kings. I am a child of God. So how should I treat myself? Like royalty.
Of course! That means that I am effectively the prince of all kings. My Father created everything in the universe, so who I am and what I stand for far transcends anything in the World. That means I need to take care of myself in a manner fit for a prince, and I should hold those I am closest with to those same expectations. I should recognize when others treat me like anything other than royalty, and distance myself so that I have room for those in my life who care for me and treat me as though I am a valuable and important person in the world. And hey... know what else?
2) We are ALL God's children. That means you are royalty, too. It also means we are siblings!
So how should I treat you? I should respect you like royalty, as you are a child of the king. But here's the biggie: I should LOVE you like a brother or sister, because we are siblings. That means that we may have our disagreements, arguments, and fights, and yes - you may even go out of your way just to try to get on my nerves - but no matter what you or I do in this world, I still love you and want the best for you. Why? Because you're my sibling. If you manage not to treat me like a child of God, I recognize that you are not the type of person I should surround myself with in my day-to-day life, but I still respect you because you are royalty, and I still love you because you are family.
Are you a Christian? Ever wonder why you don't fit in this world? Well, your Father created the entire universe, so how can you - his child - expect to fit yourself and your entire family legacy within the cozy confines of a single planet? No... it's clear that you and I are not supposed to fit our lives in this world; rather, the world fits inside of our lives, as we embrace it and love everyone and everything we share it with. Let's strive to treat each other better and make this world a better place.
http://www.facebook.com/msgrantmusic
http://www.soundcloud.com/msgrantmusic
You may even find that this blog post isn't quite the post you were looking and hoping for. This topic is religion-based, and it helps to explain some of the reasons I live my life from the perspective that I do. Not your cup of tea? No problem - come back in a week or so, and we'll be back to music-based topics... or visit my YouTube Channel and check out the Band Geek Tag I completed as my first official vlog.
But if you disapprove of this topic and continue to read on anyway, and you claim that I have shoved my religion down your throat, sorry! That won't work here... Can't help you there! You knew what you were getting yourself into and could have stopped at any time. I'd go as far to say that if you chose to read this entire post and feel uncomfortable or threatened by it, it could be God's way of letting you know that it's not too late to let him in your life. Once again - entirely your choice to put yourself in that situation. Still reading? Great - I hope you enjoy the ride!
*** *** ***
I've been called out multiple times in multiple situations for a wide variety of reasons about a passionate and unswerving belief that ALL human beings in our world deserve to be loved, valued as wonderful people, and cared about by the world - no exceptions. The reality is, as many would argue, that some people genuinely rejoice in finding ways to make your life miserable. Why, might you ask, would I want to love someone who spreads false rumors about me, wishes me nothing but misery and failure, and goes out of his or her way to knock me down?
The answer is simple. In fact, you don't even need a Bible to answer this; it's an incredibly simple and fundamental concept of Christianity, so simple and fundamental - in fact - that the majority of us look right over it and miss it completely. Want to know what it is? Check it:
1) God is the King of All Kings. I am a child of God. So how should I treat myself? Like royalty.
Of course! That means that I am effectively the prince of all kings. My Father created everything in the universe, so who I am and what I stand for far transcends anything in the World. That means I need to take care of myself in a manner fit for a prince, and I should hold those I am closest with to those same expectations. I should recognize when others treat me like anything other than royalty, and distance myself so that I have room for those in my life who care for me and treat me as though I am a valuable and important person in the world. And hey... know what else?
2) We are ALL God's children. That means you are royalty, too. It also means we are siblings!
So how should I treat you? I should respect you like royalty, as you are a child of the king. But here's the biggie: I should LOVE you like a brother or sister, because we are siblings. That means that we may have our disagreements, arguments, and fights, and yes - you may even go out of your way just to try to get on my nerves - but no matter what you or I do in this world, I still love you and want the best for you. Why? Because you're my sibling. If you manage not to treat me like a child of God, I recognize that you are not the type of person I should surround myself with in my day-to-day life, but I still respect you because you are royalty, and I still love you because you are family.
Are you a Christian? Ever wonder why you don't fit in this world? Well, your Father created the entire universe, so how can you - his child - expect to fit yourself and your entire family legacy within the cozy confines of a single planet? No... it's clear that you and I are not supposed to fit our lives in this world; rather, the world fits inside of our lives, as we embrace it and love everyone and everything we share it with. Let's strive to treat each other better and make this world a better place.
Marcus Grant
Teacher, Composer, Trumpeter
http://www.msgrantmusic.orghttp://www.facebook.com/msgrantmusic
http://www.soundcloud.com/msgrantmusic
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