Rebirth Through Music Series: Naima by John Coltrane

Introducing: Naima by John Coltrane

Somehow since starting this blog, I have discovered the peace that comes from non-urgency. Everything doesn’t require my attention and if it does, it doesn’t need it with the expediency we are led to believe. Somethings just need patience and our attention will gravitate there when the time is right.

This week I wanted to return back to the jazz roots I enjoy. It’s another composition by John Coltrane, Naima. And listening to this track certainly expresses there is no need to rush. The song is telling me through that unfolding melody that sometimes we need the pause of patience to make sure we are actually still here. This is another moment for us to stop and notice the other important things in life that don’t require speed. In the life of the fast moving, steady, patience, and present becomes the Kind Rebirth. This is Naima.

Naima doesn’t give us that transformation through an expected force. It offers and delivers return back to its source – return to the breath, return the hearing of subtle sounds, and return to the realization that despite what the world may tell us, there is nothing missing in this moment.

This world would have us believe that we have to find clarity through the noise, but Naima tells us something different. It reminds us that clarity comes from standing still long enough to hear the truth. When I hear the spacing between the notes, that’s the part that stands out to me almost as much as the very notes themselves. Pauses are not empty. In fact, they are very much alive.

To listen to Naima, consider not trying to understand it. No, try to let it sit beside you while you remember and return to yourself. Surprisingly, a Kind Rebirth doesn’t have to look like change. Perhaps it’s the act of staying. I hope this song creates a room for you to step into without fixing and without striving…just presence of being and peace from returning.

Stay mindful…

Rebirth