Resonance

ˈrezənəns

the quality in a sound of being deep, full, and reverberating.

"the resonance of his voice"

the ability to evoke or suggest images, memories, and emotions.
"the concepts lose their emotional resonance"
 

(Pasted from <https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=definition%20of%20resonance>) 

There is so much to say on this topic, I am going to break this down into two days of writings.  It makes my head swim to think of the ramifications of resonance in my life.  Today, I'll take on thinking through the positives of resonance.  Later, I'll explore what might hinder resonance in our lives.

I think of resonance all the time as a musician.  As a vocal teacher, I have the opinion that the ability to create resonance  is one of the qualities that sets one vocalist apart from the other.  I work a lot with my students on being aware of  the sound they are creating and what it feels like/sounds like when they are resonating fully.  When they resonate fully there is a richness, a depth to the sound that makes you want to hear more.  I also have to consider what impedes resonance and not only try to explain that to my students but demonstrate it as well.

As a pianist, I know that if I play a single note on my acoustic piano, push the damper pedal down and listen carefully, I can hear the overtones of that note vibrating on other strings.  One single note affecting multiple strings around it.  There is a scientific explanation for that, but I don't want to go down that road right now.  If I release the damper pedal, the felts fall onto the strings and I am left with the resonance of one single note as long as that one note is held down.

That knowledge brings me to where my thoughts are this morning on resonance in our lives.  What overtones are created in those around me as I live my life?  Am I even aware of the effect I have on others?  What dampens and impedes my resonance into the lives of those around me? 

How we interact with others creates resonance.  Your persona creates resonance.  Motivation is resonance.  I believe  body language and facial expression create unvoiced resonance.  Words and tone create resonance.  Style creates resonance.  You have heard the phrase "She/he brings out the best/worst in me."  That is resonance. 

I have come to believe that in life inner resonance will shine through if someone journeys with you long enough.  Inner resonance cannot be hidden for long.  One can throw up road blocks, take on another image, speak in certain ways or do things to fit into specific surroundings, but that deep inner resonance will shine through even those actions.

What could resonance look like to those around us?  Here might be just a few words to describe what resonance might look like or even feel like:  "affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity, a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people, loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life and an ability to marshal and direct our energies wisely." (Gal 5:22-23 MSG)

"When people of similar frequencies come together, output is not a simple sum of individual work, but exponential.  In science we term this phenomenon as resonance.  Output at this state is beyond any logical limit."  - Ravindra Shukla, A Maverick Heart:  Between Love and Life

Resonance looks like many things in my life.  I challenge myself with the thought that it is possible that every encounter someone has with us...has the possibility to resonate something within them.  I pause to reflect on that statement because of the sheer power of the words.  It's more than the words I speak, but HOW I interact as my motives shine through.

What overtones am I creating with my life in the lives of those around me?