MUSIC AND SUNFLOWERS

The final band concert of the year took place tonight. A collection of beautifully played music by three different bands from my son’s middle school. It was also a farewell celebration for the eighth-grade students as they continue onwards to high school in August.

We arrived at Cedar Park High School on time. My son went to find his seat in the front rows with his bandmates whilst I found a seat a few rows back and in the middle. His father was somewhere behind me, having come at the request of his son, with stepmother and baby in tow.

The stage was set with paper sunflowers. One cannot help but smile when seeing the bright yellow faces of the flowers, even if it was only the paper version. But sunflowers symbolise so much more than happiness. When I returned home, I was curious as to the extra meanings.

Besides happiness and longevity, the sunflower represents honesty. It also brings to mind optimism and devotion. But another interesting symbolisation of the sunflower is peace. Interesting with respect to the current world events.

According to a Google search on uniguide.com referencing a Washington Post article:

‘Sunflowers…are symbols of nuclear disarmament…When the Soviet Union broke apart in 1991, the new nation of Ukraine held the third-largest arsenal of nuclear weapons. In 1996, Ukraine committed to total nuclear disarmament. To honor the occasion, representatives from the U.S., Ukraine, and Russia planted sunflowers in the locations where there had previously been nuclear missile silos.’ – Washington Post, 5 June 1996

As for music, it has a way of connecting people. By bringing them together. By empowering and inspiring them to do good, which may lead to creating a peaceful environment. Such was the case at tonight’s Spring concert as parents, students, and instructors were brought together for a night of performances.

After the concert, my son and I headed to the end of our row where his father awaited him. He also acknowledged my presence, which was not the case on many other occasions where our children were involved in an event, but his wife ignored me even though we had spent a few occasions in previous months talking. More important was the connection between father and son, as brief as it was. My son was happy that his father made it to hear him play tonight.

The music and sunflowers hold meanings of their own, just as do relationships we come across in our daily lives. Though the goal is one of connection and happiness, ultimate happiness comes from within. From the validation we receive from ourselves and not from others.