Genuine music appreciation

Hello there,

Tonight I went to a local jazz festival with two girlfriends, and we watched a really great trio, which consisted of a pianist, upright bassist, and vocalist who could scat with wonderful ease. That in itself was really nice, however the nicest part about the whole thing was observing the crowd as they watched the trio. There were people sitting on the ground, in lawn chairs that they’d brought, and on whatever park bench they could snag. There was one man in particular who was sitting right up front, with only a towel between him and the concrete. This man looked to be in his late 70’s, perhaps early 80’s, and I suspect that he was there to enjoy the jazz movement right around the time that it was really getting started in North America. This man was just *so* precious! He was bopping his head along to the groove, and had this adorable big grin (mouth open, in fact), and was just so obviously enthralled and enjoying the whole experience. When the performance was over, he was the first one to push himself up into a standing position and he just clapped and smiled and clapped. His genuine enjoyment was infectious, and made me smile *almost* as much as he was smiling. Being able to witness someone who allowed themselves to be immersed in the music like that was such a treat.

Have a nice day,

the nicepaper

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Hello there

Hello there,

Thank you for taking the time to check in on my nice news for the day. Now, ordinarily I tend to avoid seeking out the daily news, because quite frankly, it just ends up making me feel very very sad. My personal philosophy has always been this: if it’s big/important enough news, I will hear about it one way or another. Therefore, I do not actively read newspapers, watch the news on tv, or search out news on the internet. I’m sure that many people will have many opinions about whether this is right or wrong. Regardless, this is what works for me. There are, obviously, certain events which do lead me to search out news coverage. However, when that does happen, I am reminded once again of how much news media involves fear mongering, and a biased focus on negativity. It is so easy to get caught up in all of that negative energy, and to start to see the world through a very hyperfocused negative filter. In addition, there are so many negative things that I personally see, hear, and experience every day. I think the same can be said for everybody in the world. Therefore, I decided to create my own little space where I could focus on nice things, and bring some balance into my own perspective, especially on those days when everything seems to be bringing me down. So, the aim of this blog is to post one nice thing each day. It might be something that I observed, something that I experienced, or something that I thought. It is not my goal to document all of the nice things that happened in the world on any given day. It is my goal to document one nice thing that happened in my own little world that day. Obviously, I will post about things that I personally find nice, but I would love it if you, my lovely readers, would make comments about the nice things that you have experienced that day. Then, together, we can create a collection of nice news from around the world, and provide a collective counterbalance to all of the negative news that we all encounter on a daily basis. I really look forward to sharing my nice news with you, and I look forward to reading your nice news too!

Have a nice day,

the nicepaper