Café Musings
October 9th, 2006 by Leusaj
While sitting at one of the local art nouveau cafes in my neighborhood, my focus drifts a bit and I begin to listen. One can’t help but listen when out somewhere and alone. Our ears begin to filter the sounds and voices that shift through the soundscape. Sometimes I look for voices familiar to my own, other times it is the scraping sounds of dissonance and discord that I search for, something to match and balance out my own inward chatter. When people go out to eat, it can be hard to sense what they are looking for: approval, companionship, distraction? Or is it to enjoy the simple act of dining in the presence of people, participating in the natural flow of your city’s life?
The café that I go to is just a few blocks away from the gallery district in my city. As autumn filters through, the galleries are preparing for the next wave of local and student artists to bring out their latest creations for public viewing. Students whose work isn’t quite up to par will show their work in the university shows, which are held on campus in the student run galleries. I am glad that fall is finally settling in, bringing with it new inspiration and the same age-old questions to answer. For with these questions, there is always someone who comes up with a different way to answer the funny ponderings of daily and existential living. Finishing up my coffee, I head outside, hoping that someone has found a way to show us their answer to those simple and endless questions we all face: what’s it all mean?