Dear Reader,

the Brain of my Heart, is broken.

Cognitive empathy is impaired - pretty significantly it turns out. I don't easily recognise and understand the cues that people give to their emotional state, but given time to observe the body language and tone of voice, explore the context and process the information, I can come to a kind of understanding through my Virtual Heart. That understanding might overwhelm me. Attempts at response are sometimes too late, or simply wrong.

This defines my relationship with the social world, and with music.

Funny to talk about music as a relationship, a two-way thing, a sharing. What is music for you? Does it speak to you? Does it complement your sense of self? Does it stir your heart and soul? Do you love it and fear its loss?

I love it and I fear its loss.
Music does not speak to me, but it enables me to speak.
It does not complement self, but it is a vehicle for self.
It does not stir my heart and soul, but I can use it to stir others.

My heart doesn't stir so well on its own.
So I create my Virtual Heart from the stories I am told and the memories of my experience. I mix these raw materials through careful contemplation and guide their form for the job at hand. The design of my virtual heart is not perfect, but it can be improved and its function remains the same. My Virtual Heart is the user-interface for the real one.

It tells me what to feel.

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