Look at the moon. It travels in the sky completely free, and this freedom produces beauty and happiness. — Thich Nhat Hanh, quoted on Twitter

Actually it’s constrained by the Earth gravity. If it was completely free it would be floating through space and we wouldn’t see it. — Prince of Anime, replying on Twitter

I am bothered by people who see no mystery in Life or in the World. People for whom randomness and uncertainty have been driven from the temple by the flagellation of logic and knowledge. I wonder why this flower bloomed and that one didn’t? Because that one gets thirty minutes less sunshine each day. I don’t dislike these people, but I find it difficult to converse with them.

‘Guarded Heart,’ by Bear’s Tapestry, is the voice of a soul that accepts the uncertainty of its own heart. Their heart is uncertain because Life is uncertain. Our lives are, when viewed in retrospect from the road’s terminus, deterministic. But our knowledge of the path to be taken from Here to There is stochastic. We’ll figure out our heart tomorrow after the world completes another revolution, next month in a new phase of the misty moon, or next year after another traipse around the sun. When the fog lifts, we may see details of dwellings on the valley floor. Or we may just see more fog.

Guarded heart, guarded heart
What do you keep so well?
What is it you fear
That you have to go
And make that shell?

‘Guarded Heart’ is beautiful in its elegant simplicity. The background is shaded by acoustic guitar, harmonica, violin, pedal steel, and gently-plucked mandolin. The country instrumentation reveals a vocal void of twangs, a bit of Blind Melon tone with Ryan Adams phrasings. The song is a suite, seven minutes that pass too soon.

Based in Burlington, Vermont, Bear’s Tapestry is fronted by songwriter Bear Borges. Their music is self-described as combining the vulnerable, honest lyricism of folk, with the roller-coaster transitions of contemporary indie rock and nuanced rhythms of jazz. ‘Guarded Heart’ appears on the new five-song Bear’s Tapestry EP, Wind and Water.

The music of Bear’s Tapestry is available on Bandcamp, Spotify, and Apple Music. And be sure to follow Bear’s Tapestry on Instagram and Facebook.