An Anniversary Reflection on Peace Piece by Bill Evans

On a rainy night in early December, we shared a moment of unexpected reconciliation. Not from a fight, not from discord, but from what I can only describe as an epiphany of something unknown. We often talk about life's peaks and valleys, but rarely are we able to put into words the sometimes muted chaos of our minds.

As we drove down Christmas Tree Lane to look at lights before settling into our evening routine, the rather conventional detour became an extraordinary moment of clarity. Just as I turned the radio to my favorite classical music station, a melody played that would become the soundtrack to describe our union and this unique moment in time.  

Peace Piece by Bill Evans is unlike most jazz compositions, in that it's purely an improvisation. Much like us, the song is everything but conventional. We met in New York, went back to our homes in LA and London and decided that distance couldn't stop us from discovering the unknown. We moved in together and married less than 2 years later with still, no fear of the unknown. We persisted, we improvised, and we always found our irreplicable harmony.

Through the years, we dug deep into our past experiences that often inflicted turmoil into our present, yet we persisted and created and evolved. But as we began navigating the nuances of our neurodivergent son, it was as if our rhythm was suddenly interrupted and the once quiet chaos became overt and undeniably visible. 

As we listened to this reflective performance, the melody of untraditional chord progressions, unresolved melodic and harmonic tensions, we found solace in the unrelenting constant presence of two fluctuating chords. Our journey has been a rather naive and turbulent exploration, yet fortified by the constant presence of two things: love and faith. Whenever we faced uncertainties or disharmony, what always brought reconciliation was our commitment to loving each other and faith that no matter how uncomfortable or hard, we could always find our unrelenting harmony. 

It was in this quiet moment that a simple song on the radio would bring us simultaneous peace. A collective and unspoken release of expectations and worries. A reminder that we were never driven by fear. A reassurance that the complexities we face simply add depth and meaning to the mundane. A reminder that we can always find peace.