I read Ralph Ellison’s book The Invisible Man in college, and I recall his description of a helical advance of society over time. How things come around and maybe the conditions are the same but the whole place or view is elevated.
Recently that image came to mind in thinking about my own life.
It seems that I have always been pulled between music and conservation and of course family and social circles.
Right and left brain, I don’t know?
As life has gone on these forces have ebbed and flowed, been adipose to each other and been in support of each other, or sometimes one has been strong and the other quiet.
Now is one of those moments when they are both quite forceful.
The image of Ellison’s book came to mind the other evening while thinking about my challenge to reconcile or accept these forces on my life at this present moment.
There may have been times when these forces have been stronger than they are now, but I am at a different elevation in my life.
It seems like happiness is sometime matter of choice, and I never really new that until recently. I hope that some of my efforts help others as well as myself make that choice.
The contribution of any life has ongoing potential for inspiring good and finding hapiness on many levels.
Is there a universal desire to want to "do good"?
With regard to music and my work, I would like to believe that I do not have to choose one or the other, but the challenge it to manage or work to find the balance that enables both to thrive and neither to become a distraction to the other.
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2 comments:
Well, someone once said that (I paraphrase here) "If you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life!" Nice work if you can get it! All things considered, I think we do pretty well as musicians, IF we stop to be thankful for what we really do have, and think about all the lives we touch. I teach music in Cleveland, which is often times a thankless task, but I love kids, music, and teaching, so hey! I also get to play with other musicians (like you, for instance!) which makes life as a musician the special thing it is.
Balance - We can wax philosophical, or just accept the truth that the great sage Popeye the Sailor once noted: "I yam what I yam." Some sow, some water, others reap. For myself, (to quote someone I heard in a song)"I'm mighty glad to be here."
With all it's problems, this is still a pretty nice planet to live on, and for me, making music makes it that much better. Try to imagine a world without music! YIKES! - Peace..
Bruce aka "Brew the Bassist, The Bass Guy
in stunning Euclid Ohio, the pride of East Cleveland, Parma by the Sea
True that!
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