When Music Meets Life: The Gift Of The Moment

I’ve noticed over the years that it can become far too easy to get caught up in the distractions of daily life. It then becomes pretty easy to gradually lose sight of what is truly important in life, the passions that make us smile, the people that are truly deserving of our time and attention. And it is far too easy to let yourself become cynical about the world, or to become jaded, or to just take a more passive approach to life in general.

There are moments when I am sure all of us have done this. For many, it is hopefully short-lived. For others, it might require a death in the family or a significant life trauma, something that wakes us up to make us smell the proverbial coffee. It could be something that forces us to re-prioritize and re-focus our efforts on those things which truly make our heart sing and give our world wings with which to soar above the distractions.

Which brings me back to music. Again.

Music has always been a passion for me. It is what brought freedom to my existence as a college student. It is what initially brought me to Austin, a city which lives and breathes music every night of the week. But I will be the first to admit, it has been far too easy to take the live music scene for granted. It is easy to get into a rut of daily existence, to find excuses to just not bother. We all have those same excuses, and you know the culprits: I have too much to do, I am too busy, I will see them the next time they play in town, etc. Yes, I became a bit cynical about all of it. And although that is something over which I am fully responsible, I can say that it was easily fostered by many of those around me who really didn’t have a deep-seated love of the music. Fool me once, shame on you – fool me twice, shame on me.

That’s not to say that music was no longer a part of my Austin existence – far from it. But over time, it had lacked consistency. Every time I would venture out to see a live show, I would always be acutely reminded of the beauty of the music, and how much it can (and always did) touch my soul.

But then inertia would set in. Thanks, Newton, for your First Law.

If we’re fortunate, we have people in our world that can remind us of the importance of those things. Perhaps they don’t realize it, but they have the ability to see our forest for the trees, and to remind us of our own passions – hopefully, before it’s too late.

Fortunately, I have some great people in my world that have recently reminded me of the importance of music in my world. Almost every time we’d talk, there would be an undercurrent of “why aren’t you still playing guitar?” or “how come you don’t get out to see much live music anymore?”. Some have been adamant about my returning to the guitar, prodding me to pick it up consistently again – which I thankfully did.  In the midst of that, I returned to the live music scene in earnest – Storyville at Antones in early July 2010 being the most obvious example of a local band that got me back into a true appreciation of the Austin music scene. So with those things in mind, music has been making a resurgence in my world.

But after thinking about it for a moment or two, there is a far bigger question. Doesn’t music (as a life experience) truly reflect the whole concept of “being in the moment”? Isn’t it a gift to our world? Or, in other words, doesn’t it bring us to the present, the exquisite nature of our existence, the emotions found deep within us, the succulent taste of passion?

Yes, it is a gift. It is beauty. It is passion. And I have promised myself to never lose sight of that again – inertia or otherwise.

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