My Ideas vs. Reality

Ned @ Dairy Queen, Central PA, August 2010

I have been thinking about my perception of things. In particular, I am thinking of music and how I relate to it. The main benefit of music for me is the effect on my mood. It can energize me, comfort me and inspire me. When I think about music, I think about how it makes me feel. I have never taken the time to think about how the musicians felt. I figured they were happy, doing what they loved, making a living, feeling adored by the world. I have read biographies on musicians, and of course there is a lot of hard work, disappointment, hassle and even tragedy that can go along with the job.

On this note, I will reveal that I am a fanatical Led Zeppelin fan. Never have I experienced so many different emotions listening to music than I have with them. The level of musicianship that Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Bonham and John Paul Jones had together has never ceased to surprise and amaze me. They were constantly pushing the envelope and testing the boundaries. The compelling rhythm and bass, the commanding guitar and that voice on top of it all. The music has enormous energy, drive and most of all, passion. The passion of youth and life and love.

Recently, I had dinner @ a friend's house who has a collection of photographs by Jim Marshall. He is the man behind the lens of countless rock & roll photos that I have seen all of my life. A talented photographer with a decades long career, trusted by many artists to capture them at their most outrageous as well as their most vulnerable moments.  A particular portrait on the wall is a stunning moment of Robert Plant and Jimmy Page in the back seat of a limousine. One of them is looking out the window, the other looking down @ the floor. I think Robert Plant has his arms crossed across his chest. There is a look of exhaustion, discontent and maybe even anger on their faces. This was a genuine moment in an average work day, for these two young musicians.

Two things have happened to me since I saw this photograph. The first is this: everyone who is working, no matter the industry or business they are in, is working. Along with work comes the natural course of life and it is not wonderful all the time. It can be exhilarating, challenging, and even seem hardly worth it some of the time. The second thought is this: I can easily get an idea in my head about what something is. However, that isn't necessarily what it is. For instance, I assume that life is wonderful all the time for someone who appears "successful". This of course, is not true. I knew it wasn't true before I saw the portrait. But somehow, when I looked @ this picture of two of my favorite artists (who I have enormous respect for) in a cheerless moment, a higher consciousness came over me. I had a new kind of respect and awareness. And this awareness covered everything; not just my impassioned fan feelings for Led Zeppelin. We are all the same when it comes right down to it. Our blood is all red, we all came from a mother and father, we all have feelings and emotions, including elation and despair, sadness and joy. We really are all the same in some ways. What a wonderful thing to consciously become aware of and to allow myself to think about. I am glad I am open these life experiences.

Expect good things...