The Status Quo
I think the secret to life is making every moment the most important moment in your life, that every second you should be realizing something new that drastically changes the way you view the world. When you think about it, is there really any other way? I suppose that in actuallity many of us live our lives differently. We settle into routines that slowly destroy our lives, and when we die nothing is left of us but the rigid patterns of wake, eat, work, buy, sleep. We forget that there is so much more to life and we are really only limited by how ambitious we are.
What I'm proposing is no less than a complete revolution of the mind. I'm asking you to stop what you're doing right now, to think about the time you've lost and what you're going to do to get it back. You're not alone, there are others among you having near-life experiences everyday. Don't live your life looking at pictures of places you've been wondering if you'll ever go back---know that you'll not only go back but that you'll go farther. Get going. Every second counts. Don't fucking waste your time.
Music
So in keeping with the spirit of rennovations in my life I have updated my music collection. I guess that doesn't sound like much, but new music is pretty exciting. I erased all the songs off my iPod and replaced them with new songs from bands I never listen to. Like I mentioned in my previous post, I've been defending the status quo too much lately. Music may not seem like a large part of the status qup but I think listening to the same music over and over again really doesn't foster a diverse appreciation of music. And if I really love music I should probably stop listening to just 5-10 bands. I don't want to start hating the bands I love. So out with the Dave Matthews and Death Cab staple that has lasted me for so long, it's time to start paying attention to some new artists.
Do as I do
I was in class the other day and my professor was explaining something about the importance of managers following the values they espouse. He brought up the old problem of "Do as I say, not as I do" and why it create cynicism within the work organization.
I think it's a phrase that many of us have heard and understand to be flawed. Yet so many of us talk shit. We talk about who we are with little regard to what we actually do. I remember a time when I was travelling where I promised myself that when I got home I would do so much more.
I would have more time for guitar, for finding new music, and for exploring my own city as though it were a place I was just passing through and had little time to discover. I would have time to be a more passionate person. The truth is that I was the most passionate when I was travelling and that when I got home I let the air out of so many of the ideas I had blown up. I got comfortable and secure.
I feels like it's been an almost unconscious transition from fighting the status quo to defending it. I have to say I'm not proud and definately feel as though I have lost a lot. I am of course a lot more secure but definately at the expense of having a daily routine and almost never encountering anything out of the ordinary. I really hate that. I have forgotten about almost everything I was passionate about. I have placed those passions in the future for when I feel like I will have time for them.
Dave Matthews said "The future is no place to place your better days". I really need to work on that. I played some guitar tonight and relearned "I miss you" by Incubus. I hope I can do more, get back in the habit of making time for fun things instead of just letting school stomp all over me. This blog needs to be updated more, I really need to start taking more pictures, and theres no way I want to stay at this low level of guitar.
We play no more on swings or slides
Gentle possibilities,
Subtle Idiosyncracies.
Places to go and people to see,
Sometimes broken dreams come to me.
And in this place that the world has become,
Do I have time to waste
On things no longer fun?
