Music as a microcosm of life
Jazz legends, connecting to the sacred, and dancing the night away
Alright, let me begin with the literal. My Saturday night was really wonderful. Over the course of about 16 hours, I spent time with people I love, witnessed genuine greatness, connected to the sacred, danced like nobody was watching, talked love, life and philosophy (interestingly Wittgenstein drew some attention for a while, lol!), and (I think…?) grew a little as a person (this is meant metaphorically, unless you correctly read this as growing in terms of psychosocial complexity, deepening my relation to self and other, or something to this avail).
My night started long before the sun set on a rooftop with the most special adult in my life. We then progressed to celebrating the opening of a friends restaurant. We ate, talked, laughed and learned about the underlying philosophy of the restaurant in the process. We then went to the International Jazz Festival at the Sydney Myer Music Bowl. We got to see Herbie Hancock live. Yes, the Herbie Hancock (his band, comprised of some of the most talented music peeps on this planet, was absolutely mesmerising).
We then progressed back to the restaurant before heading out to see a friend DJ (and yes, the set was a vibe). On the way to the restaurant, however, we were guided to the Ngargee Tree (by the friend who played a killer set a little later in the evening), a sacred place to the First Nations people’s of this area.
This was a really special experience. We slowed down, altered the rhythm of the night, and did our best to collectively embody reverence for the historicity of this beautiful place we are all so thankful to call home.
Eventually the night ended on a rooftop, listening to the birds as the sun began to rise.
Alright, let’s shift a little now that some basic context has been established. What do I actually mean when I refer to music as a microcosm of life?
Well, music can be thought of as vocal and / or instrumental sounds combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion. Music is also thought to have played an important role in our evolution (and may not be confined to homo sapiens).
But it, whatever ‘it’ actually is, sure as shit ain’t a noun. It, like life, is a process, a practice, a way of being, doing and becoming. So, just as my friend Jon Alexander (and so many others, especially Baratunde Thurston) have asked us to consider the shift from citizen as noun to ‘citezening’ as verb, I’d suggest we do the same here.
This shift resonates so deeply with me because of the way my life has unfolded (and continues to unfold). In fact, prior to some deep inner development that really kicked off in late 2022, I reckon life was more akin to a fight than a dance.
I was grappling with tension. I took defensive stances. I was always scouting for danger. Me against the world and all that.
*Excuse the gross oversimplification. Just roll with it for now.
I had it ’wrong’ in so many ways.
Thankfully, I now have a really decent sense of why I was the way I was. And I’ve been able to rather deliberately evolve as a result.
What’s interesting about this is that I reconnected with music when I began my deep inner development. I began listening to music again. I began singing a bit again. I began dancing like no one was watching (often when I’m out, when the vibe is right of course, I just close my eyes, feel into the rhythm and flow with it. It’s me and the music in the dynamical process).
This is me being silly with my little one, Asta. By being vulnerable (singing, making it fun, sharing bits of the process with people we love etc.), I’m encouraging her to find different ways to attune to, and express, her unique voice (she has a brilliant music teacher, and is actually learning to do basic music production, which pleases her uncle very much… We own a record label together).
I now feel this process (life) is much more dance than fight.
Don’t get me wrong, when we dance we make mistakes. We misstep. We fall over. We get out of rhythm. We feel awkward, judged and all kinds of inner turmoil. We have to navigate complex environments, with many moving parts that we can’t possibly make sense of with ‘pure logic’. But, the beauty is, when we really let go, we can flow in ways we’ve never flowed before.
And this to me has become something of a metaphor for how to live my life. I’m trying to embrace the pop idea of ‘perfect imperfection’ (in other words, being truly okay with the fact that I am a process. I will never be done per se. I have the opportunity to keep learning and evolving. It’s okay to make mistakes. In fact, it’s also okay to repeat them. Sometimes we have to learn the same lesson over and over, in different ways, before we can deeply embody and enact the learning. Plus plenty more).
And that’s what I’d encourage in you. Go out dancing. Really embody the music. And, wherever possible, see if you can start relating to the process of life as more of a dance than a fight.
Okay, I’ve gotta run to school pickup. I feel there’s a lot that remains unsaid here. There’s likely much to explore. There remain many open questions.
Let’s engage in that part together.
With love as always.
Great one Nate.