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Tonight I sat in a little music bar called The 5 Spot and listened to Jacob Zachary from Baton Rouge. I had to board a plane a little over a year ago to get from South Africa to Nashville, Tennessee. I had to stick it out through good days and bad until this very moment. I had to spend Sunday afternoon being a little bored to get motivated to go out and find music tonight. I had to get through a rock band at 12th and Porter (FlashMob…. They were good and loud and all things rock but ultimately not what I was looking for on this Sunday night) before moving on to The 5 Spot. I didn’t know who Jacob Zachary was before tonight. I didn’t know he was playing but as soon as I walked in the door, ears still ringing from FlashMob, and started listening I was glad my night ended there. Sometimes the destination matters and sometimes it doesn’t. Tonight it did but I didn’t know where I was going until I got there. I’m just glad I decided to take the journey.
I can see some parallels in searching for good music and searching for treasures in day to day life. With music though I at least have some idea of what I’m looking for. I know what I like as soon as I hear it and I could probably give you a general description of the kind of music I think is “good” if I was pressed. Day to day life is another thing entirely. There are small treasures everywhere if you bother to find them. It might be an interesting conversation with a stranger or discovering a new thing. It could be a moment when the sun is setting just right. It could be walking into a music bar and being pleasantly surprised by what you find.
I’ve been trying hard lately to change my natural settings. If there’s a little sliding switch inside each of us that controls our attitude mine has certainly spent more time near the “not so fabulous” side in the past few years. I don’t know if it got permanently set to “Negative-Nancy” by genetics or if it just spent so much time there that, eventually, it stuck. Nevertheless I’m trying to get it stuck somewhere on the positive side of neutral. It feels like I’m making progress and that makes me feel better about myself and the world in general.
But I think it’s not only the positives that make us who we are. A one sided coin isn’t a coin at all. Instead it’s a party trick. I’m not advocating that we all become a bunch of grinning idiots. Whether you’re searching for “good” music or searching for treasures in life you’ve got to be willing to go on the hunt. If you can set out each day with a hopeful and positive attitude then the bad times don’t seem so bad and they’re less likely to knock you off course. If you can accept the knocks as part of life and refuse to let them get you down then you’re more likely to get where you want to go. If you reach the point where you get almost as excited about the bumps in the road as you do about the road itself then you are becoming a true adventurer; dedicated to the journey and the treasures you may find along the way.
I can see some parallels in searching for good music and searching for treasures in day to day life. With music though I at least have some idea of what I’m looking for. I know what I like as soon as I hear it and I could probably give you a general description of the kind of music I think is “good” if I was pressed. Day to day life is another thing entirely. There are small treasures everywhere if you bother to find them. It might be an interesting conversation with a stranger or discovering a new thing. It could be a moment when the sun is setting just right. It could be walking into a music bar and being pleasantly surprised by what you find.
I’ve been trying hard lately to change my natural settings. If there’s a little sliding switch inside each of us that controls our attitude mine has certainly spent more time near the “not so fabulous” side in the past few years. I don’t know if it got permanently set to “Negative-Nancy” by genetics or if it just spent so much time there that, eventually, it stuck. Nevertheless I’m trying to get it stuck somewhere on the positive side of neutral. It feels like I’m making progress and that makes me feel better about myself and the world in general.
But I think it’s not only the positives that make us who we are. A one sided coin isn’t a coin at all. Instead it’s a party trick. I’m not advocating that we all become a bunch of grinning idiots. Whether you’re searching for “good” music or searching for treasures in life you’ve got to be willing to go on the hunt. If you can set out each day with a hopeful and positive attitude then the bad times don’t seem so bad and they’re less likely to knock you off course. If you can accept the knocks as part of life and refuse to let them get you down then you’re more likely to get where you want to go. If you reach the point where you get almost as excited about the bumps in the road as you do about the road itself then you are becoming a true adventurer; dedicated to the journey and the treasures you may find along the way.
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