Musings of a Dispirited Retail Employee

As I was driving home from work yesterday, I was struck by the thought that there are certain types of music that just resonate within me for no reason I can easily identify. The CD I had playing in my car was a Matisyahu mix that was given to me recently, and something about the tone or the words or maybe the backbeat was just… right. Not in the way that pop music is so familiar you know all the words without even having to think – this was a track I hadn’t even heard until now. The best way I can describe the feeling is like when you’ve been outside on a cold day and then you come in and make a mug of hot cocoa; that first sip just warms you up and fills you with contentment that starts in the pit of your stomach and spreads out to your fingertips. The feeling I get from really good music is the same, except that it starts in your soul rather than your stomach, and this feeling can come from anything – from a song to a well-prepared meal to a sunset to a hug from someone you love.

Art, in its many forms, is one of the few things that makes our short lives on this earth worth living. [The other, perhaps, is Love – the deep connection between people that enriches our lives and assures us that we are not alone.] In a world where so many focus on war, on politics, on consumerist greed and the seeming ‘need’ to acquire STUFF with which to fill our lives, True Art reaches out and touches souls, and it can continue doing so long after the creator is gone from the world.

It sometimes depresses me how much of my time and energy is devoted to the earning and spending of money, and at times when I’m feeling particularly philosophical or depressed (fatalistic?) I smirk at the complete uselessness (I wish I had a better synonym… futility maybe?) of the whole system of consumerism, finances and “value” that we humans apply to every aspect of our lives. I guess it says something, at least, that many great works of art are assigned high monetary values and are coveted and collected by the wealthy. But I firmly believe that any person with a desire to enrich their lives and warm their souls should have free access to Art in its many forms, and not just the famous paintings and sculptures we see in public galleries. I’m talking about literature, music, poetry, film, video games (Yes, there can be art in a video game – but that’s a topic for another day), and anything else that reaches out and creates real connections between human souls, regardless of race, class, gender, or political affiliation. If a sunset touches your soul more than some paint on a canvas, then for God’s sake SHARE IT WITH SOMEBODY!! Life is too short to let these moments of Truth pass us by, and a life of pure materialism is hardly worth living at all.

This is by no means a complete list or guideline, but I feel I should follow my own advice here and share a few works of art that for one reason or another have recently touched my soul, and hope that maybe somebody reading this might get something out of the sharing.

Dead Island trailer: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/107826-Dead-Island-The-Best-Zombie-Game-Trailer-Ever

Matisyahu music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kS9uTiEY9ag

“Baba Yetu” song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb-jk6Ftx7o

In the end of our lives, what do we leave behind us that really matters? Take away all the money and the stuff and what you leave behind you are the connections you made, the people you loved, and – if you’re lucky – something of your own creation capable of teaching and enriching the lives of those who come after you. What else is there worth working towards, after allo? As they say, you can’t take it with you (unless you’re an Egyptian pharaoh, in which case your wealth, biography, possessions, pets and even servants might be entombed alongside you to rot beneath the earth and keep your bones company). But we can’t all be pharaohs.

P.S. I recognize that those who cannot or would not be artists often aspire to other things – mainly to helping others, whether through teaching, volunteer work, facilitating our life functions through the development of technology, the creation of consumer products or food, by raising children to enrich the population with our own legacy)… and I am by no means belittling these other choices / occupations / activities. This is merely a rant on the desire to become an artist in order to do one meaningful thing with my life, and an expression of my disappointment in myself for being unable / unwilling to try to do that yet, of all the time I’ve wasted so far and how much more there is still to do.

Autumn Unmasked - a poem

When the last vestiges of heavy summer

have fled from the hills and fields

and old leaves litter the ground

like the ashes of a great bonfire

When the tree’s last lingering leaves

cling desperately to its deadened boughs

rustling in the crisp cool autumn air

until the wind plucks them from their perch

and they wander slowly towards the earth

when brisk and cloudy mornings give way

to dreary nights of cold dark drizzle

and the trees are bent over in shadow

like aged men full of pain

yet the hearts of the trees are glad

and they sing under the grey formless clouds

the fiery foliage mourns not

for summers gone by

nor for springtime, full of birth and blooming

the rustle and crunch of leaves underfoot

holds rather an air of whispered excitement

the chill breeze full of hope and promise

and all nature stands in awe

of Mother’s bravery and insight

for she knows all too well

the danger of clinging to summer greens

until the last flower has wilted and died

and things that once were fair and pure

wither and rot in the moist heat of afternoon sun

Rather she casts down the living stems

at the peak of their life and luster

painting them gold and orange and red

as a proud testimony to her power and might

and the trees are not afraid

in anxious anticipation they wait

sleeping under their cold white blankets

hiding their excitement from the world

until Mother says the time is right

for flowers to push up from damp earth

and young green leaves to sprout

in new and varied forms and colors

forgetting not the joys of past years

but starting fresh from the very beginning

building on old hopes and dreams

until all the earth is green with life again

and Sun smiles down on their joyous bounty

The night stars sparkle like smiling eyes.

Hence the wisdom of Mother Nature is shown

not in her steadfast longevity

but in the wisdom of change

which allows for rebirth and growth

a clean slate for every year

on which new hopes can truly bloom

and old doubts and fears are cast away,

fading into twilight and a new dawn.