Bucket list item achieved ✅ … I finally got to see James Taylor perform live! I waited my whole adult life, and he was at Wolf Trap here in Virginia last night.
He’s known for a lot of iconic songs that I listen to on repeat, but there were a few lines from some of his less played tunes that really got to me last night:
The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time.
From “Secret O’ Life” by James Taylor
Any fool can do it, there ain’t nothing to it.
…
Now the thing about time is that time isn’t really real.
It’s just your point of view, how does it feel for you?
Einstein said he could never understand it all.
…
Some kind of lovely ride. I’ll be sliding down, I’ll be gliding down.
Try not to try too hard, it’s just a lovely ride.
The other song is a little sadder but still so true:
Everybody gets to feel some pain
From “Everybody Has The Blues” by James Taylor
Everyone got to get caught out in the rain
Everybody got some days that they can’t explain
Everybody got the blues
It’s funny how life requires you to live on both sides of the coin. I hope we’re all doing things we enjoy, even when we’re caught in a rainy period. Look at any true artist – from any medium – and they struggle. They suffer. They get low. And a lot of times its their art that’s doing it to them. But they stick with it (well, mostly). They play through the pain. KBO. Because it’s worth it. They create wonderful things.
But it’s not always worth it. And I think that needs to be okay. It actually takes a lot of introspection to recognize a poor balance of effort and pay-off, and it takes even more bravery to say “I’m ready for something else.”
It’s always a good time to celebrate your passions, and it’s never too late to make a change.
This Old Cloud 