Living life well requires a delicate balance of reflecting on the past, enjoying the present and creating one's own vision and plan for the future. The challenge in that statement is not it's validity but what percentages of our mind share should be allocated to each of those activities. And, the big question, how the hell do you actually allocate mind share and achieve that balance?
Self-reflection is surely a fine personal quality but there is a line where that trait becomes nostalgic and stultifying. And on the flip side, looking toward the future without a plan is tantalizingly simple, letting our imaginations shape our perfect vision of us in the future. It's often told that envisioning good results often leads to the production of those same good results but where does that quality devolve into daydreaming?
Attempting to craft the future through action while living in the now seems like a delicate balance of imagination and action. Perhaps it is achieved by striving to, "live in the moment," not worrying about what's next other than what you can control. As Transcendentalist leader Ralph Waldo Emerson once eloquently said, "Be not the slave of your own past. Plunge into the sublime seas, dive deep and swim far, so you shall come back with self-respect, with new power, with an advanced experience that shall explain and overlook the old."
Music is a gift that has the power to represent the past, dial in the present and provide a glimpse into the future. During a reflection of his years as band and tour manager for critically acclaimed indie rock band Yo La Tango, Joe Puleo wrote, "Songs, like love, have an amazing power to heal and destroy. That's because songs, like love, are loaded with time; time that moves along even though you are unaware of the movement. But songs, unlike love...can be otherwise avoided."
Although a consumer and not a producer of music, I feel a strong connection to songs and their power. One of my yearly reflections is a musical peek into the past with hints of the future. The list is an orderly yet chaotic effort at organizing some artists' attempts at making the world a more interesting place with music. It is seen through my lens with filters influenced by prior attempts at presenting my musical whims complete with biases and opinions formed over dozens of years of experimentation. This one captures a spot on my continuum of life with a marker that says 2014.
This year was classic in so many great ways. Special people, places, events and accomplishment with plenty more to look forward to in 2015 and into a very bright future. Celebrate with me with a look at the classics, both new and old and at vintage songs that never require an apology.
