dagblog - Comments for "Finding Your Joy"

Great blog, Orlando, thank

Bluesplashy — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:21:17 +0000

Great blog, Orlando, thank you. I saw Dave Brubeck at an outdoor concert nearly 30 years ago. I was with friends a ways back from the stage and I just had to get as close to him as I could. I would have been up on the stage if my friends hadn't grabbed me. I had never seen anyone enjoying themselves as much as he was. The sound was fabulous, no doubt, but Brubeck gave me a beautiful gift that day. I think of him so often when I am doing work I enjoy and try to remember to put that joy on my face even if no one is there to see me. I hope you get to see Billy Nicks big grin in your minds eye as long as I have enjoyed Brubeck's.

Great observation, Orlando.

acanuck — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 07:36:47 +0000

In reply to Finding Your Joy

Great observation, Orlando. What unites two-year-old kids and 70-year-old musicians? The kids haven't yet learned to compromise their joy, and the 70-year-olds have finally learned to say fuck it.

If a musician is still touring in his or her late 60s or 70s, it's for love of what they do. It keeps them alive, and they communicate that vitality to their audiences: Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Leonard Cohen are as worth seeing now as at any time in their careers. (Cohen's new Live in London CD or DVD distills the best of 40 years of performing. Give it a listen.)

Then there are lesser legends like Billy Nix, Ray Bonneville, Jesse Winchester, who soldier on in smaller venues to more intimate crowds -- which they manage to fill with the joy of their craft. It's not just musicians who can pull it off, simply that they are most noticeable since it's their job to impart feelings and emotions. It sure looks like something we'd all find worth trying for.

Like I said, this is a

quinn esq — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 07:19:00 +0000

In reply to *Sigh* I spent a lot of time

Like I said, this is a beautiful piece, and I really hope Genghis and Deadman don't come along and mock it, the way they usually do, the unfeeling clods.

Now I feel a little guilty,

Michael Wolraich — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 06:15:01 +0000

In reply to *Sigh* I spent a lot of time

Now I feel a little guilty, as I really did like the piece. And quinn, don't even think of calling me a softy, you Canadian bastard.

Sigh I spent a lot of time

Orlando — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 03:36:00 +0000

In reply to Studies have shown that it's

*Sigh*

I spent a lot of time thinking about how to write this post in a way that you boys would not mistake (on purpose) for a euphemism. In the end, I went with the original version...because it's exactly what I meant to convey.

Mock if it brings you joy.

Studies have shown that it's

Michael Wolraich — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 03:30:50 +0000

In reply to Finding Your Joy

Studies have shown that it's easier for men to find their joy than it is for women. It's particularly difficult for men to find women's joy, so women often have to help guide the men to the joy. By contrast, women have no difficulting finding men's joy, though they sometimes don't know what to do with it once they've found it. Some men have greater joy than other men, which can cause men without much joy to feel inferior. Nonetheless, even a little joy is better than no joy.

PS Sorry, couldn't resist. In all seriousness, I appreciate the post. It's all too easy to forget how to find one's joy.