day 22: connection

mission:

• stop everything for just a moment to be in that moment
• show appreciation for those who’ve had a positive impact on you
• support independent music by buying a cd

i actually had another act planned for yesterday.  but the fact that my nap turned into sleep last night, kept me from doing it.  since the prep and execution for that given act spans a few days, i was also struggling about which day to attribute the act to and how to blog about it.  i just came up with a solution, which i will share in a later post.

every morning on my way to work, i unplug my mini external hard drive from my home computer so i can bring it to work.  it carries my massives of music.  this morning i decided to leave my hard drive at home because i remembered i had some newly bought cd’s to listen to!

i started thinking back on my day yesterday, if i had done anything “nice.”  otherwise, i was going to have to do two acts today to make up for yesterday / bump everything up a day.  i popped in one of the cd’s i bought yesterday, and kept thinking.

eventually a track called “connection” came on.  it was the track that made me buy the cd.  i remembered how i felt when i heard it: i was walking down market street yesterday and i hear these dudes playing – it immediately shifts my mood and forces me out of whatever thoughts i was buried in.  for that moment, i am right in it.  i see folks chillin on the steps around the plaza where they’ve set up-  some are just layed up, others chit chatting with friends, and still others bobbing their heads and smiling…as if there wasn’t a care in the world.

i slowed down my pace and took it in for a few seconds, but for some reason i still kept walking.  once i was a few paces past them, i just stopped and stood where i was for a second.  i asked myself why i always have had a habit of walking on when i hear good music on the street like that.  i’ve asked myself this question a few times – to no avail.  maybe i thought that’s what i was supposed to do.  or maybe i always happen to be too busy or focused on whatever it is i got going on that i can’t stop.  really, though, seher?  every time?  nah.  this time i needed to stop…and turn around.  i walked back.  i bought both of their cd’s.  who knows if i was gonna like it all, but it felt good to support folks doing their thing.  and to effectively say “thank you” for uplifting me in that moment.

on the real, it’s moments like that that make me feel still and utterly content, simply because i am living and experiencing that moment.  it makes me feel connected to humanity and purpose on a very powerful, intangible level.

that definitely deserves a moment or two of my time, a thank you.

let me expand on the whole music thing for a second.  i have so much music that i haven’t even listened to most of it yet.  but, i can also honestly say that i wouldn’t be able to be discover so much new music if it weren’t for all the downloading/swapping with friends i did.  and to buy all that music, i can’t really afford.  and it doesn’t really make sense to me when a good bunch of it just ends up sounding “okay” to me.  still, there is a good deal of dope music that i’ve “discovered” either via downloading, friends, or hearing a track somewhere.  of late, i’ve tried to make a point to buy music now and then – particularly from artists that i already like and in other special/one-off situations.  a lot of these independent artists are selling their albums for just $10-15 bucks.  forego a lunch or dinner out one time and support, yall.

just really on a larger level, it’s important to show appreciation for people’s hard work, and even more so when that work has a positive impact on our lives.  it’s our responsibility to advance and uplift our peers/community members that are doing good things – whatever that may be.  otherwise who will?  so while i may have spoken about music in this particular instance, i really mean to also generally highlight valuing/supporting/encouraging/uplifting each other by rooting for each other, saying “thank you,” and showing love through our actions and material support when we are able.

that might seem like a given, but i don’t think it’s something we always remember to do.  we, myself included, are quick to take the good for granted.  let’s not do that.