The Distracted Body

When I came upstairs to write earlier today, I thought I was going to write about a lyric I love. I was singing it while I was making breakfast this morning and like every other time I’ve sung it, I thought, so right, Sly, so right. It’s from Sly Stone’s “Everyday People” and I love the line because it’s true, and not just true, but irrefutable: We got to live together. There’s no choice, so why not live carefully and consciously with one another? Harder to do than say, but I like the message.

Instead of writing when I got to my desk, though, I started fussing with a collage I started over the weekend. I was procrastinating. Writing anything worthwhile felt impossible. It’s five hours later now and I need to write here so I feel connected.

The collage I worked on today is not my favorite, but I like it because it’s been a while since I made anything, and I’m always re-vitalized when I make something new. Most of the time I just start gluing random cuts of paper together until whatever I’ve glued-up looks finished, but as soon as I put the big circle in the top left corner of this new one, I thought of a song I wrote last year called “What If.” I tried to make the collage work for the song, and that’s probably why it’s not my favorite. Trying has never worked for me when it comes to creating something. I’m happier when I just play.

But I don’t feel playful. I don’t feel sad exactly, but I’m thinking about my mom and dad most of the time, wondering how they’re doing. It’s the backdrop for everything these days. Dad is holding up, of course, doing what he can to keep Mom comfortable and engaged. We’re both reading a lot. I’ve read three books this week. Two that were mindless and pulled me into other worlds for hours at a time: James Patterson’s newest mystery, Alex Cross Must Die (a title I don’t understand since there’s never any sense that Alex Cross has to die in the story), Richard Osman’s, The Thursday Murder Club (first in a series and especially fun to read if you’re “older”), and Ellen Langer’s The Mindful Body, which was like doing homework, but homework worth doing. Anyway, the point is, I’ve been distracting myself. It’s difficult to write today, but I needed to thank you for all your good wishes. I’m heading east again this week, looking forward to celebrating my mom’s 95^th birthday with her and the rest of my family.

Love,
Bar

What If

What if the light of a million stars
Lit up the night showed you were you are

What if the rainfall on an empty stream
Fed the seeds of a hidden dream

We’re sailing on a sea
Searching for a breeze
Reaching for the land we need

What if the tides and the moon above
Pulled on your heart to another love

What if the light of a single star
Lit up your night showed you where you are

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Here’s a version of Sly Stone’s “Everyday People” I recorded almost twenty years ago. Sam Zucchini’s on drums, Tony Levin’s singing the bass line, Callie Hershey and Jen Starr are singing B Vocals, and I’m singing the melody. Haven’t heard this in a long time. Sure makes me smile to hear it again.