And it all comes back too…

Coincidence. There are far more things in life that I don’t understand than things I do understand—I’m actually fairly certain that is a universal thing as investigating the mysteries of life tends to plunge one into a darkness of impossibility. At any rate, one of the things that I am only beginning to understand is the rationality of coincidence.
A little bit of history about myself and coincidence: I was living in New Zealand and I stumbled across a book called the Celestine Prophecies. Remembering it now, there are two things that stick out: I thought that the book was actually poorly written (I should say that some passages were unpalatable from a literary standpoint) and that the ideas were incredible. One of the most incredible ideas that I recall, and one that has tended to shape most of my decisions is the idea that coincidences are life’s little hiccups that point us in the right direction—or at least a direction that ought to be investigated. Some of the easiest to recognize are things like when your iPod synchs up perfectly with the tenor of the day.
Not long ago I had a meeting with my store manager (yes, I work in retail), and at the end of the meeting she mentioned a musician that everybody in the store had been talking about. I had never heard of her (“her” being Regina Spektor). That night, honest to god, my roommate came home and said, “you’ve got to listen to this chick…she’s crazy.” Yes, it was Regina. To finish things off, a few days later, I actually heard Regina at the store while I was working. It doesn’t seem like much, right? It’s just a string of situations that happened to revolve around something that doesn’t matter that much. Well, that is one way to look at it, and if that is one way, then the other is to recognize this string of coincidences as a street light on the dark road of life: it doesn’t illuminate the whole road, but it lets you know that you are heading in the right direction.
I think I’m in the middle of a string of coincidences. About six months ago, my jam partner (I think our band name would have been: Guitar Legends Gary and Eli) came out to see New York City. In the course of a night out we wound up at a jazz bar where (coincidentally enough) there was a jazz band playing live which included a jazz guitar. It was amazing. The guy is good. Real good. I talked to him and he gave me his card and said that I should look him up for lessons and help in the business. I promptly lost the card and forgot his name…although I was interested enough to look him up online. For the most part, I forgot about him. There was the odd moment when I would think, “I really gotta get lessons…what was that guy’s name?” --My memory isn’t worth the gray matter it’s inscribed on—
Last night, amidst a long heart to heart talk with my roommate and best friend, we wound up at a jazz bar. It had been a long night and a hard one emotionally for both of us—he was coming up on an enormous crisis in his life, a fork in the road—and went to the bookstore and shifted back into neutral and then went to a jazz bar that was having a free jam for anybody who wanted to play. I was interested but wanted to check out the scene. When we showed up, there was a drummer, an electric piano, a flute, and an alto saxophone. They were doing pretty well. We were enjoying ourselves. The door opens, I see a guitar on the back of a guy walking through the door and I say to myself, “Righteous. Now things’ll get interesting.” Get interesting they did. I turned back to watch the guys playing and my best friend taps me and says, “That’s the guy from that place we went with Garrett.” I turn, and it sure is. Hmmm…that’s coincidental. At the end of the night, Keith had convinced me that I needed to take that next step and get a guitar teacher. I’d thought about it for a long time. I just didn’t have that kind of money. Coincidentally enough, I had been informed in my most recent meeting with my store manager that the promotion I had been working toward for six months was happening in the next fortnight, and with the promotion came a significant financial increase.
It’s not exactly bright, but the lights are coming up on life’s highway.

Forsake me not...

words. Language and I have this tenuous sort of relationship. As a twenty-odd year old man with a moderate amount of education and exposure to certain aspects of modern post-structuralist philosophy, I am naturally aware that the moment I create words on the page, they are always already meaning something else. It can be scary. I must hope, I suppose, that the reader and listener be receptive in a way that will not skew meaning and send the narrative spiraling into directions I did not intend.
Not much makes perfect sense to me. Most things tend to be covered in a protective film of fog in my mind--a sheltering grayness. As a matter of fact I have barely been able to understand what a blog is all about. Almost three years ago I was told by a friend of mine that I should start a blog, and I had only a narrow understanding of what it was all about then. Now, less than five years later, I'm still not sure I understand, but I think it's worth investigation. In saying that, I think most things are worth investigation. There is very little in life that is not meant to be plied and tried and questioned until at least some modicum of understanding possible.
What are the things I'm investigating right now? I'm extremely interested in music right now. I sit with my guitar and ponder the relationship between the seventh fret of the high e string and the open G. I wonder how it is that Jeff Buckley created a chord that looks like his left hand was mangled in some preposterous accident. I wonder how it is that Bob Dylan decided that he needed eight minutes to tell the story of Rubin Carter. I wonder at music theory and the fact that music can be broken down mathematically to understand how it will sound good. I wonder why this information is put to ill use through the pens and producers looking to make a quick buck. I wonder...
I wonder now and then about the ability of mankind to love.
"I think of mankind in quotation marks ever since I took a drink of you"

Cheers

Peace
Love &
Gonzo