“Welcome to your life / There’s no turning back / Even while we sleep / We will find you”
(Tears for Fears, Everybody Wants to Rule the World.)
A big stage has a presence about it that defies the logical, objective view of the world. If things are simply things, why is there more than an elevation of a few feet of lumber? The way I understand it, the subjective worldview stipulates that we’re living out stories, and objects are vessels of meaning. In this case, the urgency of the Stage makes sense. This matters. Now. The world is watching.
Interestingly, have you felt this outside of a venue? It’s not limited to us performers. In fact, while we may be embodying a drama, or weaving a song, most of the time we’re just flexing. An important conversation, a chance meeting - these “areas of focus” pop up unexpectedly, and can hold as much, if not more, import than a fancy platform.
The phone rang the other evening, and a buddy called to chat. I sat outside, talking UFOs, the Bible, and the Bermuda Triangle, watching an anvil cloud billow up over the mountain, turning coral in the setting sun. Another call later - the funeral of a resident I used to help. I had bought him a hand saw for Christmas last year. Turns out he built the church his funeral was held in. All he billed them for was materials. Talk about a literal pillar of the community. The anvil cloud turned a berry color in the fading light.
At evening’s end, I sat outside in the dark, sipping a cup of tea. The forage in the anvil cloud had been ignited, high voltage blazing across the sky, silhouetting the radio tower on the mountain with a lurid glow. The wind rustled the chimes in the pecan tree, and in the stormy west, Sirius twinkled urgently through the clouds, a spotlight.
Suddenly, the stage feeling was upon me. 1,500 galaxies wheeled high overhead, unseen in the Coma-Virgo cluster, 50 million light years away. I was onstage in Life, and the clock was running. All of this served to remind me that here I was, ensconced in the physical realm. The question is so common it’s trite:
And what am I going to do with this time?
It seems a great thing to ponder on a Friday.
Carpe diem!
Josh
PS. I found a snake the other day!
https://rumble.com/v13kc59-snakes-joshs-field-day.html?mref=bla7d&mc=9bx7m