Print pageI Know It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll …
June 3rd, 2009 | Uncategorized | 10 Comments
I may be 47, but damn, I like rock ‘n roll, and all kinds of music.
During the Clinton Global Initiative last September, I was sitting on an aisle chair right near the stage. Former President Bill Clinton always plays good music before the start of each general session. I was in a “let’s rock this place” attitude and ready for the conference to begin with the opening Clinton-facilitated panel. It was entitled A Call to Action with Al Gore, Queen Rania of Jordan, Neville Isdell (Chairman of Coca-Cola), President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia and U2 lead singer Bono.
During the conversation I noticed Bono waving discreetly and giving a peace sign in my general direction. Could he actually be trying to communicate with me? The room included some of the world’s most high-powered politicians, international business leaders, philanthropists, celebrit
ies and heads of state. Why is he trying to get my attention? I waved back, and received a thumbs up and another peace sign. Oh yes, a smile too. During the rest of this opening discussion there was a knowing understanding between us … it was as if we were listening to the same beat from the same drum, even though there wasn’t any music playing in the room. Maybe this is what they mean by catching someone’s vibes.
You might ask what this has to do with sustainability, grassroots movements or new paradigms. Maybe nothing … Maybe everything …
Have you ever noticed that you can’t just listen to a good beat without moving your body? Movement is natural to beats and rhythms. And perhaps all authentic grassroots movements are in a dance with the pulsation and the beats and rhythms of the times.
I wonder about the undercurrent rhythms and beats of our time of climate, social and economic crisis. What is it that wants to be heard? What is it that gets expressed through our youth, films, music, even emotions like anger?
Maybe a grassroots movement is a thousand or so people all tapping into and hearing the same music/message and moving, like taking action.
I know as a community leader and a yoga teacher and leader of my family, the truth is, at the very essence, I’m really a follower.
I follow a vision. A vision of a future where peace and respect for the planet and for each other is a way of life. When I read the words of John Lennon or the Dalai Lama or even poems from elementary schoolchildren, I hear myself in their words. I know they’re following the same vision I am.
This kind of vision doesn’t belong to anybody. You sort of surrender to it. For me this vision lives 
more like listening. I hear it in music. When I listen to Michael Franti, I’m pumped to live the life I was born to do. I believe John Lennon and actually know that the people have really had the power all along. Mozart brings me to a sublime innocence. Hearing Miles Davis, I’m transported to an open world where creativity drips off the walls and a carefree effervescence rises within my being. U2 always makes me feel like rock ‘n roll can change the world.
Then, there’s the natural movement that accompanies hearing the rhythms and beats. Movement to take action. Action that feels good, action that feels right, action that feeds on itself, where you get energized, because you’re in a dance with life.
A true call to action is life’s dance.
We were all put here to leave our mark. A meaningful mark. One where we danced our unique dance in rhythym and time with the beats of our calling.
What do you hear when you listen to music? When do you dance? What is your calling? What’s your favorite song? When was the last time you cut loose?
If you were part of a grassroots movement, what would your movement be in a dance with? What would your movement be hearing?
And then again, maybe, it’s only rock ‘n roll … no more meaning than that. But you know what? I like it.
Great blog…makes me wonder on what my stand for the world…:)
I love this. It makes me think of the World Cafe and how a few small groups can turn into a lot of small groups, which can in turn turn into a movement, and then you have…a paradigm shift!
AJ, great blog–two evenings ago I was sitting at Jax in Lodo, they had Pandorra on the sound system– you know, good back ground music– i was in a moment aware of watching the guys behind the bar, the people across the bar chatting, drinking, eating, the people at the sidewalk tables, the woman across the street walking somewhere, the voices of the people around me and I noticed the music, no longer “in the background”– heard myself saying to my self: “life DOES have a soundtrack!” (oh yeah, it was rock and roll- phil collins, sting…) What a moment of reverie! And revery returns each time i notice the sound track– (indigo girls right now, birds a bit ago when I was running, silence at 4A this morning when i was a wake and working for a little while…
Hi Audrey,
Thanks for sharing your blog with me. I like all music. Music is sound produced by any organism. While gardening, I hear the birds making music. I hear the wind blowing through the leaves of the tall trees. In the evening I hear the frogs making music, the crickets. I love singing, even if it is out-of-key (Thanks to Bill Murray and my Mother, Jeanne).
Come to think about it, there is some music I don’t like.
The only music I don’t like is the music one of my dogs makes when he is begging for food during dinner. He sits under the table and whines over and over. I shush him (like the Dog Whisperer) but he continues awhile later. I don’t like country music if it is whining and complaining about something. I don’t like protester chants which are shouting complaints and not taking constructive actions. Maybe that isn’t music then? Is music in the ear of the listener?
Your comments are all so valuable; they literally add to the music …
Latha – your stand is your family which ripples out to the community bridging the North American continent to India. Thank you.
Sarah – I agree totally. It doesn’t take much to cause a paradigm shift. If each person knew the truth about how powerful they are and how easy it is to cause a paradigm shift, we would see a sudden miracle right before our eyes.
John – how cool is it that you sat there and watched the symphony of life before your eyes. I really got it in your comment, really beautiful. I can hear Phil Collins and Sting right now … :-)
Hi Jim – great comments. Thank you.
No question it all comes down to the ear of the listener. Actually, it’s even more basic than that. I think it all comes down to whether anyone’s listening.
My mentor, Brian Regnier, says that if someone could actually listen and really “get” the ugly and unwanted aspects of our society … then we would see a transformation and a new sound would be coming out of that person, place or organization/country.
Sweetly thought-provoking. Thank you.
I love the idea of music and listening creating a fabric of connectivity for folks of all backgrounds and of all tastes.
love,
Catherine
Audrey- I remember in the 60′s when we marched to the Pentagon from the Washington Mall, when we stayed up in church basements giving sanctuary to draft resisters, when we took to the streets in support of civil rights- it was all accompanied by music–songs of transformation: “We shall overcome” “This land is your land” “The times-they are a-changing” “Imagine” EVeryone knew these songs; they expressed a common vision of a better world. Singing together nurtured the vision to grow in our collective soul. Where are today’s Guthrie, Dylan, Baez, and Lennon? Does anyone know the inspiring story of how Ladysmith and other South African performers transformed Apartheid?
These days we express our political and social opinions over the internet by voting or donating- useful perhaps but not a bonding or a soul-nurturing experience.
I believe that we are about to make another quantum leap out of the status quo in order to have a more effective perspective on the 4 E’s of our time: Energy, Education, Economy, and Environment. When our collective vision can be expressed collectively, through music, then the vision will grow and the leap will happen. The people will lead, and the leaders will follow -as they did in the 60′s.
A number of entertainers and celebrities are aware of this and are doing their part to create the growth in consciousness that will lead to the paradigm shift that Sarah talked about.
Know any good tunes, anyone?
Music to my ears. Looking beyond the immediate point of view, by engaging our imaginations, we can see that all is movement. Rhythm and dance inspire one another. They give us so much..tempo and extension, for example. And being in tune.
Awesome theme, Audrey!
For me, it’s the ancient dance rhythms of Bulgaria and Macedonia, and the minor harmonies of the Russian Jewish heritage (yes, Fiddler counts, though in a Pollyanna way. Remind me to share about my grandmother’s response to seeing a live performance of Fiddler back in 19-aught-75).
Here’s a YouTube of some Bulgarian kids dancing to 11/16, which they call “Kopanitsa” (yes, they have names for their rhythms, which often correspond to a traditional dance pattern, just as we have names like “waltz,” “tango” and “polka.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k2lGF4l9p4&feature=related
Persevere,
Paul