In a world of things that are rapidly changing, I was delighted that he has not. His music was just as vibrant, as powerful, as engaging, and I was transfixed by his expertise just as I always have been.
I was in good company
I pulled a strong message from that night. The venue was more packed than I have ever seen it, a good sign for an aging musician. I’ve been lamenting the changes in my little town for some time, the inevitable march of progress in the form of Starbucks, Home Depot, Lowes and Best Buy. But last night showed me that some things that we love in life, do not change, at least not for the worse.
That’s a message I have to latch onto for my sanity. Just as I latch on to the belief that those who do wrong eventually get their comeuppance, I have to reform my thinking to realize that in the midst of all this change, what really matters to the individual, does not necessarily change.
For instance, while my body gets older and more and more challenges face me daily, my mind does not change for the worse. I am still the same person with the same memories.
I hate change
I’ll be the first to admit that I hate change. I don’t fear it, I hate it. Change represents to me that I’ll be obsolete, a fossil from another time, and it irritates me. It also represents that I’ll have to learn new skills to keep sharp and keep ahead in my work. As I age and watch my parents go through the normal age-related stages of dementia, I wonder to myself when will my brain fail me? Will it be while I’m still trying to support my family?
I’ve watched so many things I’ve enjoyed in life succumb to change. My quiet country lifestyle has been encroached on quite a bit. My favorite restaurants have changed hands four times, never for the better. Cars have become so sterile as to I wonder if it matters which one I buy – they all look alike. TV shows and Hollywood haven’t had an original idea in more than a decade. Even sacred things like french fries have changed, and while they may be healthier, they are not better.
That’s the thing about change, especially change in this day and age, it’s always under the guise of forward movement, aka progressive movement. But it never takes into account if things need changing, it just changes. I realize that the pursuit of profit drives most of the change, but it’s disheartening to see things ruined by supposed forward movement.
A change in my thoughts
These are the thoughts that came to a crashing halt that night, in the middle of a gig, watching my favorite harmonica player do what he does best. And for that brief time that night, everything was good, everything was normal, and I felt like I breathed a little easier knowing that at least one thing in my life has not changed for the worse.
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The Naive Romantic 