Have you ever seen a ghost before? If youre a musician, I think you have. Let me explain. In the world of castles, graveyards and ectoplasm, there are two types of ghosts. Theres the apparition, the entity that can think, move and find ways to talk to you. And then theres the haunting. Thats a little different. A haunting is a dramatic, emotional film that permeates the walls, halls and darkest spots of a dwelling, usually after a tragic event. You cant interact with the scene. Its just a movie thats played over and over again. Now, witnessing a haunting doesnt sound nearly as scary as witnessing a cognizant apparition. But I gotta tell you something. I think that hauntings, especially for people who play music, can frighten even the bravest of souls. Why? Well, think about it like this. A musical haunting is a memory of a past event that is Now Playing in the mind of a musician, even though it first opened in a psyches theater many years ago. During this movie, theres no commercial to remind you to go to the lobby to get yourself a treat. No. Theres only the memories of musical despair. I can still remember that ghastly gig I played at the Grog and Tankard in the late 80s. I can still feel the heavy emotion I felt when I received the Dear Evan letter from a band leader in the 90s. I can even hear all my clams, train wrecks and missed cues as if they happened yesterday. (Who knows? Maybe some of them did!) You know, as I think about it, talking to an apparition is easy. At least youre both attempting to communicate. But living with a musicians haunting, this negative feeling that does all the talking? Now, thats rough. So, what can we do, any of us, who need to feel hope as we live with these haunted moments in our personal history? 1. Remember them. Hold them up to the light and look at the negatives. 2. Learn from them. Study them. Own them. Use them. 3. Talk about them with your significant other or a trusted friend. This act will lift your thoughts out of the whirlpool and put them on solid ground. 4. Release them. Those haunted moments have already been lived. Theres new memories - good ones - waiting to enter your world. Let em in. Now I realize that my suggestions sound like they belong in a motivational book that you can find at the back of a CVS store. But think about this. While its true that we cant stop bad memories from popping into our heads, we can stop them from dominating every screen in our minds. We can do this by remembering that today is not yesterday. Were here now! Ill say it again for both you and me. We..are...here.. now. Wow, honestly, Im feeling a little shaky. Its not the coffee. Its the rattling of the chains from the past that are messing with me. Its okay. I dont need an exorcist. I just need to remind myself to live for today. Peace.
Posted on: Sat, 09 Nov 2013 17:20:00 +0000
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