Keeping Time

As you know music is measured by time the tempo is set, we are counted in and it begins. 

The best pieces, although contained within a time signature and created at a specific time, transcend those limitations. Classics sound fresh and the experience of listening to or performing them shifts you into a flow state where you just are firmly rooted in the now whilst moving confidently to the next note without concern of what it is. 

This then brings up the often repeated question. Can time really exist if it is so easily manipulated?
In joy it disappears, in pain every unfavourable moment stretches out to infinity.  

I first became truly aware of this when I started to go into the studio to record demos many years ago. I had many unsatisfactory jobs. Dead end, menial and not mentally taxing. 

I had - wrongly - decided that if I spent the majority of my time earning money doing tasks unrelated to my dream I would not lose valuable brainpower. 

The result of this was that my most common state was boredom and dissatisfaction. Dreams felt so far away and unattainable because I was surrounded by uninspiring and unfocused people. These were young people, yet their conversation was always about lack, injustice, disappointment and they all were resolved to the fact that this was forever. 

Forever seemed like a long time.  

As often as my funds would allow I would go to the studio to record the songs that despite my surroundings I was still managing to write.  

Each session I managed to book would be for around 8 hours. The same amount of time I spent working each day to pay for it and every time my experience of the day would be the same. Those hours would fly past and there would always be a rush at the end of the day as I tried to get the music finished. I talk about it here in my video Dodgy Demos. 

Now that same forever did not seem like long enough.  

This week the time shrinking occurred again when I met a friend for a breakfast catch up. It had also been months since we had last seen each other and there was a lot to catch up on.  

Our planned couple of hours disappeared and over four hours later we were wondering where the time went. 

All my usual physical indicators had been overridden.  I was not bored, hungry or tired but invigorated and inspired. From that one conversation I have written this blog post, a new song and there are other ideas I sparked from that I have yet to fully flesh out. 

I can easily understand now why people who spend their lives doing what that they love look so much younger than those who choose to work in unfulfilling situations. 

The toll on your physical body is real even if time is not.
 

What will your choice be?

Love Yourself! 

Cx

Thanks for reading.  

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