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THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF FAILURE
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Failure is a Monster in the lore of human kind. It’s the grand
"ogre" that can bring about frustration and eat at the soul.
Another thing failure is: AN OPEN GATE, and a new horizon.
There is no such thing as failure.
We’re dropped on this planet with our own particular passion and
fire. For some it rages and pushes us on towards heights unimaginable.
We are driven to accomplish , to seek, to explore, and to somehow
“birth” that mighty fire that burns within our hallowed walls.
Freud, Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, Renoir, Van Gogh, John Coletrane,
Debussy, etc. Each on their rocket ship being propelled by the ego,
and the firing of nerve synapses through the human experience at the
speed of sound, accomplishment, and the thirst for applause and
achievement.
Hitting the wall and making mistakes provides us with invaluable
lessons. Playing a guitar, driving a tractor, planting seed, painting
a picture, etc. blooms best from error. Failing is a great teacher.
It’s Gods force of nature moulding us like clay. BUT, this is a
little different. Clay is the perfect disciple or student. Clay has no
part in making the DECISION to become what it will be. It completely
surrenders to the artist who moulds it into form and reality. Man, on
the other hand, has choice. Failure offers to mould us. It is a co-op
between Man, God, and destiny. An artist, craftsman, or worker, can
use life experience (Failure) as an interplay toward growth and
learning. Get up, and have at it AGAIN!. Those who have had a
completely smooth ride may not have had the opportunity to test
themselves. *Those who do not choose to bend and flex with failure,
are missing the opportunity to paint w/ nature and circumstance. They
are saying “no” when God asks them to dance and adjust. They are
denying an opportunity to seek out a different perspective. They are
saying no when God asks them to learn from mistakes and become better
at what they do. We are too busy reacting - we are not listening.
There are problems associated with failure to be sure. Perhaps the
first mistake is the inability to see failure as a lesson. Instead we
see it as defeat. We see it as natures way of telling us, we are NEVER
going to be good enough. Defeat can also trigger laziness. After all,
if I didn’t get it the first few times, why bother? I’ll NEVER be
able to get it - AND here is the kicker - “I ONLY WANT TO DO THIS
(Play guitar, paint a picture, etc), IF I AM GUARANTEED TO GET A
RESULT”.
Well, there are no guarantees, your technique will surpass Bela
Fleck, Eddie Van Halen , or Izaak Perlman. There are no guarantees
that you will sell a million albums. Hell, there are no guarantees you
will sell a CD to anyone other than your family and friends. Here is
where you can challenge yourself to the “purity of action.” That
is, that you do what you do out of love. Love is free. Many years ago
The Beatles sang “you can’t buy me love”... and it's true. Love
simply is. Love is a gift. Love is being, and doing. It is becoming a
part of the process of your life in action. If good musicianship were
defined by the amount of pleasure or love you derive from the process,
I know a lot of very poor players that are better musicians than
highly skilled professionals. Their honesty and love of creation may
speak more loudly than virtuosic flair.
Perhaps our most noble goal is do the best we can, and use failure as
a teacher. Failure must fill our sails toward a destination, not
render them impotent, windless, and unable to reach our shore. Perhaps
the more noble goal is honesty and humility - to accept your abilities
(Also called "limitations".), and do the best you can with
them. AND, maybe those so called “limitations” help you to make a
decision that makes your work or art, unique and fresh. You may not be
the fastest guitar player in the world, but that doesn’t negate your
right to speak. Creating a connection to an audience, or fellow man,
doesn’t have to rely technical virtuosity. It relies on an honest
level of communicating between the creator, and listener. It depends
on the intension and connection of your heart, soul, and passion. Your
work may not have sold a million and reached the masses. BUT, you used
failure to grow beyond your limitation. You used limitation to paint
your picture in a completely unique way. You used your limits to speak
with a voice unique and honest to the creative intent of your work.
You have used limitation to offer the listener a vision and point of
perspective they may not have experienced before. You have grown and
succeeded within your intent. You have created for LOVE, not MONEY.
And to answer the age old philosophical question, “if a tree falls
to the ground deep in the forest, and nobody is there to hear it, does
it make a sound?”
Yes.
*There are those for whom things go smoothly and it’s completely
right. It’s easy to be a bit envious and resentful of them for not
having paid their dues, but this only tends to guide us off coarse.
Their life is their life, ours is ours. We have the opportunity to
develop the strength to “get back up again” after a fall. We have
the opportunity to listen to that crazy “whim” of nature that
directs us toward a more intuitive relationship with creation. We have
the ability to become better at what we do.
Paul Adams has a web site where he has his
albums,
photos of the musical
instruments he builds, and writing
here.
His newest and fondest project is
THE
NEURONS.
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