WINGS

There’s a line I’ve always loved: “May you live in interesting times.”

I’d been brought up to believe it’s an ancient Chinese curse. It’s not, and the actual origin story is pretty cloudy, but whoever originally coined it was a witty, clever mofo with a dark streak. My kind of people. 

There’s an actual Chinese saying that conveys a similar sentiment, albeit in a less elegant way: 

“It is a general rule that the worst of men are fondest of change and commotion, hoping that they may thereby benefit themselves; but by adherence to a steady, quiet system, affairs proceed without confusion, and bad men have nothing to gain.”

I’ll be damned if the first half of that doesn’t sum up the general state of the world today. “The worst of men” are certainly having themselves a moment, aren’t they? “Quiet, steady systems” seem few and far between. And, since I’m evidently throwing quotes around like confetti today, I’ll include another little gem that leaps to mind, from Captain Willard in Apocalypse Now: 

“Ah, man, the bullshit piled up so fast… you needed wings to stay above it.” 

Willard was talking about Vietnam, but you catch the drift. ‘Twas always thus. ‘Twill always be, I suppose. 

These are, indeed, interesting times. So many people I care about are really going through it lately. Rarely has trouble come from so many directions at once, and sometimes it seems like the cartilage of decorum has worn away and the bones of Society are just grinding painfully against each other. Maybe the cartilage of decorum was just a lie all along. Maybe it needed to wear away, to pave the way for real human goodness to replace it. Regardless, the rubbing hurts like a bitch, and my love goes out to you if you’re feeling it. 

There’s a conundrum about times of turmoil bringing out the best of Art and Creativity. Strife stirs up big feelings. Those big feelings can, and often do, turn into big statements with a little finessing. If you’re an artist, try not to feel guilty about making art during these times. I struggle with it, myself. There are those who will accuse you of being tone deaf and frivolous, but a stronger argument can be made that times like these are exactly when the world needs art and beauty the most. 

We all do what we can do. We’re all equipped differently to make our own contributions, but it’s crucial that we all contribute somehow. The more time I spend on this rock, the stronger and stronger my conviction becomes that if we all focus on the micro, and trust that others are doing the same, the macro inevitably gets better. As Wendell Berry says, “a good life is local.” I believe this to my very core.

Yes, Anger absolutely has its role to play. Not the performative kind, all slick and flashy, with a 10-second attention span and Red Bull on its breath, but rather the righteous kind- sober, unyielding, in a rugged, dependable vehicle, with desire for change riding shotgun and picking the music. Anger gets the headlines. 

But Love and Kindness, despite frequent appearances to the contrary, are the true MVPs. They’re usually quieter and less newsworthy, but they’re the real engines of Progress.

There’s room on the team for both Malcolm X and Pete Seeger. 

I’ve tried, over the years, and with varying degrees of success, to either get or stay in decent physical shape. The most success I’ve had in this endeavor has always come down to eating a healthy diet and getting regular exercise. Simple. Boring. Effective. 

Being kind to people you see over the course of a day is the “healthy diet and exercise” of societal change. 

It’s surprisingly easy to do once you start, and habit-forming. Hold the door open for someone. Lift up others in rooms they’re not in. Make charitable donations if and when you can. Support local artists by buying their art (if you have the means) or just spreading the word about them (if you don’t). Hell, just smile at a stranger. As a side benefit, you might just notice that, by busily spreading goodwill around, you’re reducing the time you spend spiralling about all the bad things going on you have little or no control over. 

I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but this seems like a pretty airtight way to proceed, and I’m going to do my best to practice what I preach. Hope you take it under consideration, as well.

If you’re feeling up against it these days, here’s an unreleased demo I recorded at the end of 2024. I was taking part in a songwriting challenge at the time: 12 songs, one every week for 12 weeks, each written from a lyric prompt. The prompt for the final one was “don’t even worry about it.” I wrote the lyrics on a plane as my wife and were flying home to spend Christmas with our families. I played the music on a virtual piano using the keys of my laptop and recorded my vocal on my phone’s voice memo app. It’s called “Pep Talk,” and it’s for you. You can listen to it here.

I wish you the power to live a good, local life, wings to stay above the bullshit, and the strength to ride out these interesting times.