cultural commentary from the desk of Don Shewey
Trying without doing is wishing rather than choosing. You either have a plan in place or you are choosing not to act. “This being the case, how shall I proceed?” is a Zen saying that shows the automatic, assertive progression from circumstance to action.
— David Richo, How to Be an Adult
I’m a little behind on blogging because I was preoccupied with rehearsing for and performing two concerts December 11 and 12 with Gamelan Kusuma Laras. It was a lot of work but fun and thrilling to make music with a group of talented musicians. Javanese gamelan is unusual and exotic music for most Western listeners, which my friends who attended confirmed. You can check it out for yourself on this YouTube video of our opening number. It’s very much an ensemble performance without soloists or an obvious place to rest your attention. You can see me next to the gong, the guy in the blue batik shirt. It was a special treat to have Laurie Anderson and Lou Reed in the audience Sunday afternoon. Lou nodded off almost immediately, but Laurie was fully present and engaged. They left at the intermission but Laurie e-mailed me the next day to say, “It was gorgeous. Meditative but a lot of detail.”
I dragged my heels about seeing the Broadway revival of David Hirson’s La Bete because I’d seen the original production, a valiant and smart but short-lived production, and felt like I’d already checked it off the list. I knew people were raving about Mark Rylance’s performance in the central role, and I know he’s a fine actor (above left, with David Hyde Pierce), but I saw him last year in Boeing Boeing and just thought the show was stupid and his performance overrated. Nevertheless, reading John Lahr’s review in the New Yorker inspired me to understand the contemporary political significance of the play, so I arranged to see it, and I’m glad I did. It is indeed a smart and provocative play about culture today, but it’s also a ripping good show. You can read my CultureVulture review online here.
GRIEF
Mourning is the appropriate response to the loss of what we once had or to the sad realization that we did not have all we needed. We are grieving the irretrievable aspect of what we lost and the irreplaceable aspect of what we missed. Only these two realizations lead to resolution of grief because only these two acknowledge, without denial, how truly bereft we were or are. From the pit of this deep admission that something is irrevocably over and gone, we finally stand clear of the insatiable need to find it again from our parents or partner. To have sought it was to have denied how utter was its absence!
Griefwork done with consciousness builds self-esteem since it shows us our courageous faithfulness to the reality of loss. It authenticates us as adults who can say Yes to sadness, anger, and hurt. Such an heroic embrace of our own truth transforms emptiness into capacity. As Jung notes, “your inner emptiness conceals just as great a fullness if you only allow it.”
— David Richo
another eye opens 