"There's a crack in everything; that's how the light gets in."
One of my genuine pleasures in life since initiating this series in 2017 has been the search I've been on for timeless kernels like the one above. I owe this particular re-discovery to the guitar camp I attended last month. In one of the discussions following a morning meditation, a fellow student reminded me of this profound lyric from Leonard Cohen's 1992 song entitled Anthem. Context: We were discussing the value in embracing the flaws we all have as musicians.
Not long after, I was further reminded of the wisdom of Cohen's words when I had cause to re-read a post I'd published in early August a few weeks before the camp. A reader's comment from that post brought back a mantra I've long repeated to my own guitar students, i.e., "when improvising, there are no wrong notes, only notes you didn't intend to play". Which is not far from what Cohen was getting at in Anthem, albeit with more poetic finesse.
Reflections From The Bell Curve: Taking a Third Swing
What are the cracks in your life or experience that have allowed light to get in? And, do you have another Leonard Cohen lyric you'd nominate? I'd welcome hearing something you unearth that stands alone, is brief enough to be easily recalled, yet still reveals a universal truth. Given Cohen's substantial body of work and poetic sensibility, I wouldn't be surprised if several of you came up with a different lyric of his that could reasonably be called words for the ages.
A couple of Leonard Cohen's lyrics that come to mind are:
ReplyDeleteFrom "So Long, Marianne", "I'm standing on a ledge and your fine spider web, is fastening my ankle to a stone."
From "Chelsea Hotel #2", "Well, never mind, we are ugly, but we have the music."
Chris; Thanks for the nominations.
DeleteDuring my long career in the medical/pharma field, I slogged reluctantly through lots and lots of clinical reprints and practice guidelines. When I retired, I happily left that part of my life behind. But when a loved one recently faced a scary medical diagnosis, I was so grateful for my experience reading inscrutable scientific papers because it let in enough light to bring some perspective to the situation.
ReplyDeleteKim; What an intriguing way of looking at your work experience and recent personal situation and then finding a link to the "...light..." Cohen refers to in his astute lyric. Thanks for the comment.
DeleteThat is indeed intriguing. I can totally relate to Kim's experience. I too worked in the medical/pharma field and much of the time was spent in oncology. I left that behind 10 years ago but was grateful for the knowledge and expertise I had when several months ago my grandson was contemplating a clinical research trial. I spoke to the investigator, called some former colleagues, and researched it and concluded that this would be a good thing for him. He entered the trial and so far it has been successful!
DeleteInes; Thanks for piggy-backing on Kim's intriguing comment. And I'm so pleased to hear how well it's going with your grandson's clinical trial. It's good to hear positive news from the front lines of health care in the U.S. given how often we hear the bad.
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