Synaptic Sparks Create Brain Fire

The first synaptic spark involved Leo Tolstoy and John Lennon.

"...and it seemed to him that he was Nikita and Nikita was he, and that his life was not in himself but in Nikita." (from Master and Man, 1895) 

"I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together."  (from I Am the Walrus, 1967)

That first spark lit as I was reading Tolstoy's passage near the end of his short story in preparation for a discussion of it with two discerning readers. Lennon's words just popped into my head. Then, as our discussion concluded, one of those readers added fuel to my low flame by citing a Lou Reed lyric from Perfect Day (1972):  "You made me forget myself; I thought I was someone else, someone good."  

Despite repeated exposure to Perfect Day - it's a song I've taught to several guitar students over the years - if my bookworm friend hadn't pointed out Reed's lyric to me, the connection between Tolstoy's prose and Lennon's observation could have been one of those short-lived synaptic sparks, one perhaps not even worthy of a blog post. But Reed's self-effacing, honest lyric raised my brain temperature. It also made me want to ask you something. 

How many of you can relate to what I believe all three are getting at here, each in their own way? When I'm with certain people, I feel like I'm the best version of myself. Or, at minimum, those same people can help me "forget" versions of myself that I welcome being rid of, like unkind Pat, harshly judgmental Pat, self-centered Pat. In other words, I'm more consistently "good" when those folks are nearby. This sound even vaguely familiar? Thanks to my bookworm friend, the flame grew a bit hotter as I walked out of our meeting place. I jotted down the three sparks in my notebook and then ... 

"You complete me." Remember that scene from Jerry Maguire (1996)? I'll refresh your memory. Renee Zellweger and Tom Cruise are sharing an elevator with a couple who are speaking to one another in American Sign Language (ASL). Those three words are how Zellweger translates to Cruise what the man has just signed to the woman. Now my brain was on fire. Did Cameron Crowe - the writer and director of that terrific film - ever read Master and Man? Given he is an unrepentant rock n' roll junkie, I'm sure he was quite familiar with I Am the Walrus, and it's highly likely he'd also heard Perfect Day. But for the purposes of this reflection, none of these hot-wired connections need have ever occurred to Crowe. Tolstoy, Lennon, Reed, and Crowe all landed on an inescapable truth, and it doesn't matter who came first or whether any of them were influenced by the other. I was reminded, again, that we all need others to help us discover our best selves. Literature, music, film, and the synaptic sparks between each that light up for me periodically; I live for moments like this.