We all know this life we are currently existing in here & now is a transient journey: We are of course aware that everything changes around us & although it can seem as if days drag by, one morning we will wake up look back & realize how temporary it all was. It's crazy.
Each chapter of our story we lived through will be long gone & we may wish we’d appreciated each day more or could go back & live it all differently.
I have literally met thousands of people at my events & on a one to one basis who regret their past & hark back constantly. But so far no smart bugger's invented a time machine so all we have is here & now, the present & it’s only here we can change our perception of life. Y'see, I'm writing this not because I'm some self -help guru but because I didn’t appreciate a single moment of my life until it was too late.
My childhood was awful & out of my control but when I was in my teens music became my escape & I spent much of my time as part of the rock music scene in Glasgow. I played bass guitar in a few awful local metal bands & loved every minute making that racket.
I used to hang around the rock pubs & clubs every weekend & it was in these places I met many other regulars who later became friends, drunken acquaintances or band members. Over beers & spirits (the bottled kind!) we all vowed together that our music would take over the world one day.
As I am not currently writing this from my mansion in LA you may guess that our music was, as we say in Scotland 'keech' (sh*t) & our dream of being the biggest metal band on the planet did not exactly reach fruition.
But man we all lived as if we were on top of the world...on a poor teenage budget! Each week we would all meet in town, get wasted, watch live bands or jam some music & party all night until we would fall asleep one by one as the birds sang & the sun rose... Well it was Scotland so the grey sky got slightly brighter.
I'm so glad we lived before selfies & all that stuff. Those photos would be incriminating.
Every Monday I would feel as if someone had beat the hell out of me but couldn’t wait for the following Friday to arrive so we could do it all again. I can still recall the excitement as I got ready to head out to the bright lights of that dark old city that beckoned me. In my memory those lights now seem so colorful, vibrant & the energy of those nights seem absolutely electric as I write this. But were they really that good or is it just the usual rose tinted bulls**t an old mind is trying to conjure up about youth? Probably the latter but it gives me a glow so I'll take it.
I suppose it doesn’t matter really because those days happened so long ago. But one thing I know is that at no stage did ever I stop & really appreciate each moment I was living through. I was rarely present at the time, instead I was wishing for the weekend to come, wishing for that elusive record deal, wishing for more money, a new guitar. I was living for tomorrow & basically wishing my young days away. It would all last forever though we thought...
Then one day, it all just quietly fizzled out & stopped. The club got knocked down & replaced by some soulless steel monstrosity office block. I wonder if Tony from accounts knows that where his desk is today, Kurt Cobain once stood & sang or where Lemmy sat smoking a fag & drinking Jack Daniels? I doubt it.
It's strange but I can’t remember the exact night I left the club & those friends behind for the last time. All the days merge into one memory of partying. I do know there was no fanfare or long goodbyes, on that last night because no one knew it was the end of it all. I guess we'd have hugged or drank a toast or something symbolic? It was probably a "See you next week" & off out the door.
This may sound strange but if I try I can still imagine some of those old acquaintances still standing there now to this day, forever young, dressed the same as if time stood still & if I was to venture into that bar again on Friday night we could simply catch up on the stories & patter from the last moment we spoke.
But many moons have passed since those hazy days of yore & we’re all living different lives now & I've no idea where most of them are. Would we even recognize each other in the street now? Middle aged passing strangers eyeing each other up suspiciously. The long hair is gone, the style that defined us is confined to some grainy Polaroid shots in packed away in somebody's dusty attic.
A couple of good souls sadly did not get the chance to grow older & are in spirit now. They are forever young & will never age; etched in my mind forever. And then there are some characters I can visualize clearly but can’t even remember their name. I saw them every weekend but never knew their job or life outwith that bar amidst the sounds of metal & rock.
So, why am I writing this ‘all our yesterdays’ post? Apologies if I’ve bored you. I’m getting to the point I promise…
I try to tell people not to do what I did...
To live this life to its absolute best we have to be present in each moment. Back then & even more recently I had no real appreciation of the blessings I had around me.
So, here’s five tips I’ve FINALLY learned the hard way about living in the moment. It's not groundbreaking but it is exactly how I live my life now & it may help someone out there before it's too late...
Stop for a minute, let’s look around us, take it all in & embrace here & now. Let’s quietly give thanks for the great people around us in our life & for goodness sake let’s tell them we love them – even if they think we’ve went mad! Say it!
Don’t take s**t anymore. Avoid the people who thrive on personal drama, bully or bitch about others because it’s all so pointless & in 5 weeks or 5 years’ time none of it will matter. It’s their issue & as such should be left to them to deal with on their journey. We really don’t help these people by enabling or supporting them. Let them go with love.
Let’s not judge people we don’t know by their differences. We psychologically feel more comfortable with others we see aspects of ourselves in. But we have choice & freewill so rip that rulebook up & If we find judgement creeping in bloody stop it & let’s give every new being we meet in this world an equal chance. We might be surprised & find a new friend. We really are all spiritually one energy anyway. Kindness is the way.
Just breathe & know it’s all temporary. Even the stormy days will pass & the Universal light will shine again on us. Embrace the good things wholeheartedly & fight through the bad with tenacity & steel in our hearts. It will always change. Never give up.
Finally, no matter our age let's just have a laugh, be outrageous, dance naked under the moon if you feel the need & do what you want as long as you aren’t hurting another being. Time is short & laughter is a wonderful gift we as humans have been given. let's do more!
Well, we’re at the end of this blog post. More time has passed & the blog is now history so go be aware & live in the moment!
I'm off out to dance under that moon.