Times Like These
Our vision is a world served by better men: fathers, husbands, sons, brothers, uncles, friends, lovers, workers and humans. If you are just joining us, and want to be part of it, subscribe below.
Foo Fighters played Madison Square Garden last night to full capacity. Twenty thousand people in one big room breathing each other’s air for three hours.
I know it’s not the first large event to happen in the US since the COVID lockdowns started - but it is the first one to happen in New York and the first one to happen at Madison Square Garden and so…it absolutely is the first one.
Maybe because of that, or maybe it was just me, this weekend felt like a turning point in the consciousness of people (of the Northeast anyway) toward actual normalcy. And with that turning I’m feeling compelled to rush back to the experiences that felt taken away over the last 15 months. Hugging friends and family, going on vacation, in person work meetings, maybe a triathlon or two, and live music. Live fucking music. All caps LIVE MUSIC. I’ve been joking that I’m stockpiling concert tickets like they’re bitcoin - the only difference being that one is a digital ticket that tends to go on crazy price fluctuations as people over react to noise and the other is a concert ticket. But I digress…
In this compulsion I’m encouraging myself to hit pause on the one way motorway out the door and try to reflect, to see the street light shining on the last 15 months. It’s not easy though - I’m finding it a risky proposition that can cause a “oh shit, I have to catch up...I’m behind on things....should I have done more…” compulsion of its own.
The subject of time is one everyone has opinions on and most of the people I know even have a turn of phrase about. “You can always make more money, you can never make more time…” is mine. But almost no one I know, myself included, says, or I suspect thinks, much more about it beyond that. Fewer still do anything about it.
I believe time is the most important resource I have, but I mean who doesn’t? I don’t think I act with it in mind as much as I could though. I’m fairly in control of my time - which is a big part of the battle - but how I use it is the part that matters and the part I find myself looking critically toward from the era of COVID. I had time, but did I use it or sit on it? Minutes harnessed beat hours squandered every time. Presence, I believe, is that harness.
That’s the aspect of time that I’m focussing on - because frankly it can’t be taken from me and only I can squander mine. It's a conscious decision to look at my phone or not when I’m playing with my daughter, or to focus on the dinner I’m having with my family instead of the concert I’m not at, or the work I’m doing rather than the work I didn’t do.
The last 15 months are rife with lessons but I think the right strategy for me is to focus on one and one that requires I not look back, or forward for that matter. One that by definition keeps me rooted in the present.
And so in this new day rising I hope to do more than just offer platitudes on time and it’s primacy. I hope to do more than believe time matters. I’ll continue to value capturing more of my time - but in this new day rising where I’m learning to live again I aim to stay (present), not run and leave it all behind.
B
PS - This is the opener from last night’s show. Good God.
As we aim to foster a sense of community we’re doing stuff here at Project Kathekon.
Every month we pick an exercise and aim for 10,001 reps. We’d love you to do it with us.
We read books sometimes, and then we give them away. Want the first one?
This one hurt; and then didn’t. As you know, I had a ticket for that show. Two presale attempts came up empty and then I snagged a single upper deck ticket. I was pumped to go. And then my first migraine since before the pandemic hit. Knocked me out solid. So I sold my ticket and stayed home and focused on getting better. I was happy with my decision but seeing the set list and clips from the show sent me into a bit of a spiral. Reading this pulled me back. I focused on dinner with my wife last night instead of feeling sorry for myself. I remembered that I got to go to the pool that morning, something that wouldn’t have been possible. And knowing that there will be more LIVE CONCERTS has me looking forward to being present there, and in the moments in between. Thank you for the perspective!