What's the Narrative Thru-Line?

Tuned into National Public Radio early this morning. Seems all of the news is a bit corrosive and disconcerting. Trying to be up to date and well-informed has it's downsides. On the one hand, one thinks: "It's good to be aware of what's happening in the world," On the other hand, one thinks: "It's all a bit depressing; the many ways, Human Beings fuck over other Human Beings." There seems to be a narrative thru-line. The follies, the foibles, the flaws, the bad acts, the bad faith, the basic fucked-up-ness of being Human. What to do? I grab another cup of coffee, and put a CD on the music box. This morning it is King Crimson's "Islands," (1971), a strange, uncommon, gorgeous beast of a recording. It ranges across moods and modes. Is it rock, is it Jazz, is it Symphonic, is it Avant Garde? Yes. All of the above. I am reminded of and carried away by melody, harmony, the stubborn beauty, the prodigious creativity of Humans Beings exploring musical vibrations. Already, I'm feeling a bit better, sort of fortified with a renewed focus & energy to engage with a new day.*

*Post-Post-Note: After I wrote the above post, I finished my coffee, finished listening to the recording, took a short walk with a faithful companion in a light rain, had nice breakfast, took a long shower, and thought about the "Consolations" of a Life. I mean, it may be that a well-written and well-sung line, a smartly-composed, well-played collection of songs is a very thin, paltry and inadequate reed of consolation in oppostition to the mad & sad hurly-burly, that fills our days, and often totally consumes us. A brilliantly-conceived work of creativity doesn't erase the long narrative of human fuck-up-ness. Still, it is what we have, maybe all we have, a tiny string of small consolations that helps us get thru a day. A new dawn, a good brew, a nice meal, a warm bed, a hot shower, an engaging book, an inspiring collection of music from around the world, a new rabbit-hole to fall into, a crazy creative obsession to play with, a long day of dreaming and distraction. That's the other side, the sunny-side, the ligh side vs the dark side of that fuck-up-ness. That's it. A tiny thread to keep our heads in the game.