Unused Parts
Matt Nathanson is not only the A) funniest and B) nicest musician around…he’s also pretty damn insightful. On his own blog, he’s been doing a sporadic series of posts about his Top Ten Favorite Bands, and his most recent one, on REM, has a fantastic explanation on why they meant so much to him:
“when i listened to an REM record. or saw an REM photograph, i saw the best, unused parts of myself. does that make sense? like, they were just people. in 2nd hand suits. playing the same chords i played. eating at the same restaurants i could eat at. but they LIVED their art. they seemed to embody the creative process. they were completely immersed in the act of making. and that part was very much NOT how i was living.”
(Check out Matt’s entire post here)
Damn. This concept really speaks to me.
See, like most people, I suffer from the occasional bout of jealousy. It’s easy to envy friends who are accomplishing great things and living the kind of life I aspire to live.
But I find the jealousy of my successful friends wanes considerably when I myself am, as Matt wrote, “completely immersed in the act of making,” and when the “best, unused parts of myself” are no longer unused.
Jealousy, to me, is just a sign post that I need to get back to the sorts of creative endeavors that make me happiest.
