This is such a thought-provoking essay! So many phrases sent my mind down various trails.
"Aging celebrities of all fields give the lie to the possibility that even fame, even creative success, even social esteem (let alone wealth!) constitutes a real way of being; somehow, only those outside the frame of society seem to be on paths worth contemplating as guides."
When I was a teenager, I read the book "The Way of the Peaceful Warrior", by Dan Millman. He met a gas station attendant — whom he named Socrates —and underwent a kind of spiritual training. The book wasn't high literature but it left such a last impact on me. This lyric is entering my mind rn: "The words of the prophets we're written on subway walls..."
Have you met such a person?
Thanks for this lovely piece of writing. I will be reading it over again.
Thank you for the kind words! I have indeed met such people, many of those I've known in New Orleans specifically; indeed, in a way, New Orleans is an entire city like this: people who've chosen (for centuries) not to live in the main currents of the nation(s) which possess it, people who e.g. prioritize certain modes of living over income, safety, particular ideas of quality-of-life, etc. Many of my teachers and the musicians I knew had this attitude very explicitly: "I could have moved to Houston, made more money, had better civic services in every way, etc., but I love the food and the music here and the way people live here, so I stayed."
It's a mild bohemianism, but it's there! And it's a large part of why I moved back here!
This made me want a "highlight" feature--lots of beautiful turns of phrase here, worth tucking away in a digital pocket of sorts. Thanks for sharing.
Me too!
This is such a thought-provoking essay! So many phrases sent my mind down various trails.
"Aging celebrities of all fields give the lie to the possibility that even fame, even creative success, even social esteem (let alone wealth!) constitutes a real way of being; somehow, only those outside the frame of society seem to be on paths worth contemplating as guides."
When I was a teenager, I read the book "The Way of the Peaceful Warrior", by Dan Millman. He met a gas station attendant — whom he named Socrates —and underwent a kind of spiritual training. The book wasn't high literature but it left such a last impact on me. This lyric is entering my mind rn: "The words of the prophets we're written on subway walls..."
Have you met such a person?
Thanks for this lovely piece of writing. I will be reading it over again.
Thank you for the kind words! I have indeed met such people, many of those I've known in New Orleans specifically; indeed, in a way, New Orleans is an entire city like this: people who've chosen (for centuries) not to live in the main currents of the nation(s) which possess it, people who e.g. prioritize certain modes of living over income, safety, particular ideas of quality-of-life, etc. Many of my teachers and the musicians I knew had this attitude very explicitly: "I could have moved to Houston, made more money, had better civic services in every way, etc., but I love the food and the music here and the way people live here, so I stayed."
It's a mild bohemianism, but it's there! And it's a large part of why I moved back here!
A great read, Mills; I found it really interesting.