By the time you live as long as I have, you should be in absolute control of your emotions. After all, you have seen and lived a bunch. You learn how to bite your tongue. How to moderate and modulate your tone. If you have paid any attention at all, you know what filters you need to participate in society. And how to walk away when you know you are about to be overcome by emotion.Experience brings us coping mechanisms. If you do not want to think about or dwell on life’s gut punches, you turn to work. Or other diversions. You learn how to become engrossed in something to keep your mind from wandering back to grief or sadness.
Every so often, however, you drop your defenses. And . . . wham! Something reminds you of what you worked so assiduously to avoid. A surge of sadness sinks you.
Since Darby’s loss on Sunday, my coping skills have been put to the test. Ten-hour days at the office really helped. Plus we have a show coming up. We should be promoting it. We should be preparing for it. Burning energy. Focusing. Practicing. Unfortunately, for the last week, I have been a little weak at employing the distractions inherent getting ready for a show.
Once you get behind the power curve on getting ready, catching up can be difficult. That, of course, arcs up the Nagging Little Voice. Its tactics and tone are wide-ranging. The Nagging Little Voice can be insulting, “Hey, when are you going to get off your fat butt, you weak-minded old man?” It may rely on guilt, “You are letting your band mates down.” The Nagging Little Voice sometimes appeals to a sense of duty, “When a surf show bombs, the entire surf music community suffers.” Or it can be semi-supportive, “This is just another test. Buck up, man!”
When it is desperate, the Nagging Little Voice may resort to Winston Churchill quotes, “Everyone has his day and some days last longer than others.” Or maybe motivational poster stuff.
After nearly exhausting its bag of tricks, the Nagging Little Voice prevailed.
Reaching for my guitar, I responded, “Yeah, you’re right, got to get to catching up. The Original Lava Pup probably is looking down right now and thinking. Get off your butt. The show must go on!”
Want to find out how this ends? Join us at Shine on February 16.