second go...

Ben and I went to see Roger Waters of Pink Floyd last year in Buffalo. It was a concert that Ben called his "3 Tenors" moment. The history of that was, when I was 26, I had an opportunity to go to see the Three Tenors in Toronto. They are my all time favorite musicians. I knew I'd never have the opportunity to see them again, so I spent a foolish amount of money to go. It was magnificent. Best money I've ever spent. I can't tell you how thrilled I STILL am over being able to go see them. Now that Pavoratti is gone, there's no way that can be recreated, and I'm so glad I chose to splurge and go. So, with Ben, Roger Waters has that same appeal. We went, and it was magnificent.

What I came away with in all of that, not being a huge Pink Floyd fan myself, was the crowd. The place was packed. You couldn't hear yourself think when the crowd began to cheer. I stopped for a moment and drank that in. I thought "what must it feel like to be someone who can be the type of person or the level of artist who can generate that sort of response just by walking out on a stage? Would that be the most thrilling moment in the life of any man? And to live it again and again like Roger Waters or Luciano Pavoratti does/did, is it as momentous as it was for me as I thought about it there in the arena? I hope so. I hope they drink it in, and that it causes them to become even more aware of their talent, their worthiness, and their life as an artist. Fanfare has so much adrenalin to it... so much life in it. There is such a feeling of overwhelming adoration and praise. I can only imagine.

There are days where I would love nothing more than to be that level of artist... and then there's me, the real person, who would shy away from that sort of accolade. Should we strive to be all that we can be, only to receive that sort of adoration from others? No... we shouldn't rely on human emotion to make who we are in this world. We have to be who we are, no matter if we're ditch diggers, multi million dollar musicians, homemakers, parents, or anything else. To be all we can for the life we're given is what counts. Do all you can in the place you've been established. Life isn't about the accolades. It won't be on our tombstones... it won't be what people remember. Our legacy will reflect who we are to one another.