June 3, 2006: Stirring the Pot

Street in the city. Street in the city on a working day.
Street in the city. Street in the city on a working day.
There's a man up on that ledge. He's only cleaning windows.
What a shame, who's to blame, for the pain with his sin,
Going to lean back on my wall and pray for him to fall.
--Pete Townshend, Street in the City, Gold Album

As I was driving home yesterday, this song, one of my favorites, began to play through my iPod on my car’s stereo. It strikes me as an apt social commentary of our culture today... Most people aren’t happy with peaceful quiet existences; they are waiting for something exciting to happen. Maybe they don’t want a window washer to fall, but they want something, anything, to happen. That’s why they watch the news, pick up the tabloids, follow every tidbit that the gossip columnists and paparazzi have to feed them--and pass along every bit of “news” they themselves have to share. Dirt is interesting... as long as it isn’t personal dirt.

I remember in the 24 hours before Katrina hit, there was a great deal of excitement. I heard people say that they were actually hoping that New Orleans would get hit... not a lot, but maybe just a little... that it wouldn’t be another “false alarm” this time. Of course, they’d never admit it after the fact, because the horror of true situation was for more than they ever imagined. But for them, a little misery, just a smidge (like a little salt in a pot of soup), would have been just about right.

How sad is that for all of us?

I want to tell these people to stop looking and start living. Life isn’t about watching others live, it’s about living yourself. Embrace the moment, find something that gives you joy, and pursue it with all your heart and soul. For me, that’s riding and time spent with my family--but great passions do not have to be expensive. At other times in my life, I have “escaped” with water color, wind surfing, mountain biking, hiking. And I watch my stable hands play soccer like the World Cup’s final match is in their front yard every day (minus the blood-thirsty fans, thank goodness!). We need to leave the pot-stirring to the cooks in the kitchen.