Who Cares?
This is my first post (obviously). I had so many clever ideas for the first posting, such as how many nicknames you have and why, which cities you choose to live in and why, etc. But then I thought, why not just go straight into what I’m about.
I care. I care about the world. About who’s in charge, how it affects me and how it affects the slums of India. I care about people. About genuine connections, relationships and maintaining the friendships which are important to me. I care about family. They, along with society and my friends, helped shape me into who I am today. I owe my family everything and nothing. As in, they want nothing, though I always feel indebted. I care about people living up to their potential. What a world we would live in if everyone pushed themselves to their potential. And didn’t settle for some mundane job because they feel comfortable. People are oftentimes choosing to perform below their potential. It is their choice and I respect that. I’m just saying I care about those people and would love to see them be proud of themselves and see what they could accomplish. I care about spirituality. I care that people have a reason to be spiritual or not be. Me personally, it helps me get through the day, through life… it is like passion or having an opinion. I surround myself with those who have passionate opinions on subjects even if those opinions differ from mine (sometimes especially when they differ from mine). I’d encourage you not to be complacent, not to just agree, but to be a person with a backbone, with an informed opinion. It makes you more interesting.
This leads me to a couple passions that I get excited about and could write for pages on. I’ll save the best for last. First, music. A quote from Oliver Sacks, Neurologist and author of “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain.”
Music can lift us out of depression or move us to tears –
it is a remedy, a tonic, orange juice for the ear.
But for many of my neurological patients, music is even more –
it can provide access, even when no medication can, to movement, to speech, to life.
For them, music is not a luxury, but a necessity.
This has pretty much served as a life mantra for me. It just speaks to me, kind of like music does. There is a song for every mood I’m in or a song to change or enhance whatever mood I’m in. As my mom has said, music can pierce the soul. And I truly believe it can be a healing tool.
Second and an even bigger passion for me is wine. No, not just drinking it. But learning about it. John W. Gardner said “don’t try to be interesting, be interested.” Well, there it is. I am emotionally, mentally and physically enthralled by wine. The process, the people, the color, smell, taste and vast amount of knowledge out there that is unknown to me. The industry is constantly evolving. Consumers are changing. Palates evolve, people learn what they do and do not like and even that changes. I love industries that are constantly changing because I never get bored. Corks, to synthetics, to screwcaps. But why? Well, my interest has been peaked and out I go into the internets because I’m curious. I want to know why to satisfy my own curiosity.
Not sure if this is long or short for a first post, but it was a stream of consciousness as I sit on the bus from NYC to BOS trying to avoid swine flu. I’ve inhaled Airborne, practically bathed in hand-sanitizer, given dirty looks to anyone that coughs (including a child). But writing this lifted my spirits and reminded me, as I listen to my pod, what is important to me.
