Breathe, and Don’t Be Afraid to Care

“Walking in the Pastures of Wonder”

That is the title of a new book that just arrived today by the Irish poet/philosopher John O’Donohue, who has been a wonderful discovery for me recently. The book, along with his general outlook is closely aligned with the mindfulness that I’ve been attempting to cultivate these past few years. The practice (meditation), at least when I’m able to bring it on-line properly, provides such a unique view into the nature of experience that I am occasionally stunned at the sight of it. My attention has sharpened in ways that I never suspected before.  

And tonight, I had an experience that curiously mirrors that very lesson. It occurred while taking Bear out for a late-night walk down the street. But before stepping out, I quickly decided to grab my iPod and earbuds so I could listen to some nice music while we walked. It was a beautiful evening after all. Once I had snapped his harness in place and began thumbing through the long list of bands in my catalog, I quite randomly deciding to listen to Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon’, which surprised me since it has not been a part of my current listening habits. In fact, I hadn’t listened to it for a few years, but as I trust my intuition explicitly, the choice was made, and I followed its lead.

So, as I began listening we stepped outside and I simply got on with the task at hand. Once we reached the end of the driveway, the opening instrumental began to settle into its familiar narrative. And I specifically describe it as a narrative because the opening sequence is quite a unique piece of musical theater. It begins with a barely audible heartbeat, beating completely alone in a surrounding silence, then gradually becomes stronger and more pronounced. Then as it continues, other sounds begin to encroach on its solitude, random voices echoing in and out, sounds of industry and commerce begin to wade in as well, and as it continues all of those unnerving, chaotic sounds intensifying and edges ever closer and louder, as if a freight train of chaos is barreling toward you and just when it feels as if you’re about to be hit…….a single voice screams out, then all the chaos immediately stops and the soothing sound of ‘Breathe’ begins, the albums opening song.

That opening sequence is clearly meant to convey our birth. The soft, barely audible heartbeat that gradually grows stronger can be seen as our time spent in the womb, and as we move closer toward our birth, all the ambient sounds from the outside world begins to encroach on that peace and becomes an unavoidable destiny. Then that final, frantic push and suddenly we’re delivered into the world with our first breath…. just as the song ‘Breathe’ begins.

As a side note, let me point out that we are talking true artistry here, and it doesn’t matter what you may think of rock-n-roll in general, or Pink Floyd specifically…. this is highly attuned conceptual  art. Not to get too far off point here, but Pink Floyd, particularly their main songwriter, Roger Waters, wrote music that was pointedly thematic in nature, and driven by clear narratives. His (Waters) aim was to create musical scenes and story lines that immerse the listener, much like reading good fiction…and this album illustrates that motif as beautifully as any that I’ve ever heard. To put is as simply as I can, what Picasso was to modern art in the 1930’s, Pink Floyd was to rock-n-roll in the 1970’s. And like Picasso, popular music has never seen another artist that comes anywhere close to matching their unique genius.

The song itself, ‘Breathe’, is a beautifully mellow tune, and one that imposes nothing on you but relaxation, so I was simply enjoying its vibe as Bear and I walked. Then once we reached the cemetery, which is an elevated point on our street, I was granted a commanding view of the sky above me. There I suddenly realized what a beautiful evening I had stepped into. Since I was standing mostly above the surrounding tree line, the sky was wide open. The moon was completely absent, which gave the stars a proper setting for their lightshow.

While staring up at such a transcendent sight, with the soothing melody of “Breathe” caressing my mind, I looked up at the stars and took a deep breath of the cool night air and was filled with absolute gratitude just to be able to experience the moment; the sensation of the evening breeze on my skin, the crisp cool air filling my lungs, and the absolute splendor of the star filled night all wrapped themselves around me with such gentleness that I tingled all over. It was at that precise moment, amazingly, that David Gilmore began singing the opening words to the song, ‘breathe, breathe in the air…..don’t be afraid to care”.

Damn! What an incredible moment of synchronicity! I just had to smile at my luck. In fact, it was a sequence of events that seemed to laugh at the notion of blind coincidence. My awareness of the moment at hand, the intuition to play that particular album and the ‘dead on’ timing of taking a deep breath as I marveled at the stars above me with absolute gratitude, just as Gilmore delivered that wonderful line…..”breathe…..don’t be afraid to care.” It all felt scripted by the gods.

Words, of course, will utterly fail to describe what a privilege I felt in that moment, at the amazement of simply taking a deep breath….and knowing precisely what it meant to a life that has only so many of them left in it.

“There are only so many Summers babe, only so many Springs”  – Don Henley