“May you live in interesting times.” This Chinese saying is often seen as a blessing. A slight change of wording to “You will live in interesting times” makes it possible to see the saying as a curse. It all depends on what we mean by “interesting times.”
The times we live in can be interesting as in exciting, stimulating, empowering or uplifting. They could also be interesting as in disturbing, frightening, unnerving, difficult or dangerous. And it’s probably true that you can find some of both kinds of “interesting” in any given era.
As I write this, millions of people on the east coast of the United States are suffering through another major storm. Many are without power, lives have been lost and homes destroyed. These storms are becoming more frequent and more powerful. Climate change? Interesting.
Each morning we turn on the TV or open a browser to check out the news. I’m relieved when I don’t find a news story about a mass murder at a school, house of worship or concert. And I feel a little guilty, as though I were going to a NASCAR race and hoping to see a crash or a hockey game and waiting for the fights to break out. Gun control? Interesting.
And then there’s terrorism, rogue nations with Nuclear weapons, class and culture wars, national political turmoil and so many other troubling issues and threats. Interesting.
How do we cope with all of these pressures and concerns? We need to be able to escape, if only temporarily. My wife reads books voraciously and goes to theater. I think these activities provide a respite from the stress of life. Two very popular movies – the latest Star Wars edition and The Black Panther – provide a fantasy escape that takes us somewhere else for a couple of hours.
My escape is in music. I go to a room in the basement of my house where there are guitars, ukuleles, harmonicas and a piano and I play, sing and write songs. Sometimes I go to a music store, like the Denver Folklore Center to look at and play with a santa cruz acoustic guitar and other acoustic instruments where I can be with others who share my interest in acoustic music and escape from all that interesting stuff out there.
Even if you simply enjoy listening to music or escaping by watching music videos, it’s temporary and eventually the disturbing part of interesting takes over again. So, a revision to the blessing or curse…
May you live in the times that are positively interesting and live through the times that are not.
Article Submitted By Community Writer
