A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to get to enjoy some live Music. Despite living in a tiny village in the mountains, a dynamic bar owner put on a wonderful event of flamenco fusion music. As such opportunities are rare in the village the event was packed. The musicians were excellent and there was a great atmosphere….. if you could cope with a packed room and very loud music. Fortunately this bar had a terrace with comfortable outside seating.
I spent most of the evening reclining in a comfortable chair on the terrace. When the music was on I was often the only person outside, but the music was the perfect volume for me from where I was sitting. It was a beautiful evening with the moon only a few days off being full and I really enjoyed just being there. I enjoyed the company of my group of friends in short bursts between the live sets, and in fact that was perfect too. Too long interacting with a group would have been a lot more tiring.
Some of my friends may have felt a little sorry for me that I didn’t have the energy to stand in a crowded room witnessing the magic that was being spun on the small stage. But I felt that I enjoyed my own magic, a magic that included the moon and the stars; the experience of a cool breeze on my skin and such a deep sense of well-being and relaxation that the alchemy of the music transformed into bliss! There is something special about being part of a shared experience but missing out on the way other people are able to enjoy themselves doesn’t mean anything if you are able to enjoy yourself as much as I did.
When I was a young person travelling the world I was hungry for experience. At every back packers hostel I would meet other intrepid travellers describing amazing adventures, but there was never enough time to do everything that I heard about and I often carried around a feeling of missing out on something. I’m ashamed to say that this feeling really got in the way of me enjoying all the amazing adventures that I was having. Fortunately after a couple of squandered trips I learned the lesson that the experiences that you don’t have an opportunity to enjoy mean nothing as long as you make the most of enjoying every opportunity you are presented with. Later I learned that you don’t even really need big opportunities, all you really need is to be able to live in the moment and experience the joy that is in the little things that are nearly always available around you.
My night of solitary enjoyment of that wonderful live music reminded me that enjoyment doesn’t have to conform to a norm. Any way we can find to experience joy counts. When we focus on appreciating what we have in the moment, whatever other people have is irrelevant!
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Lovely uplifting article Julie – thank you for sharing your evening with us
I definitely have to tailor my experiences to my illness. Your night under the stars sounds so great.
This is exactly what I have found – since I’m no longer able to enjoy things in the same way as before I’ve learned to enjoy them differently rather than miss out completely. Thank you for sharing your experience Julie!