So, I watched the video about sound. Or I sort of did. To be
honest, I fell asleep part way into it. Sorry. It was probably very fascinating though; I’d
guess it said something about how important the nuances in a sound are. Like
how subtleties are important and stuff. Like maybe the details contribute to
the quality of a sound? Quality being the thing that makes something seem real
and genuine? To put it in a frame, maybe the small sounds are like the little
finger flick that a ballerina does when she completes a pirouette, the small
little twisty that says, “Yes, I’ve put in enough time to call myself a
ballerina, and I can take that moment at the end of a pirouette, because that’s
mine, and that flick is for me.” It’s the small guys, the little dude-dawgs,
that make something realistic. Or… more than realistic? Dramatic? Alluring?
Dreamlike? That feeling where the memory of it is singed into your identity?
Something like that, I don’t know, I didn’t watch the whole video.
But I tried
again! The second video I tried to watch was the one with the author, the
jocose Peruvian lady who went to the winter Olympics in Turin to carry a flag. She
had the time of her life in the Olympic stadium. She had a lot to say about how
the ceremonies reflected on her mindset on life, specifically, why passion is
important. Passion, or heart, as I take it, is important because it acts as a
balance. Mrs. Allende uses the analogy of a downhill ski competition, where
these amazing athletes, people who have sacrificed and slaved towards
perfection, compete for a chance at gold. But think of the chance! Think of the
luck involved! Say a patch of snow has a little more ice on it than was
expected, think of the catastrophe that could occur. And also the margin that separates
podium from piss-off is tiny. There are so many factors that play into the
actual race: wind, humidity, equipment issues, a million other things. With all
the probabilities and improbabilities, the race really does turn into anyone’s
game. And the athlete’s know this. To counteract everything that could go
wrong, they pour themselves into the sport. During the actual run, every second
of their existence as an athlete is realized. It’s like Mohamed Ali said, “The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses
- behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance
under those lights.” Olympians practice,
condition, experiment with new techniques, experiment with new equipment, train
more, sacrifice. All Olympians do this
or similar. So who wins the gold? Is it really just luck? Is it really just a
spec of snow in the right place at the right time?
Yes.
But let me
say a little something about luck. Luck isn’t chance. Luck isn’t random. Luck
is the little thing that you can’t notice at the time, some seemingly trivial
detail that, after a second look, made it all come together. Luck isn’t blind
though. Luck is a circular ever-present force. Call it karma if you want, the
name doesn’t matter. What matters is this; Luck sees the details of a person’s
passion. Luck cares about the whys, looks at the hows, knows the whos, and then
if it finds it all agreeable, inserts itself, the what, into the when and where.
Luck is truth. It is. Just like the old Jewish quote that Mrs. Allende started
her talk with…
“What is truer than truth?
Answer; The Story.”
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