When The Rain Comes: Bringing The Past, Present, And Future Into Your Lived Day

Whoa. What is that noise on the roof? Rain?

In the PNW? Impossible.

Nah, it happens all the time, but since returning on June 1st, there has only been one day of light rain.

Today’s was the harder, steadier, longer-lasting type that comes with the movement from Summer to Fall, less sun, to Winter, full force.

It’s messed up my normal routine for the day, so I am adjusting.

I got started earlier, doing 1/2 of my strength training exercises, zeroscaping (tracking my metrics and finances, planning the day), and sampling another podcast (I am on the fence about it … it will probably need to go) as I walked around the house to get some steps in.

Now I am writing today’s post and need to be quick about it.

I decided to listen to a little music before I sat down to write. I do this as an active imagination exercise from time to time.

I will find a playlist (typically my own on Apple Music, which is a mix of familiar and new songs) or a discovery station or such. I will listen to 3 songs, sometimes 4, and then consider what they are telling me.

Today’s songs were:

• When I’m Walking by Jonathon Richman & The Modern Lovers

• 1913 Massacre by Woody Guthrie

• Oh, You Pretty Things by David Bowie (and Mick Ronson gets writing credit for string arrangements; that dude deserves a lot of credit for Bowie’s rise to fame)

Part of this process is accepting what comes up. i avoid “rejecting” a song that emerges.

Am I a big fan of all 3 songs?

No, with the exception of the Bowie track, which is indeed a huge favorite. But I liked them all, too.

Richman’s was a bit tough, it was the first one to come up, but I resisted Hitting Forward. I actually ended up really enjoying it.

Three things strike me about these artists and the songs.

They’re philosophical outlooks on their own art and the world.

They’re a reflection of my Enneagram tri-type.

And the songs have a temporal quality to them.

Richman eschews overproduction and electrification in his performances. He seems to want to go to the heart of the song and let it speak in a stripped-down version.

He often tours in his car with his acoustic guitar. Sometimes he has another musician accompany him as a duo, but as his career progressed, he gravitated to simple.

His songs are also upbeat and positive, and a little quirky.

In a way, I think of him as the Yang to Lou Reed’s Yin.

He was very much inspired by and was a huge fan of The Velvet Underground. He used to attend all their shows and hang around, getting to know the band when they would tour in and around Boston.

You hear it in The Modern Lovers. You hear it in The Cars and The Talking Heads, too. (Dave Robinson went on to be the drummer for The Cars, and Jerry Harrison joined The Talking Heads, primarily as keyboardist).

But where Reed would write about Heroin, Richman will write about walking, wandering, almost staying grounded, versus relying on automobiles to move him, or heroin, for that matter.

It’s a very Taoist and somewhat Luddite reaction, a very Romantic philosophical song.

I am running out of time as I write this, so I will save my commentary on Guthrie’s and Bowie’s philosophies and How it shows up in their art.

And that is okay, because when I think of my “brand” of music, these two as exemplars and examples can go a long way to describing what I am intending to do with the songs I write and perform.

So, I am sure they will come up again.

On the Enneagram tri-type front, I am a Type Four primarily. Bowie represents that part of my personality of these three.

Type Fours are a heart-centered, feelings- and emotions-centered personality type.

I am also a 471 tri-type. That means I am always slightly dissatisfied and yearning, but I will save that discussion for another day, too.

Richman, and this song more so than perhaps his own personality or example, represents the Type Seven.

That is the person who wants to go on adventures. Who wants to wander. Who wants to embrace their experiences, all the experiences. It is a head-centered type. It is a type that loves to test and learn.

Guthrie and this song perfectly reflect the Type One part of my tri-type. a moral stance and conviction is front and center in this song and in his music.

He didn’t think of his music as a “product” but as a way to change and help the downtrodden.

Very noble, very sincere, and can be very dangerous to one’s health and wealth.

From a temporal perspective, Guthrie’s song is calling us back to the past, and to not forget that things need to change, and there is data that shouldn’t be “covered over” and neglected.

Richman’s song is calling us to be present in the moment. Get out and enjoy life, now. It’s all we really have.

Bowie’s song is calling us to consider the larger picture of where we are going, who we are becoming (where I like to hang out in my own mind, to be frank).

Last night, I spent considerable time in all three temporal zones as I continue to dive into how I want to spend the coming year.

I went back and did research on “old ideas” that I have carried with me for several years.

I thought about what I will do today, tomorrow, soon.

And I concluded the day looking at the bigger picture of what is driving all this, and where will it lead me (i.e., values clarification meditations).

Well, I am going to wrap here.

I recommend this exercise if you want a way to start your day with good music, a little active imagination time, and as a way to check the compass for your True North.