It’s Because They Deserve It

Today I had several really good meetings that all made me think about why I do some of the things that I do.

As with most of us, I spend my time doing things to help me get through this mess of an existence. The goal being to increase my own mental and physical being. What about those times when it is not for myself though, why should I feel inclined to give my efforts and thoughts to anyone else?

The answer is actually much simpler than you might think…

It is because they deserve it.

The first conversation was about music, festivals more specifically, and how for those few days everything was perfect. Then it’s over and everyone has to go home, back to their real life, real jobs, real families, and real responsibilities.

I believe I said something along the lines of “let me know if you ever figure out how to stay in the perfect world forever”. To which they responded “Oh don’t worry, you will probably be the only person I do tell…because you deserve it”.

This made me think, do I really? After further review, I agree that I do deserve that. 🙂

Later in the day I was meeting with another person who is very active in the local music scene by heading up a collective called The Moon and Pluto.  During our conversation we also stumbled upon the idea of Deserving.

We both support these collectives with our spare time, which neither of us has much of. For instance, not only does she work full time, she also has a family to take care of and all of the responsibilities that go along with managing that. She is not a musician, so why not spend her free time doing something for just for herself? Why spend that valuable little bit of time promoting and supporting these bands(which is full time on its own)?

For no other reason than “they deserve it”.

They are working as hard as they can on their own, and only able to reach so far before their efforts are spent. They are doing everything right and making amazing music.

Trying to write, record, and release music, booking tours by contacting venues that have no idea who you are(ever tried that?…), contacting press, obtaining merch, and all of the other items on the ‘how to be a successful band’ list can be overwhelming.

All of these things can definitely distract from the creative process and even end a thriving band. The thought of my good friends not continuing to create music that excites and inspires me is a sad one. That is the last thing I want to see, which brings me back “they deserve it”. They deserve any help that I, or anyone else, can give them.

Seeing my friends follow their dreams, be them musically or any other, and succeed at what they do makes me proud. I can only hope that if any of them were ever able to help me out, they would feel that I too, deserve it.