Living in the Margins
Margin of error. Profit Margin. Marginal existence. A margin is that mysterious space between the text and the edge of the book. Between what we know and what we don’t know. Or, in the case of music, what we know and what we feel.
SURVIVAL’S BEST OUTSIDE THE MIDDLE OF THE PAGE
We all survive day to day in the middle of the page. We communicate with language. We assert ourselves through actions. We function through the verbal and physical realities of moving in space day to day and hammering out a temporal existence. We live physically in the text. But we live emotionally and spiritually in the unspoken, the subconscious, the unknown.
We have portals to connect. Some are structural, institutional and communal. Organized religion, therapy, group retreats, the self-help industry. We’ve all felt the power of the crowd. A packed football stadium, an energized protest march, a pick-up basketball game, even dozens of people on a roadside cleanup working together in achieving a common pursuit.
But there are other entrées into the margins that are deeply personal. Prayer and meditation, long hikes and immersions in nature, gardening, passionate sex, engaged childrearing and caring for animals are all ways we try to connect to others or connect to the world.
And then there is Art. When we do it and when we see it. Whether picking up a brush and or a lump of clay or losing ourselves in a Rothko color field painting. Maybe it’s an intricately performed dance routine or the subtext of a Becket play or the climax of a beautifully executed film that has us thrilled or crying. Critics and reviewers struggle to apply language to what, by its very nature, is outside the boundaries of language.
IF WE WERE BERORE WE WERE BORN AND AFTER OUR DEATH NOTHING BUT ENERGY, WHAT BEST DEFINES US IS THAT THAT ENERGIZES US, THAT INSPIRES US - THAT IS MUSIC AND THE ARTS
And of course, almost unique in its power to describe and defy description is the power of music. To understand how vital music is to our existence, imagine a world without it. Imagine a world without the songs and symphonies that bridge and give meaningful internal context to our external world. Without our ability to bang on a can, strum a guitar or immerse ourselves fully in the voices and melodies that are gifted to us by our great musical artists, life would be a monochromatic physical existence, like living on bread and water.
As we all navigate this brave new world of masks and social distancing and remote workplaces, we have new technologies that can bring limitless world music into our lives, helping us cope and uplift our spirits. And we have new challenges - how to sort through the corporate algorithms and playlists to find the unique tunes and lyrics that speak to each of us.
A UNIVERSE OF MUSIC AVAILABLE TO US - IF ONLYU WE CAN FIND IT
So here we are, able to curate the soundtracks to our own lives with the touch of a button. An entire universe of music available to us, waiting to be discovered – if only we can find it. What greater gift is there to soothe our souls and to remind us that to be human is to sing and dance and sway to the rhythms of our inner being that lies buried, in plain sight, in the margins?