(This post is part of a series of daily letters from me to my future children reporting from the emerging paradigm.)
Dear Kids:
Listening to a lot of Grateful Dead lately. When people ask what I did during quarantine I think it’s fun to say I studied the Grateful Dead.
When I first moved into the Lavender Queen (the name I gave my trailer, which feels like living on a boat) I couldn’t get internet and spent 6 weeks winding down without access to Netflix. I switched to listening to Grateful Dead and on lucky clear nights, stargazing.
To say that was a life improvement is an understatement. I had been Dead curious for many years but never really got into it because I just didn’t know the songs. So I followed a protocol laid out by Andy Cohen to completion and now I know lots of songs!
It was a great curriculum (I love that it exists on an instagram highlight, but I adapted it to a Spotify playlist). I was surprised that Andy’s favorite song became my own favorite song–Terrapin Station. I could (and have) listen to that song for hours. It’s incredible. And the nuance in each performance!
My post-Cohen curriculum is to listen to each show I have access to (thanks Spotify) and get to know the songs that weren’t on that initial list. I enjoy shows a lot more when I know some of the songs and can get excited about new to me songs that pique my interest.
I’m still seeking to understand what a Dead Head is because I know it’s more than just the study and appreciation of the music. I think it’s cultural, connected and has a lot to do with the history of the movement and the people involved.
I don’t know at what point I identify as a Dead Head but I know I want to at least go to a live concert whenever those happen again. Documentaries to watch, probably books to read.
It has felt really fun and soothing to study something that isn’t of this time. And like good art when you plunge into it, time and space exist apart from this plane.
When there’s so much chaos going on, so much bad news and struggle, it’s nice to wind down the day with a transcendent experience.
It’s also cool to have embarked on a course of study to completion. Outside of professional study (like group exercise, physiology, tea blending) I have spent a lot of my adult life dabbling in things but not really investing in development of enthusiasm and skill with persistence.
Wish I had a tie die sweatsuit to go along with my new endeavor, but alas, not in the budget yet.
Weird, potent times we’re in.
xoxo,
Mom
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