If you don’t, even good things will taste super weird.
Ever been to a wine-tasting? If you’re super-duper fancy like I am, then yeah…of course you have. You sip a little white. You sip a little red. You say the word, “tannin” every 35 seconds and act like you know what it means. You ignore the toothpicks and tongs and grab the cheese cubes and crackers by hand because who cares. And you always grab some strawberries for your lady because you’re a goddamn gentleman.
Well, in between all this nonsense, you want to be sure to enjoy the wine. The only way to do that is to, every once in while, do what us fancy folks call, “cleansing the palette.” AKA what you barbaric heathens call, “chugging water in between pounding wine.”
Whatever you call it and whoever you are, just do it. It’s the only way to enjoy all the wines…until the time comes to pour yourself into an Uber.
Turns out that life is kind of similar to a wine-tasting. As enjoyable as something might be, it’s hard to keep doing it at that same level of enjoyment for an extended period of time. Must. Cleanse. Palette.
Probably lots of ways to do this, but for me…nothing works like a good ol’ fashioned jam with some daunting, stellar musicians. I had the pleasure of performing the first installment of what we’re calling “The Lab” this past Friday, 4/28. Gaslight is an awesomely schizophrenic venue in St. Louis (recording studio+venue+beer+tacos = yes please) and they were kind enough to host our little experiment. Good friends David Anderson and Andrea Morse were on guitar and bass, respectively, and I was on drums.
3 musicians. 2 sets. 1 great venue. 100% improvised.
You know the saying that if you’re the smartest or most talented person in the room, then you’re in the wrong room? Well…I love that saying and I was definitely in the right room.
The concert promoter in me: “Man, I hope a lot of people show up and the place is packed!”
The musician in me: “Holy shit. What if people show up and the place is packed?”
Well, people showed up and the night was as about palette-cleansing as could be. David and Andrea are top-notch players and I needed to concentrate. These guys bring the heat. I quickly realized that it’s been a long, long time since I concentrated for extended periods of time on just one single thing.
Think about that. When was the last time you were able to close your eyes and concentrate on just one thing for over an hour at a time? Not checking Facebook. Not answering the phone. Not going somewhere else to do that one thing really quickly. Not peeking at the clock to make sure you weren’t going to be late for that next thing.
Just one thing and ONLY that thing. In the moment. Totally present. Inside.
Yeah. It’s been a while for me, too. But I’m still feeling the impact of a cleared head six days later. It’s resulted in some new ideas that I’ll be implementing for Magic Room Brand, a renewed energy towards family time activities, and other contributions in the local startup community in which I am involved.
I didn’t even realize how much I needed it until it was over. Extended concentration not only allowed me to be present where I was, but also to be present where I would be for days following.
Enjoying things is easy, but even that requires some maintenance on your part. Give it a try. Go lose yourself in something – ideally something in which there is no right or wrong. Clear your head. Cleanse the palette.
There’s so much more wine out there and it’s all delicious.
#bewhatyoumake
