Everything is a solo
#2, to that one tenor sax player
(Note: This is a post that I originally wrote on Substack.)
(Note: Read my next post on divison at archive.ph.)
"Talking in a socratic is like playing a solo."
Soloing is hard. It's hard to play notes that aren't written. It's hard to play the "correct" notes. It's hard to keep in time and have control over the music.
And yet, all solos are good solos. Everyone knows how hard soloing is, and to make an effort is to succeed. No one cares about the correctness of the notes. No one cares about whether the solo was in time or not. And no one cares if the soloist messed up. Each and every solo is respected.
Even so, it's still hard to solo. To get up in front of others, and play some notes that may not sound good, that may not be in time, that may not even be the notes you wanted to play, all knowing that you will be judged.
And isn't a solo a parallel to life?
Living is hard. It's hard to force yourself to wake up every day, to work for the abstract future, and to control the hedonistic impulses within you.
It's hard to venture out into the world, hard to create a new life, hard to be different.
And that's exactly what a solo is.
meow <3