Welcome To The Treme
Often I ask myself what is the meaning of this? Not life itself. Not the disasters that often plague the least fortunate and the most deserving of a helping hand. Not even the very real personal tragedies of loss that so often rear their heads upon the kindest loveliest souls. But, instead I wonder about the moment. Every moment from this one to the next has meaning and for all my intelligence and logical thinking I very often cannot find it. I well up with the most fantastic and moving emotions that bring me to tears of joy when I hear the solemn Jazz of New Orleans heartbreak. A sense of astonishment and admiration perks in my soul when the people who, despite having nothing, give everything to make someone else’s life better. And yet just as often I feel sadness. Not for me so much, but for all the pain I see others endure. Inspiration often comes from this sadness but, like the last flicker of light from a candle that has burned down to its end this inspiration fades into the darkness. It is forgotten because this world and its people are all forgotten. We are forgotten like the people who still live in FEMA trailers. We are forgotten like those children left parent less in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. We are forgotten like the sad souls of loved ones conveniently tucked away in nursing homes and half way houses. We are forgotten like all those who voted and still do not have their voices heard. We are forgotten like the people who live on the Cook Inlet of Alaska, still reeling from the effects of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. We are forgotten like the child soldiers of Libya. We are forgotten like the many faces that pass by, smile and then continue on. We are forgotten and the universe will continue to move forward whether we are here or not.
Yet there is always that flicker in every moment that deserves to be remembered and if you take the time you can keep it alive. It doesn’t take anything more than you and if you take that moment and cherish it, then life becomes beautiful. It’s easy for us to say “my life sucks”. “I don’t have what I want” or “things could be better”, but we must be real. Things could always be better and things will always be worse. But, to lose the appreciation of the very moment is to throw away everything that has happened before it and that will happen after it. I, like all of us have the most difficult time appreciating these moments. They aren’t hard to recognize yet, they are so fleeting they often pass by before I even realize they exist. And for this I apologize to those that would wish to be able to cherish these moments. If I can offer anything at all it is that I am trying to change this.
Legends are forged from the actions of these moments. Fables are spawned out of life. Stories that inspire are cultivated from these moments like crops from soil made rich from the spilt blood, sweat, and tears of those that dared to fight for what they believe in. These moments must not be forgotten. But what are they? They are everywhere, all of the time. They are in the eyes of a lover before you fall off to sleep. They are in the smiles of amputees who find a purpose to be. It is in the rhythmic sound of rain falling on tree leaves. It is in the soft snow fall on a cold night where silence is the only sound that can be heard. It is in the music of the Treme after the Saints won the Super Bowl. It is in the anticipation that builds before the whistle blows prior to the first match of a World Cup. It is in the hugs that come from friends. It is in the smile of that stranger across the bar. It is the smells that are so familiar. It is in the laughter. It is in the pain. It is in the joy. It is you. It is me. It is everything we do and every moment that passes. In these moments the meaning is there, but the meaning is not to forget or the moment and all the moments from this one to the next will be lost. So remember, appreciate, and take stock, no matter what this moment may bring because there is meaning there and it’s up to us to remember that.
