Last night a few friends and I went to see the last night of the free “Music Without Borders” international music series at the Pritzker Pavilion. Hooray Chicago for inviting such wonderful musicians to play at the pleasure of the public.
I’d never really heard of any of the musicians, but I left the concert in awe.
The Gerardo Nunez Flamenco Ensemble, featuring Simon Shaheen and Nishat Khan were the players. They were all stellar, but Simon Shaheen just floored me. His mastery over the violin and the ‘oud was just remarkable. What craft!
Everyone in the crowd was lucky to be in the presence of greatness last night. We’re all better off for it.
It reminded me about the benefits of being in the presence of greatness. Whether it’s listening to a lecture from a great professor or speaker or reading a great book or watching a great athlete or sitting on a great chair having a great dinner on a great table with great friends, you always leave just a little greater yourself. Where else can just being there be so good for you?
Karl N
on 30 Jul 07Some believe there to be things such as social contagions. Repeated exposure to success, laziness, even obesity are thought to heighten your own propensity for them.
Just goes to support the notion that the company you choose to associate with is everything.
ML
on 30 Jul 07Re: social contagions…When one person gains weight, close friends tend to gain weight, too. Makes sense it could work for greatness too.
Thomas
on 30 Jul 07In self-development, I have always been taught that if you want succes in a specific area a great way to reach that succes is by sorrounding yourself with people already successful. Not because they will give you explicit lectures on how to become succesful but because you will pick up the details in their lives that aren’t in the books, the details that brought them the success.
I have a friend who is often negative about things and being around him sucks even though he is a great friend in so many other ways. But being with him brings a pessimistic energy. I have other friends who always focus on the positive things or want to be constructive when we are together – I like spending time with them so much more. And I find that after spending time with these friends I myself appear much more positive and constructive to other people.
Being around fat people makes you fat? It’s sad but I think it’s true. Just like having the wrong friends in school means a lot to your academic performance, your drinking habits, your everything.
Ben
on 30 Jul 07I poignant and timely post for me. Everyday I become more disenchanted with web development, because of the lack of craft.
I’m going to go build some speakers.
brendan avery
on 30 Jul 07one word: Zelig.
Keith Shepard
on 30 Jul 07I totally agree.
That’s why I think many great people surround themselves with like minded greatness. I think we (the non-great) can learn “greatness” by just being around great people. I really do. It’s better than hanging out with people that have a “constant” dismal and defeatist outlook on life, or the demeanor of a small soap dish.
I say “constant” because we all get down or have a bad day, but successful people consider these bad days as abnormal, and happiness as normal.
guynameddave
on 30 Jul 07Absolutely! It’s really one of the great privileges of our lives to participate in the greatness of others.
Blair
on 30 Jul 07For some reason, I keep coming back to the idea that observation/participation of/in greatness can yield positive results, but worship/idolization of the same can yield quite the opposite.
In other words, appreciation of greatness leads to feelings of capability (“this is wonderful, and it inspires me to do wonderful things too”), whereas idolization makes greatness appear unattainable (“this is wonderful, and there’s no way anything I do will ever compare, so why bother”).
The question is, how does one stop seeing life through lenses of the latter color, and start seeing it in a positive light?
Mike Rundle
on 30 Jul 07That reminds me of the one time I attended a PGA Tour event. I was watching players putt from the roped-off perimeter of the practice green, there were probably 100 people surrounding the green, watching. An SUV pulled up behind us and Tiger got out, and I soon figured out that the entrance to the practice green was right next to me, so his entourage walks up to the green (literally 2’ from me, I could reach out and touch them) and Tiger walks onto the green just an arms length away from me, and starts putting. It was very surreal, seeing one of my idols walk right by me, it was as if he were made out of wax and the scenario was out of a movie or something.
McFadly
on 30 Jul 07@Blair – I couldn’t agree more, and I think simply being aware is the answer to your question.
Mimo
on 30 Jul 07True. Everything is influencing everything. So be aware of the things that surrounds you.
tyler rooney
on 30 Jul 07So true.
Ken Burns’ Jazz mentions a story of Charles Black, a lead attorney for Brown v. Board of Education, about how he first saw genius as a teenager in the presence of Louis Armstrong and the effect it had on him by just “being there”...
The rest of the quote is somewhat long for a comment but you can find it here .
Michael Chui
on 01 Aug 07I’ve never heard the musicians either, but I want to inject a note of discord here:
Were they great, or were they simply novel? Are they the best among a hundred musicians who have somewhat similar traditions, or was it just because they were the first of those you’d heard?
Certainly, I’m sure it was wonderful music, but it was music you’d never heard before. I’m sure that affected your judgement. So, a bit of dissonance, what do you think?
Joshua Sierles
on 02 Aug 07I concur with an interesting related note. I spent the last week at a Flamenco course with Gerardo Nuñez as professor. He is indeed one of the greatest flamenco guitarists, if not one of the best guitarists around. The whole week was spent under the spell of greatness, and its influence is felt throughout the rest of my life. My web programming ‘flow state’ comes more easily, connections from one part of my brain to another fire quicker, motivation is higher.
I have the same experience each time i see one of his performances or attend his courses.
Good advice from Gerardo himself was to ‘strive to be better than your teacher’.
This discussion is closed.