Like most great masters and masterpieces, Taylor Swift is a divisive figure — perhaps one of the most divisive in modern history. People either love her or love to hate her. There are few who fall in between.
I am a lover of all things Taylor Swift (with the exception of Me! featuring Brendon Urie, but I know that in time I will grow to love that, too). So when I attended the Eras Tour last October I expected to love it — what I didn’t expect was to experience a moment of sheer, life-altering epiphany.
It was sometime between Miss Americana and Cruel Summer. The very beginning of the show. I looked around at the other 70,000+ fans in the stadium, people spanning all ages and all genders, singing along in unison to lyrics that she cobbled together. To songs that she wrote — some of them when she was only 13! I took in the feeling of wonder and thought to myself:
She CREATED this.
It felt profound.
I looked back to Taylor onstage and then again to the people of the stands. There was an electricity in the air. It was euphoric. Wholesome. Every person there was having one of the best nights of their lives.
Where would these people be tonight if Taylor Swift didn’t exist?
What music would they be listening to instead?
She CREATED this!!!!! I thought.
I couldn’t get over it.
I think for the first time in a massive way I was experiencing first-hand the impact that art can have on our world — on our society, our history, our collective spirits — and, therefore, the impact that an artist can have just by making the choice to create art.
I thought back to how she began — a young girl with a guitar and the willingness to pursue her dream. I can’t tell you what my body was doing in that moment, but I can tell you that a tiny switch flipped inside of me. Suddenly the most important question of my existence was no longer “What do I want to do with my life?” but instead “What do I want to create?”
____
A few things I’m thankful for:
- Talking on the phone with my sister
- Sitting outside at a coffee shop
- Unconditional grace
Pop culture things I’m thinking about:
- Couples Therapy on Showtime (profound!)
- The Big Leap, read by the author (must listen tbh)
- Lady Gaga saying “We got free rain!”
A random journal entry:
3.15.18
Is there an ill word that can be spoken of someone who is simply seeking to understand? Surely there is no act more humble, more radical, than that.
A random thought:
I think that everyone should have an ongoing embodiment practice. Small, consistent moments or habits dedicated to becoming more alive in your body. In all corners of it, even the parts you don’t yet know or don’t yet like. Even the parts that hurt.
Some examples may include neighborhood walks, running, stretching, sex, dancing alone, looking at yourself in the mirror, breathing, yoga, ERP, giving your mirror a high five, giving yourself a hug, letting yourself relax, rubbing lotion on your legs, shaving your face, doing the dishes, cooking a meal. You name it.
____
Thanks for reading :) Talk again soon.
