Fly Away

“Don’t waste the time. Time is the final currency, man. Not money, not power – it’s time.” – David Crosby

This last week I have been listening to various songs created by David Crosby. Many forget about this man’s amazing career. He has been a constant presence on the music scene. He has become an iconic symbol of an era. He was part of the revolution, the counter culture, yet also the top of the pop charts. He has written and created music for and with some of the legends in the music industry. An incredible music career, but full of struggle. Crosby’s life demonstrates that even a life full of magic is still one long struggle. He lost the love of his life in a tragedy, lost his brother in tragedy. He lost friends, regained them. He lost children, became estranged from them and then reunited. He suffered from addiction, bad tempers, and passionate outrage that alienated him.

The one thing that I could point to after spending the week listening to his life’s work is that he lived his own life. He bought and sailed his “Mayan” with borrowed money. He not only sang about sailing, he lived the life. He represented something in each of us. We all want to be our true selves. We want to scream at the top of our lungs, say what we want, do what we want and live and love. We all have that wanderlust to chuck it all and go spend a few months sailing the Carribean. If we could live life the way we wanted, we would also be staring in a few films. Collaborating on cartoons, taking the stage at Woodstock, hanging out in “jam” sessions. David Gilmore. Bob Dylan. Jerry Garcia. Phil Collins. Neil Young. You know, a few friends now and then.

Thinking about the life of an icon, and such a wonderful, tragic, and colorful existence reminds me. Life is short. The hours, days and months will lull into this false sense that we have plenty of time. We do not. We have precious short minutes and before we know it, those minutes will be decades. My 98 year old Grandmother looked at me across the table last year and said, “it feels like yesterday that I was 50. Holding you in my arms, amazed that I had a grandson. Now I am here, looking at you the same age.” You do not have enough time to be something you are not. Stop. Fly Away.

Stop spending time working for or with people that are annoying. Crosby would tell them they were annoying and walk out. Stop spending time doing what “you should do.” Crosby would stop the music and start ranting about what was on his mind. Stop being a puppet on someone else’s string. Crosby had his political views, but he would be the first to criticize when he saw something he did not agree with. If you have a dream of doing something one day, then do it. You are not going to have any other time in life. Live the life you want, spend time with the people you love and embrace what you have. It will all be gone one day. Sooner than you think.

So now. Right now. Today is the day. Be the person you want to be. Become great, even if you have to take a few small steps to begin. Stop spending time on things that have no meaning. Create, imagine, believe again. See the world for what it is. A beautiful, magical, mysterious place. Go forth and be you. Laugh. Love. Cry. The clock is ticking. Time to run. You missed the starting gun, but that is ok. As long as their is life in you still, go for it. Borrow the money for a sailboat and/or a kidney and sing your heart out.

Guy