The real 'fields of gold'

In the last one year, I’ve had the amazing fortune of attending live concerts by Roger Waters (Berlin), Bruce Springsteen (Amsterdam) and Sting (Mumbai). These are the music idols of my youth. I can still recall the cassette cover of ‘Born in the USA’ - ?a man in worn out blue jeans, in front of the American flag.

Just that memory is enough to carbon-date me!

That cool youth where I listened to BBC top 20 on shortwave, and begged to stay up late for ‘Hot Tracks’, was a long, long time ago. Which means the idols of my youth are no spring chicken either. ?At 74, Bruce bhai belted out songs in that trademark galey-main-kharaash-wala voice for three hours non-stop.

Sting – OMG Sting! Wearing a tshirt full of holes – which could be a fashion statement or a way to cope with tropical heat – the man sang and he sang and he sang. Until his face was literally red. I checked on google – he is 72. Is now a grandfather. But no ‘I’m too old for this shit’ vibe coming from the dude. ?

Which brings me to Roger Waters – the man is bloody 80 years old!! And he’s obviously done a lot of ‘unhealthy’ stuff in his youth (in the ‘60s, so you can imagine… ) Drugs. All sorts of them. Seems none the worse for it. Perhaps he still snorts right before the concert, who knows! On stage, he has the zest of a 25 year old. And his mind is bloody sharp too.

This brings me to the important question: 'How can you and I be like these dudes at 75?' Physically fit, mentally alert, still having fun. And in the process, adding some value to the world. Well, I think it all boils down to finding that one thing ‘where who you are’ and ‘what you do’ align completely and perfectly.

These musicians sing the same songs to the same audience (in a manner of speaking) at different venues across the world. It might seem like more of the same and broadly, it is. But I imagine that when Sting steps on the stage, no matter where it is, a kinetic, magnetic, electric energy runs up his spine.

The ache and pain, stress and strain of life is gone in that instant. The artist is connected to the Universe, an infinite, primordial source of power. ?It’s like the battery of the mortal body getting a ‘fast charge’, with a current that’s pure and powerful. And in that state of flow you are no longer human.

You are limitless.

That’s what all of us are chasing, knowingly, unknowingly. That’s why we run, paint, cook, care, stretch and bungee jump. In pursuit of a state of flow. Once you catch a glimpse of it, you want it again. To just be in that space, as often as you can. Artists are lucky that way but anyone can experience it.

Even in something seemingly ordinary. ?

There is a beautiful house in Chandigarh, where a lovely old lady tends to her garden each morning. On misty winter mornings, she dons her woollen cap and greets her exuberantly alive friends. Whispers to them, coaxes them to bear fruit. She is as much in a state of flow as they are. And will be, until her last breath. ?

More than money, or fame, or happiness. This is something worth longing for, striving for, fighting for. Until your very last breath.

?