There is a short tale about Poseidon, god of the sea, who is tasked by the administration of the waters with doing all the accounting of the oceans. He is so swamped with paper work that he has no time to reign over the sea (his real calling), let alone catch a glimpse of it. He dreams that one day, at the end of the world maybe, he’ll be able to “make a quick little tour” of the sea.
Poseidon’s anxiety can be likened to ours as musicians. We feel like we are swamped with practicing, with mixing our next album, with making our music just right. The problem is that we get caught up with all of this polishing to the point of paralysis. Our music doesn’t get out there. We never get out to the sea.
It’s safe to perform at an open mic, to put your music online, to organize a concert, to put yourself and your music out there.
It’s risky to sit on the sidelines, to procrastinate with your music.
Like Poseidon, we all have the potential to be musicians. It’s a matter of whether we can throw that paper work to the side and start being the artists we are.
Inspired by Franz Kafka’s “Poseidon”
CJ Eller 