My needs are basic. I feel like I’ve had my share of
experiences in life. I’ve had more than enough time to figure out what I like
and what I don’t. But more importantly I have spent the time necessary to learn
what I need out of life. Now, we’re not talking the basics of eating, drinking,
and having a roof over my head. Those are survival needs that are generally the
same for everyone. I’m talking about basic needs for happiness. I’m a fan of
keeping it simple and stripped down. My needs are as follows: Friends, Drums,
and Tattoos.
As I often
like to work backward to see things from a different perspective, we start with
Tattoos. For most of our culture tattoos are not seen as a necessity, unless of
course you’re trying to survive in prison. But for me they are a form of
therapy; a right of passage, if you will, from one period of my life into the
next. The pain of my tattoos is a grand distraction from the pain of reality.
Giving me the time to heal alongside my newly earned artwork. We all have
growing pains, mine are just prettier than yours.
Drums are
another side of therapy because how often do you get to hit things for hours a
day and not get arrested? Aside from the physical outlet it’s very much an
emotional one as well. No matter how hard my day has been or what kind of
stress I’m dealing with, it all disappears by the end of the woodshedding. For
me, it’s also a spiritual experience. Because no matter how large or small the
world may seem when I’m in the middle of speeding sticks around the drums, I
can feel every millisecond of time passing as if they were hours, allowing me
to really see how big the universe really is. All the space between each note
just allows for more space as an infinite universe between each strike of the
stick.
Friends
have always been a complicated subject in my life, as I moved around a lot when
I was younger, switching schools, and ultimately just not great at being
outwardly social…I don’t go out of my way to make friends, made it difficult to
find much less hold on to a good friend. Some of the foundations of a great
friend are simple. Be able to call me out on my bullshit with harsh but
constructive honesty, supportive of my craziest ideas or at least willing to
listen while I rant and rave about the delusional concepts my life is built
upon. Friends can offer unbiased opinions in regards to relationships because lets face it, relationships are riddled with biased points of view and expectations. I really just need a friend who is willing to be a vocal outlet in time
away from the stresses of work whether it be snowboarding, sitting on the
beach, sitting in a bar, or just going for breakfast from time to time to catch
up remind me that I’m not completely crazy or at least not alone in the crazy.
A good friend, scratch that, a great friend offers a similar but differing honest
perspective that allows me to see the world in new ways.
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