Doing time
Last August I was blessed with the chance to see one of my favorite musicians and a brilliant songwriter, Ben Taylor. I was in awe of his opening monologue. It would be the first of many moments during the evening which provoked my mind to engage upon the struggles of an offspring of famous parents. The son of Carly Simon and James Taylor, it would stand to reason that his success, acceptance, and notoriety as a musician was a given in life. However, not always so. Ben shared with the audience words his father spoke to him. “Ben,” James said, “you have to do the time.” Even as the son of two of the world’s most successful musicians, he still “had to do the time,” to find his own voice, his own place in an industry that embraced his family.
As I challenged myself to achieve my own dream of sharing my philosophy and musings with the universe through my card line, Philosophy Cards, those very words have been the catalyst for my own forward motion. Whenever the fear, the what-ifs’, or the give-up, begin to settle in my soul, I remember the words, “you have to do the time.”
So each week, I pack up my car and off I go to a street marketplace, festival, or art show. I take out the monstrosity of a tent, carry the heavy tables and unpack the overflowing car to display my words of wisdom on the racks. A card store on wheels. Doing the time. Rolling out of bed at 5:00 a.m. on Saturday morning after working 40 hours the week before. Staying up late, missing gatherings with friends, fitting exercise in on my lunch hour. The list goes on, it is doing the time, to do what I love.
As the community awakens, and often before I am done setting up my wares, I have engaged in conversation with the first of many individuals who browse the racks that display the cards I carefully arranged. I have my first sale. I take a quick look around the tables, mix my yogurt and fruit together, top it with a bit of granola, and grab my first bite before the next customer is at the table. I wonder what the day will bring yet, I know, it is a chance to do the time.
Doing the time means that I have the opportunity to engage in conversation with strangers who are really not strangers at all. They share what we all have in common, the pains and joys of life. It means that conversations are intimate and customers share their personal stories with me. I meet a two time ovarian cancer survivor, a person who lost her father over the weekend and was so touched by the words and photos on my cards that she felt it was destiny. She stood in tears as we talked and gave me a hug before she left, thanking me for writing the words, yet, I am the one who is grateful. Grateful for the confidence she has place in my work, and grateful for her purchase. Doing the time means that I know that my customers have loved ones who struggle with addictions, illnesses, challenges, and achieve success. Doing the time is the chance to make a difference in the lives of others. This I know as I have people who thank me for sharing life in words. Doing the time is the best thing I have ever done in my life. It does come with minimal sacrifices, but what I say to this, is that each and every one is worth it. For if something in my life is left behind, it was holding me back from the chance to do the time.
As I do the time, I have also had the opportunity to understand the complexities of friendship. True friends understand that there are times when I am on overdrive and need to decline an invitation or they value our friendship enough that when I fall asleep at a party, they know I need rest and let me sleep. They support instead of exhaust, they are there in the quietness of friendship. They are the perfect, true friends, and I am grateful that they stick with me through all the manic insanity of my life.
What does doing the time mean? I have no idea what it means for James or Ben Taylor. I suspect it is fairly close to my experience though. Doing the time does not translate to a prison type life where your passion drives you to locked doors. Doing the time means that your passion engages you in the sensuous life of an artist, and holds the key to locked doors. Doing the time is the chance to share gifts of insightful musings through artistry, writing, painting, pottery, photography, and so on with the universe.
I will do the time. For the chance to make a difference in someone’s life, is a chance to open the locked doors of my own life. Doing the time is the best thing that happens on our journey because it opens us to engage in life. Thank you Ben Taylor for sharing the words your father shared with you. Thank you James Taylor for the gift you gave Ben. His work is extraordinary. Doing the time is a good thing!
