“They say sing while you slave and I just get bored…” (I’ve got my own row to hoe and it ain’t gonna be on Maggie’s Farm)
When I moved to Australia in 2005, I took time off from work and went back to school to take on a full time MBA program. A lot was learned, but one of the courses I took had deep impact on me that made a fundamental change in my thinking: “Foundations of Management Thought”. Forget about all the management and business bullshit for a minute. The gist of this course was about exploring centuries of philosophical theories and applying them to management practises (Blah, blah, blah…).
I was the only American in a group of twenty-two. American schooling is not like European or Eastern when it comes to learning about different world philosophies. The emphasis is just not there. It was never more evident to me until I took this course. Pretty much everyone else in the group had a much deeper knowledge of the philosophies we discussed, debated and challenged over the twelve week course.
The course itself was extremely well done. The link to the “management” was strong and well thought out. I wasn’t all too concerned about how I could apply it to business as much as I was trying to grasp how this was effecting me personally. One of the philosophies we focused on was existentialism. This one grabbed me by the balls and hasn’t let go since.
I wouldn’t even think about trying to get into all of the different perspectives on existentialism from the different philosophers here and now. Shit, I still don’t understand them all. That being said, I have done a lot of reading on the subject. My process for exploring this subject is this: read…read and learn as much as you can…you don’t have to understand it all…instead, pull out the bits that are relevant to you and apply them to your process. That is what I do.
Existentialism, for me, boils down to this: live in the present, make choices and own the responsibility of the consequences (good or bad). Use the facticity of your life, combined with your personal values, to make these decisions and, if you act in good faith, enjoy the freedom that comes with being an individual. OK, that’s enough of that here in this format. I love to talk about this stuff…but, it is best done over a few-four bottles of red, some good music and willing participants.
Back in 2007 when I was living in Sydney, Australia, I did a lot of reading about this subject. One of my fave things to do is to go to pubs, have a few beers and read. I find it to be so relaxing. Reading is a very solitary action, but it doesn’t have to be a lonely one. I love the idea of sitting in a busy pub and being a character in the scene and reading: social and solitary in one go.
I take a lot of notes when I read. During my exploration into existentialism, I spent many a Saturday in pubs reading, leaning, building monuments, jotting down notes and putting back pints of my fave Aussie beer. I was reviewing those notes today. I thought I would share them here. These are the bits that mattered most to me at the time of my reading and research. Have a sift through them and find any nuggets that interest you…be they fool’s gold or real deal Klondike truth.
If you have any thoughts, ideas or sparks you want to strike…leave them in the comment section below. In the last page, you can see the germ of something that I have been thinking about for a while: the “American Dream” and how Thomas Jefferson and Hunter S. Thompson are joined at this hip on this.
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Another aspect of “Juddlosophy” that is part of The 6149 is…the Individual or the Original. This subject itself is an entirely different post for a different day, but I’d like to touch on a few key things relative to what this blog is about. In the sidebar, I describe The 6149 to be about “making choices, being curious and challenging conventions (oh yeah…and a whole lotta music, too)”. The title to this blog itself is a play on “choice”. I am a blues man. I love the blues because of the music, but also because of the stories and legends that live within the music. There is no legend (whether you consider it timeless or worthless) more identified with the Blues than the legend of the Crossroads. The Crossroads: choice personified.
Here are three people who have helped me sing the song of The 6149: Neil Young, Hunter S. Thompson and Bob Dylan.
Have a look at the subtitle to this blog. It reads: ‘I’ve got my own row to hoe”. That is adapted from a line in a fave Neil Young song, “Thrasher”. In the sidebar there are two quotes: one by Hunter S. Thompson and one by Bob Dylan. These two quotes, plus the line from the Neil song, mean the world to me:
“Got my own row left to hoe” - “Thrasher”, Neil Young (full lyrics)
“To see life clearly, to live it like a champion, you have to develop your own set of rules.”- Hunter S. Thompson
“I ain’t gonna work on Maggie’s farm no more…” - “Maggie’s Farm“, Bob Dylan (full lyrics)
I think about these three lines every morning when I pull my bones out of bed. I also think about the list of people on the “Honour Roll” (found in the sidebar to the right). These are the people that I admire most and who have made an impact on my life.
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Neil Young…he is my hero. The ultimate individual. “Thrasher” is one of my fave Neil Songs. When I hear it, I want to break molds and blaze trails.
In 2007, Hunter’s window put out a book called, The Gonzo Way. This book is about Hunter’s “wisdom”. Have a read of a previous post about my thoughts on this book and how I came to make this video (below) and the reach it had (I got a tip of the hat from Hunter’s widow for this on her blog and from the publishing company put it on their website to promote the book).
Maggie’s Farm: have you ever really listened to the lyrics? Yes? Ok, then…you know where I am coming from. No…well then, listen again…(waiting)…Ok, you got it now? Excellent. Listen here to Maggie’s Farm played by Bob and his “electric band” at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. The impact of the song and scene it was played cannot be understated.
