How Life is Like Jazz

 

 A friend posted this meme on Facebook and it got me thinking that a lot of what applies to jazz also applies to life. So here are my thoughts on life and jazz this morning.

1. It exists in the moment. You can’t store it up or save it for later. It must be experienced now.

2. You have to constantly improvise for things to keep moving.

3. It’s always the right time to listen to others around you.

4. Everyone who wants it gets a chance to solo, if even for a brief moment.

5. It works best when everyone respects their peers.

6. You can jump back in and join the song at any time as long as you play well with others.

7. The more you play, the better you get.

8. If you’re dwelling on something other than the moment, things could train wreck. You can’t spend your time thinking about what happened at the beginning or trying to figure out where everything will end.

9. It’s beautiful when it’s done right.

What I Learned From "All Is Lost"

Although sparse in dialog, this film is a rich source of information about life and has a lot to teach the average viewer. Here are a few of the things I learned from watching this film:

1. If you’re taking a boat out on the ocean, don’t let Robert Redford navigate.

2. Watch out for cheap shoes floating in the ocean. They can be deadly.

3. Sharks are real jerks.

4. Sailing is like Nightmare on Elm Street: bad stuff happens when you fall asleep.

5. Sometimes the only way to save yourself is to set everything on fire (and don’t think I won’t use this excuse the next time I set the kitchen on fire).

One of the main lessons I learned is that you don’t need a lot of dialog to make a movie interesting. There are a lot of sparse things about this film aside from the dialog, but there’s also a lot of richness. The lack of dialog and missing backstory in combination with the beautiful imagery and intense drama make this film open to interpretations as a loose metaphor for the struggles of  life, love, relationships, or spirituality. We all struggle. Some of us just don't give up. This is story telling done well.