Sunday, November 27, 2011

Be Better...

I haven’t written in a while. A lot’s happened. Life’s like that, a lot always seems to happen. I’ve lost and I’ve gained. Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference but I keep trying. If you keep up with my Facebook (or the Facebook of hundreds of my friends) you know that we lost a great human being; Chris Kent. Chris was a dear friend and an amazing example of what I’d love to be. He was a positive, beautiful spirit, who faced unimaginable challenges with a complete faith in God and and he never gave up. If I could be so bold and with no blasphemy intended; he could’ve given Job a lesson in faith. 
 Chris and I were in a band together. He’s one of the greatest musicians I’ve ever known and I never could understand why he’d want to play with me. He brought such an elegance to the music that at times I was almost ashamed to play as though my notes might “mess up” what he and Drew Wiseman and Derek Wiseman were playing. Of course, before you think I have no ego at all, I did manage to turn up louder and play anyway!:) They always forgave me. Chris and I rarely saw each other after he left the band. Not out of animosity, but probably out of the same reason that you might not talk to someone that you were close to in high school. Life’s rivers just drift you apart. We stayed in touch, my wife is another amazing spirit and those folks tend to drift into each other’s orbits more often, so Chris and I would keep up on the internet through Buff and his correspondence. He would come out and jam when we played in Nashville and I was always thrilled. I miss him. I miss knowing that he’s here. That’s a selfish thought but it’s true. I feel the same way about everyone I’ve lost. I wish they were here. I think I’d be different, more proactive about getting together and catching up. I know that I wouldn’t but I know that I would love the chance to do it over. 
 Sometimes I think that’s the worst thing about life; continually forgetting what we’re here for. Focusing on the “stuff” and forgetting the ones we love until it’s too late. We get so caught up in the day-to-day and forget that what’s most important is flying by faster than we realize. 
 The younger you are, as you read this, the less sense it will make, but you look in the mirror one day and you see a few more lines. There’s some grey in your hair. Maybe when you got out of bed some muscle ached that never hurt before. If you’re like me, you just ignore it and roll on but it’s there. Tapping your shoulder, nudging your ribs as though to say; “Better hurry up, I ain’t got all day!” 
 So what’s the point of this blog? I have no idea!!:) All I know is Chris passed away and the accolades came pouring in about what a positive influence he was, how many lives he touched and how many people he affected. He was an amazing musician but that rarely came up in his tributes. People talked about his strength, his positivity, his faith in God, his warmth. Having personally known Chris, I can say that no amount of praise could be considered “too much”. He was that good of a person. I practice my guitar playing everyday. Chris’ lesson to me is  to practice being a better human being.