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A while back, I was on my way to a school gig when I stopped at a place for breakfast. I wanted a paper, but they were out of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and I was forced to get a USA Today. The front-page headline said something to the effect that psychologists now had scientific data to determine happiness. The article explained that if people were really involved in something they enjoyed and were spending time with people they liked, those folks stood the best chance of being happy (sounds right so far). Furthermore, if those contently social and busy people felt like what they were doing was part of a Greater Good, bingo, those folks have hit the contentment jackpot. I would actually quote the article, but it ended up in the tinder bin for my woodstove, but a narrative like this wouldn’t be complete with out at least one good juicy quote, so here’s a little Fredrick Buechner: “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” Lately when I go to work – to do a residency or a school program – I find my self in that place of intrinsic joy. I love doing what I do, and I am aware of the deep hunger of – as the old Emory Creed puts it – “the flaming plastic yearning youth.” I think to be truly happy one must have a quest. To name drop a bit, one of my friends in the songwriting world is Pierce Pettus. Pierce wrote, “You Move Me”, a song that was recorded by Garth Brooks (and subsequently broadcast live in every Wal-Mart in the country – now isn’t that a wonder?). A bunch of us songwriters were gossiping about Pierce and Garth one night. Someone said, “Man, I’ve always wanted to have a ‘Number 1’ song. I responded with, “I want a song that is sung every time kids gather around a campfire.” Deep gladness!
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You know how it is: people are intrigued by small-time show-biz. They want to know how I came to do what I do. I always go back to the same answer: “I was a summer camp counselor and I never really wanted to stop.” The retort to this is usually a silly comment to me about my not wanting to grow up. Maybe so, but that really isn’t it.
