Both Restless and renew start with “r”…
As often happens, today’s post was penciled in first. This is my last remaining personal Saboteur and the one that I think guides all of mine… Restless. And I knew it would land on Sunday, the day of Rest, a Sabbath set apart to reconnect to your faith and it’s foundation for your life. And it worked out perfectly that we have made it to Blind Faith and one of my favorite songs – Presence of the Lord. Interestingly it is the first song that Eric wrote all of the lyrics for, and I would guess aspirational as he is in the middle of the darkest part of his career. And he wrote it in a key he couldn’t sing it in, as he wanted Steve to sing it because he was a better singer… and I also think because it was too raw…
… his friendship with George Harrison was now very deep, and they spent more and more time together as George also had left the Beatles. Having left Cream and reunited with Steve, Eric was feeling more optimistic and wanted to write a song about Gratitude – recognizing how his life had been blessed really. He perceived the pressure was less with Cream off his shoulders, and looking forward to Blind Faith from the jam sessions he was enjoying. If you listen to the whole album you can tell this was a jam band before that was cool. These were some of the greatest in their own era, and had the ability to blend that together and build off of each other. The album went to #1 in the UK and US upon its’ release, which required a tour, and getting on the road again…
… but “are” you ready for what it leads to?
Restless is never settled – constantly searching for greater excitement, the next activity, always busy, rarely at peace or content with the current activity. It has been a lifelong struggle for me, and this material helped me name it finally. There are so many instances of this… and my Coach picked up on it instantly. I was constantly ensuring that others were taken care of, creating the “perfect” experiences for them, and then thinking about “what comes next?” I remember a Christmas morning distinctly that it all came together, and the family was laughing and enjoying themselves… and I was standing in the kitchen… working on what would come next… missing the moment entirely. By this point, it was so second nature, even they didn’t notice…
Paired with Hyper- Achiever, it exhausts…
… the problem with Eric’s friendship with George was he was falling in love with George’s wife. I found a playlist of 10 of Eric’s best songs and one of the commenters noted that it should be relabeled “Because of Patti Boyd”, and as such, we will revisit this a LOT in the next few days as we enter the “band an album” phase of his career. For now, he had his sights locked on things being better with her, and not being fully present with the fact that it would cause him to break his best friend’s heart. As he headed to America for the tour, he testified his love to her… and was rebuffed, which continued his downward spiral of drugs, dependence, and loneliness. The songs are amazing, but your heart breaks for him…
… everything you work so hard for… unless…
… and that led to a lifelong real friendship with Steve. On the tour they became close, and while there was a separation while Eric was despondent and drug-addicted, they came back together at the Crossroads 2007 Concert, – in a lower key so Eric could sing it, finally from his heart. It spawned a couple of amazing concert tours including some remarkable residencies before they were cool at Madison Square Garden. On my own journey, Restless is so ingrained in me that getting out of the pattern will likely be a lifelong project. My faith helps – the idea of Sanctuary and Sabbath have taken on an even deeper meaning in this season, and I am blessed to have a “crowd of witnesses” around me to remind me what it truly feels like to STAY in the Presence of the Lord.
