Encore

The Boss Bruce Springsteen once said, ~I feel like I am in the middle of a long conversation with my audience, it will be a lifelong journey for the both of us before we are done.~ If you think about it, for the past 19 years I have in some ways felt like a musician sharing the songs many of you who I consider to be my audience and have come to know them as Yodaisms. True, I don’t actually sing or play any instruments; but I do write with/on instruments of sorts in the form of a mechanical pencil and a notebook. In any case, when a yodaism is finished I metaphorically step off stage after giving one of many continually long conversations or should I say performances, so to speak, it may possibly have resonated/is resonating with my intended audience for quite some time.

Without a doubt, Bruce Springsteen has most definitely earned the respect and accolades of not only his fans, but his music industry peers as well, whereby deeming a legendary veteran. Granted, even though I may not have legend status or sold out arenas within the United States and all over world I do perceive myself to be indeed a veteran when it concerns being a writer. Essentially, Mr. Springsteen has earned and deserved all that he’s accomplished, which far surpasses anything that I’ve been able to accomplish in my 38 years of living. Yet, I hope I’ve been able to at least earn my audience’s respect as I’ve mentally left everything on the proverbial stage whereas my musical counterpart along with The E Street Band left it all on the stage in the physical sense.

As I said before, I don’t actually sing or play any instruments but I do write with/on instruments of sorts in the form of a mechanical pencil and a notebook. Of course, musicians like the man who is responsible for iconic songs such as Born In The U.S.A. and The Rising can certainly experience moments where everything is firing on all cylinders to where it’s an absolute adrenaline rush like no other. Thinking about it, there are times during my yodaism writing process I’m completely focused to where I’m mentally firing on cylinders so much so it’s an all out adrenaline rush. Let me tell you something, it can truly leave you in a state of euphoria when the performance/writing process is finally finished and posted leaving the audience itself emotionally satisfied.

Let me ask you this questions to those who have been lucky enough to attend a Bruce Springsteen concert, what was the energy/mood like while listening/watching him and the band perform? The reason I ask is because when it comes to performances, in a manner of speaking, you can certainly have a sense of what the mood/energy feels like in every yodaism you read. Happiness, laughter, excitement, confusion, frustration, sadness, loneliness, positive optimism, sarcastic cynicism, etc. or a mixture of all previously mentioned. Oftentimes, if it’s able to tap into the audience’s heart and soul, tears may very well be shed, which from receiving past feedback it’s humbling to have individuals trust me enough to share their personal experience in regards to mostly matters of the heart.

In retrospect, although Bruce Springsteen and I travel in two different paths we have the same goal in having long, sometimes completely unplugged conversations with our audiences. For the most part, we share a common goal in sharing a piece of ourselves night in and night out that makes a significant impact in some way, shape, or form. What it primarily comes down to is being honest with your audience and not being afraid to show your vulnerability, whereby allowing yourself to give an authentically real performance each time. Ultimately, I hope I’ve given exactly that knowing from the bottom of your heart how authentically real everything I’ve written comes from a place of genuine honesty. In the end, I don’t see the long conversation ending any time soon with my audience and when it comes to my audience all I can say to each one of us is to look forward to many encore performances in the near future.