September 2021 - DJ Chimney Sparrow

The Slog

A few weeks back, I was checking out a thread on GearSpace (formerly GearSlutz, before the #MeToo movement caught up with it), about the type of work available for someone with audio engineering training.

The replies were not inspiring.

Procrastination, or Needed Rest?

The inspiration for this article can be best described with a (short) story:

This Is True Control

I owe y’all an apology. I realize this was meant to be a blog mainly about my progress in the music industry, along with tips and suggestions for the struggling artists out there. I ALSO realize what it’s become is largely one philosophical rant after another.

Which, in my arrogance, I still hope is useful to someone. Still, it’s probably not what you clicked here for.

I have been “working” (read: free collaborative work), and I have been learning. A lot. But, I don’t yet trust the knowledge; I don’t see the context it sits in, where and when it can be best applied. So I’m hesitating until some things are fleshed out a bit more. Some goodies will be coming down the pipeline soon though, promise!

In the meantime though, I thought I’d share my views on our sense of control, and why it’s not at all what we think it is.

The Dictatorship of the Brain

Our brains and bodies are largely at war with each other. And it’s not an even fight.

We’re used to identifying with ourselves as rational creatures; we use our minds to solve problems, conquer obstacles, and so on. The less-predictable emotions by contrast, are as likely to help as get in the way.

Some even consider emotions, especially negative ones, largely unnecessary. Others just learn to push those unhelpful feelings down, so they can “get on with their lives”.

But that’s a mistake, and not just because we won’t actually live more happily or productively. For despite the illusion of control the brain gives us, it’s on the losing side of this boxing match.