bell - a verbalization of consciousness

Clamnation

So, I’m in Beaverton at the Nike Campus - easily the most fantastic and extraodinary display of corporate athleticism at its finest — and I’m at Huge’s Computer (in his cubicle) when my phone rings. It’s Ira and he’s experienced the first of many life lessons. This is an unresolved world we live in, folks. And if you want to even come close to mastering it, if you even want a tiny semblence of understanding it … then coming to experience the “meaning” that precipitates from its randomness is the first step. Having experienced such an epiphany, Ira quickly dialed me up. And why not?

So, he’s in Milwaukee, as any good soul-searcher should be, and he’s found his life at the convergence of existence and Clamnation. Apparently, this is a pretty rad jazz band that woos its audience with a critical improv sound that gets the feet tappin’ and the voice hummin’. It was at this moment that Ira looks up and realizes that the entire crowd seemed to be jivin’ to their own tune. It was as if Clamnation’s vibe was single-handedly encouraging the masses to explore their own improvisational sound. Everyone’s adding their own individual part, and together there’s this whole new collective, eclectic sonance. A rhythm that is driven to draw you in even closer… even deeper. The very nature of Clamnation seems to be: providing a system of music (jazz) that allows for unique interpretation and that embraces the roots of our identity at its very soul.

As Ira and I spoke, I couldn’t help be hear the meddling of contributing voices in the distant background and the distraction of Ira’s own internal vibrations in the fore-. I was merely a receiver. I was solely a sounding board. I only resonated with the thoughts that Ira bounced off of me. His experience brought him to challenge his ideals of his yesterday. Clamnation, so perfectly named, has encouraged us all to question life’s little improvity. It raises the question: Have we been fooled into thinking that life is subject to only one system? … a system that we must learn to understand and a system that we must learn to imitate? Or, worse, have we been spoiled by the interpretations and the systems of those that have come before us, which so easily influence us and so subtly dictate our every interest, our every goal? Ira’s little encounter begs us to ponder - have we discovered that life is all one big improvisation… is it true that the greatest harmony and satisfaction comes from the union of a thousand different pipers piping, and a thousand different (human-)beings Being? Perhaps it is time for us all to seek out our own melody… and why not; it’s already bettered one gentleman’s life.