John Mayer sings the Blues

The John Mayer Trio descended on the Beacon Theatre yester-evening with blues music all around. I had a full day of anticipatory jitters as I often do on my way to his concerts. Cyndi resigned herself to wearing work clothes so I told her not to worry, I'd dress like a bum. However, when she scored a drinks date with a new boy, she was trying to determine what to wear to the concert that would be appropriate to meet a guy for drinks in afterwards--it prompted a trip to Strawberry. I looked like I was chaperoning my 16 year old cousin to a rock concert. We had a couple hot dogs and some beverages before John, sporting a long shaggy haired look, and his band took to the stage with "Everyday I Have the Blues." Some great highlights include "Good Love Is On The Way," "Vultures," "Covered In Rain," "Come When I Call," "Gravity," and for his encore: "Daughters" and "Try." Roy Harper also joined the band on a couple songs with his trumpet--verrry nice. His band endeavor is going well and the two guys in the row in front of us were screaming louder than the teenagers standing in the aisles. Looks like John's attempt to draw more males to his music and not just lover-starved romantic ladies is working.

Aside from the music, yesterday was a very strange day. I'm not sure if it was born strange or if at some point during the day, weirdness set in. I blame it on the weather and the wet and stormy weekend that was impending that gathered all the charged particles in the air and affected people's moods and decisions yesterday. I have been a true believer that all things in life, good and bad, happen for a reason... usually a good reason by which I mean, things happen to help you learn and achieve greater things, to better yourself, and to be a happier person. Even the most daunting events that plunge you into the Blues are meant to reveal some fundamental truth. And the Blues, sometimes they good, sometimes they bad, but everyone enjoys the Blues once in a while. If you didn't, you wouldn't be able to tell when you were happy. And knowing those happy moments, knowing when you are happy and allowing yourself to relish those moments, what could feel more satisfying and safe?

I've been studying chemistry lately and one of the first things you learn about is allotropes. Allotropes are different molecular configurations of a pure element. Elements are all, on the nanoscale, the same. Carbon is carbon at the atomic level. The atomic number is 6 (representing 6 protons) and it's atomic mass is 12amu. But on the molecular level, there are several different allotropes of carbon and the two most contrasting allotropes are diamond and graphite. Diamond is one of the hardest minerals known to man while graphite, plain old pencil lead, is one of the softest. Diamond is usually transparent while graphite is opaque. Diamonds cost an arm and a leg while graphite can cost you 99¢ for a box of 12 pencils. At some point, carbon bonds take either the shape and formation of diamond or graphite. Even before people knew they were both carbon, diamond was assessed a higher value than graphite and if we were to break them both down to their atomic level, they'd both be of no greater or lesser value than the other. It is the way they were created that made them special in their own ways and valuable in their own ways.

Where am I going with this science lesson? Back to the events that happen in our lives. In one person's life, he or she will have the same basic experiences: relationships, education, births, deaths, hunger, so on and so forth. While on the basic level, they are all the same, some events of the same type have greater value than others. Friendships, acquaintances, enemies, siblings, loves: they are all types of relationships, but the way you create them, the events that happen to shape those relationships determine the value of those relationships. Best friends, former friends, sometime friends, fairweather friends: all friends, but some more special than others and those relationships can change over time through the affect of other events. They will always be relationships at the basic level, but the value of those relationships can change. It is through this very organic process that we each develop our values. What we may have once valued like a perfect diamond, may be worth as much as a diamond with slight inclusions and poor color... or maybe it's just a box of pencils. It is an ever changing process that we as people choose to either enhance or breakdown. And sometimes, it is by comparing one to the other than we see how valuable what we have is or how we deserve better than what we have. Life is like a random sampling of carbon molecular formations: some diamonds, some graphite, all valuable in their own way and some more valuable than others at different points in our lives. It's just a matter of situation. You can sell a diamond for millions, but it won't help you write your chemistry exam.