The Case for Diversity | House Concert with Bergamot
Hi you,
Saturday evening I had the pleasure of getting to be an attendee of an intimate house concert. We all met at a farmhouse in the cornfields of Indiana (unlikely, but beautiful location) and listened to the musical stylings of Seth Creekmore, local artist, and the Indie-Rock band, Bergamot.
It will be a beautiful memory. I'm not particularly a fan of Indie-rock, but I am a fan of getting outside of the normal and experiencing life. I found it intimidating and exhilarating. The Bergamot band is comprised of a couple, from the midwest but based in Brooklyn, NYC now, and their music keeps much of the simplicity and subtle complexities of life in the midwest. Through their songs you see fireflies, commonplace jobs, dreams in spite of life, dirt roads, and the homely friendliness of these states.
As the dust motes danced in the old farmhouse and the acoustic melodies filled all the corners of the place and our senses, I was struck by diversity. Not many of us in the farmhouse were alike in personality or upbringing or location, but were brought together by the creative life, mutual friendships, and music. It got me to thinking. How do we bridge the gap between diversity and community? Because in that farmhouse, as the sun set outside, the sense of community was strong.
BRINGING TOGETHER DIVERSITY
It's pretty simple in the end. It takes the willingness to be uncomfortable. As I listened to the conversations swirl to the accompaniment of coffee and dessert, I heard the common theme of people who are used to putting themselves into less-than-ordinary places.
Whether through giving up of regular paychecks, or allowing themselves to change with creative pursuits, or daring to give up more to have everything they need with less. I thought of the people that comprise the heart of Bergamot. They put on hundreds of shows each year in locations where they know next to no one. They are regularly in uncomfortable places with the result of drawing together people together with music.
You don't have to do all that if it isn't calling you. What I think you should do is say yes to something that makes you uncomfortable. Something you secretly want to do but can't admit to the world or yourself. Say yes to the invitation for a small house concert in the cornfields of Indiana. It might surprise you like it did me, with the beauty of diversity.
Go on, try it. Do something unknown to you, something you can't predict. Let me know how it turns out.
L. Raine
