I was reminded recently of when I went to see Sting in concert at the Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto years ago. I had an extra ticket and didn’t know who I was going to give it to. At the eleventh hour, a good friend of mine – a talented pianist – said he’d join me.
When Sting began to perform the song ‘Desert Rose’, I turned to my friend and said, “The lyrics to this song are amazing.”
Trevor turned to me and said, “I don’t listen to the lyrics.”
This took me by surprise. I guess I’d just assumed, perhaps because I’m a writer, that everyone listened to the lyrics.
Then he started to point out all of the different instruments. “Listen to this,” he said to me. “Now listen to that.”
It was wonderful. Unless an instrument was being featured, I’d never truly done that, singled out a particular one as it was being played. I was always so focused on the overall performance and especially the lyrics, pointing them out to Trevor throughout the rest of the concert.
It was a completely different experience from that point on, for both of us, and it taught me to not only see things in a different way, but also that even though we may see and experience things differently, this doesn’t mean we can’t learn to appreciate another person’s perspective just the same.
Here is the song that inspired the memory. This version is especially good as, not only are the lyrics incredibly beautiful, but it also features so many different instruments and talented instrumentalists.
Enjoy.
Things I've Learned 