WHY DIDN'T I LISTEN?
Dear Friends,
When Michellé Howard-Hanson asked me to come up with a name for this program, nothing seemed to speak to me.
Then a few nights later, while experiencing yet another three hours of painful challenges in the middle of the night, wanting desperately to be relieved of the pain and to go back to bed and relax, I found myself repeating over and over again "Why didn't I listen?...Why didn’t I listen?”.
My body had been humming a different tune for several months. I heard it, but I didn't pay attention to it.
As this different tune in my body got louder, I heard it, but gave myself excuses not to deal with it: “It's not so bad.” “I have so many pressing deadlines and things to do!” “It's difficult to get a doctor's appointment.” “I’m sure it will go away soon.”
Finally, when it was screaming this ugly tune out loud and I couldn’t ignore it any longer, I told my chiropractor about the symptoms I'd been having for several months. He said, "Are you crazy? Give me your insurance card immediately!" He went online, found gastroenterologists in my network, and made me vow to call without fail that day.
I realized that I had been hearing this out of tune, distorted melody but not listening to what it was trying to tell me.
So I named this concert "Listen to the Music." Yes, listen to the beautiful music that my dear friends will offer us tonight, but on a deeper level, tune in to the inner music your body generates.
We musicians carefully attend to the many-layered nuances of our art. Let's not fail to attend just as well to the things our bodies tell us.
I humbly extend my deep gratitude to everyone who has come together to create this exciting event, and to all of you for helping us with the financial burdens of my illness.
David Chapman
When Michellé Howard-Hanson asked me to come up with a name for this program, nothing seemed to speak to me.
Then a few nights later, while experiencing yet another three hours of painful challenges in the middle of the night, wanting desperately to be relieved of the pain and to go back to bed and relax, I found myself repeating over and over again "Why didn't I listen?...Why didn’t I listen?”.
My body had been humming a different tune for several months. I heard it, but I didn't pay attention to it.
As this different tune in my body got louder, I heard it, but gave myself excuses not to deal with it: “It's not so bad.” “I have so many pressing deadlines and things to do!” “It's difficult to get a doctor's appointment.” “I’m sure it will go away soon.”
Finally, when it was screaming this ugly tune out loud and I couldn’t ignore it any longer, I told my chiropractor about the symptoms I'd been having for several months. He said, "Are you crazy? Give me your insurance card immediately!" He went online, found gastroenterologists in my network, and made me vow to call without fail that day.
I realized that I had been hearing this out of tune, distorted melody but not listening to what it was trying to tell me.
So I named this concert "Listen to the Music." Yes, listen to the beautiful music that my dear friends will offer us tonight, but on a deeper level, tune in to the inner music your body generates.
We musicians carefully attend to the many-layered nuances of our art. Let's not fail to attend just as well to the things our bodies tell us.
I humbly extend my deep gratitude to everyone who has come together to create this exciting event, and to all of you for helping us with the financial burdens of my illness.
David Chapman