There’s a gap
Between who I am and who I’d like to be
Between Where I am and where I’d like to be
Between what I do and what I think I should do
Between What I’ve done and all that could have been
There’s a gap between you and me
between what I say and what you ear
between what I think you’ll say and what you never said
between what I tell you and what you understand
between my “you and I” and your “us”
So let’s fill this gap, let’s tell the truth
let’s fill it with our fears, our hopes and our regrets
let’s fill it with laughter, tears and tomorrow
let’s fill it with anything we can, anything we have
let’s fill it so much that this gap will turn into a bridge
Don’t know why this poem came in whilst listening to Max Richet’s album Sleep. Words flooded my soul, and then my hands were on my keyboard. I tend to forget that as a child or teenager, words on paper were my medium to communicate. I keep writing in my journal but not as much as I used to.
No need to say how happy I was when, with the rise of the internet, online forums and chats appeared, shy as I was, it was a ray of light. Suddenly, I could almost be whoever I wanted to be, meet new people, be that funny sarcastic geek that only my best friend knew. The Internet was some kind of magic place where words were gold. Words give you time to think, develop your ideas, and ordeal any confused thoughts. In the real world, it’s a different topic, especially when you’re an introvert or shy or just not a “vocal” person.
It’s intriguing to think about how the way we communicate evolves during our life, and how an artist chooses this or that to express something. Why does a filmmaker pick this composition? Why does a musician chase this particular sound instead of an easier one? How can an actor play with his body to express something without dialogue ? As human beings, we need to define ourselves, as if each one of our choices was a piece of our life puzzle. Our morning routine, a favourite song, things we may like or not, they’re all supposed to be small elements to present to the world, things that are us.
But at some point, they can turn into a prison, we’re scared to change, we’re facing the unknown and feel lost.
This is something that can be terrible as an artist because we should feel free to explore any territory that we want, all at once if needed. It doesn’t mean that you must master everything but we tend to create too many limitations. You can express your voice through a specific medium/discipline just for a season, without feeling obliged to go further.
Just stay open and enjoy!
That’s all for today,
See you soon,
Lyly
One of the best interviews I've ever done was with Max Richter (during the pandemic). By the way, there is a great documentary about Sleep:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRlH60JX2Hs&ab_channel=MaxRichterMusic
Very good article.
Thank you, Lyly. Beautiful words. Just listening to Max Richter. So soothing! I had a couple of occasions where music allowed me to float to a safe space where I felt secure and dared to write whatever was coming up. Yes, you are right. It's interesting to see how we change over the years. Sometimes, when writing my posts on substacks, I observe how my inner critic or self-doubt is trying to censor me. As children, there was no such thing as censoring :) We express freely how we feel.