A Little Punk Wisdom

So, Punk legend turned anti-war activist Patti Smith was on Democracy Now yesterday, and was talking about how she made the transition from oral perfomer of poems to rock musician, and her perspective on her career looking back, and I loved what she had to say. She said her most important rudder as she decides what to give her energy and attention to is whether or not she can do it joyfully. For example, she was opposed to the idea of a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame when it was being conceived, but then when they wanted to induct her, she decided her parents would love it, and so she would accept. And, if she was going to receive the honor, she was going to do it with genuine gratitude, not cynically, or why do it? She writes her songs while she does things like peeling potatoes with her kids running around her feet, and she writes about the political realities that most touch her as a human, like war, and encourages the people to take the power back from the war-makers.

Never having identified with Punk music before, I was pleasantly surprised by how kindred I felt with this woman whose background was so starkly different from my own. But she was talking from such a well-considered perspective, having shaped it over a long and colorful life, that her wisdom was just this simple, straightforward refresher course in what any human being's motivation ought to be. And how beautiful to be reminded that it is, in fact, simple! If we are each created with the gifts we are here to express, then when we are doing what brings us joy, we are doing what it is our purpose to do. Like a shovel moving earth, or a piano playing music.

But her other point is also worth recounting: she said she never prioritized commercial success, because then she would be forced to compromise what was most essentially her message and style to please the people paying her. So instead, she has been content to live a simpler life than superstar status would have provided her, and retained the freedom to rail against war at the top of her voice, to inspire her children to live what they believe and, like Mother Teresa, to act according to the need.

It is wisdom that translates really smoothly onto the mat, and into a yogically-lived life:

Do only what you can do joyfully.
Give your energy to those things that allow you to be most fully yourself.
And at all costs, retain the freedom to go to where there is a need that matches your gifts.

Namaste!