On Impermanence

Yesterday I watched this very interesting interview with David Byrne, lead singer of the post-punk band I was a big fan of during my teens, "Talking Heads". Have you heard of them?


Some of their famous songs include Psycho Killer, and Burning Down the House. Just listen to the sound of that! Would I choose to listen to songs with these titles today? Probably not.

But these two tracks in particular really take me back to my youth with their non-sensical lyrics, interesting and catchy - but weird! - beats and sounds. This was back when all we had was MTV and sitting around on friends' sofas watching music videos on TV all weekend (musicians creating music videos for MTV was a brand new thing) was how I'd spend my time, while choosing not to think or worry about things that affected me but I couldn't do anything about (like both my parents being seriously ill with life-threatening, head-related conditions, for example, so the band's name, "Talking Heads" is also relevant and telling) and making it an absolute priority to find and create joy and happiness for myself the best way I could. There was a pragmatic and fiercely carefree quality about my 17-year-old self that I recognise and admire today.

Byrne is in his early 70s these days, and much more subdued and approachable in every way. Super creative! He's even founded a non-profit online magazine definitely worth looking at (reading practice!) called Reasons to be cheerful:




When I think back to all the madness of my teenaged years, I see clearly how much things have changed.

Everything is impermanent, and it is so important to enjoy every moment of our life. Jon Kabat-Zinn (medical doctor, student/follower of Thich Nhat Hanh and founder of MBSR - Mindfulness-based stress reduction) says, "Until you're dead you're not dead! So why not choose to be fully alive?”

I love YouTube. It's been an absolute godsend ever since I decided to move back to Mexico over 15 years ago now. Back then, YouTube meant being able to continue watching all of my favourite TV programs and feel connected to the life I really appreciated and missed so much, back in England.

Meantime, my own YouTube channel, Teacher Tanya Meyer, is only 35 subscribers away from 1K! Apparently, only 9% of all YouTube channels reach 1K subscribers. So that's nice!

What have you been watching on YouTube lately?

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