Because It Needed to Exist

“Savannah's squares may be public, but they feel private. Their massive, gnarled oaks – dripping with Spanish moss – create an insular mood, not to mention a deep shade… So lazy and calming are these ancient parcels that they act as a narcotic. The temptation is to lose yourself in reverie, to slip irretrievably into a gossamer world of indifference and fantasy.” – Jolee Edmondson, writing of her hometown in Sky magazine

Did I think the idea would make money? No.

Did I believe it would change the world? No.

Was it part of a popular trend? No.

When I asked 2 rare musicians to spend a year together, it was because I knew their music needed to exist. Do you sometimes wake up in the morning and know exactly what you're supposed to do? This was one of those days. “Put Mark Huffman and Phil Sheeran into a studio together and listen to what wafts out.”

Huffman's mournful, alto flute calls deep to the shadows beneath the trees when the air is warm and there is no breeze; a dark chocolate tunnel exhaling rich, medieval tunes to slow the pulse and quiet the mind, lowering you ever deeper into the narcotic embrace of Savannah's moss-laden giants on a sultry, summer afternoon.

Conversely, Phil Sheeran is a Latin Jazz guitarist who makes his strings sing crystal; sharp notes tripping brightly on tiptoes, glittering in the sunlight, twinkling and sparkling like ice along a blade.

I'd heard them separately. Now I wanted to hear them together. It would be like watching an episode of Mister Rogers Neighborhood with a zigzagging Zorro slicing the air into confetti about him.

That music needed to exist. And now it does.

Is there something you believe needs to exist?

Don't let yourself talk yourself out of it. Take the time. Steal it from things that are merely urgent. If you wait for “a better time” you'll never do it. Whatever small, symbolic start you can make this instant, make it. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Take that first step.

Mark the flutist, Phil the guitarist, Dave the audio tech and Sean the graphics guy are happy they stole the time from their too-busy schedules to bring DeepFlute Dulcinea into existence.

Like them, you'll probably have to steal the time from other projects that scream in your face how they're far more urgent and much more important. It's tempting to agree with those shrill voices and say, “I really can't afford to chase a silly rabbit through the forest right now. I'll do it later. Just not right now.”

Are you willing to make an irrational commitment? Are you willing to Free the Beagle?

Arooo! Aroo-Aroooo!

The rabbit is disappearing into the green.

You will now run toward the forest, or run away from it.

Which will it be?

Roy H. Williams