Wow! I was lucky enough to have been invited by a friend to attend a Country Western concert last night in Philadelphia and what a concert it was! Kenny Chesney and his Sun City Carnival Tour with Sugarland, Miranda Lambert, Montgomery Gentry and Lady Antebellum were all just amazing! The experience was overflowing with talent and excitement and pride in being an American along with respectful remembrances of the late Michael Jackson.
As always at a concert, the noise level was quite high and all of my senses were heightened by the intensity of the sounds and colors. Then, I experienced something that was quite different my previous concert experiences. Probably because of my amplified awareness of people and animals and the fact that many are lacking in one or more of their abilities to see, hear, feel, speak or smell. I became acutely appreciative of each of my senses.
What followed was inspiring. Thinking about my blind friend Stash, I closed my eyes and just listened. I could hear the music but then suddenly I realized that I could also feel the music through my feet. Never have I been blessed with such an amazing experience. I found that actually feeling the music the beat, the base and treble and all in between was incredible. When I opened my eyes, I could hear the music again but could no longer feel it except when the people near me bumped into me as they danced, using the word loosely, to the music.
Next, I covered my ears. Luckily, most of the people around me were feeling no pain and so caught up in the performances, that they didn’t notice my strange actions. After all, who goes to a concert and covers their ears? Anyway, as I experimented with this, I began to notice things that were going on around me and on the stage that I had not noticed when I was able to hear. I also began to smell things that I hadn’t detected previously. Now, I must add that some of the aromas were more pleasant than others!
I won’t get into the tasting part because, on my usual diet, I didn’t eat anything there!
I was so moved by the experience last night that I have experimented more today. While there hasn’t been the intensity that I experienced last night, there is still a difference. Now from personal experience, I have become acutely aware of the fact that people who are deficient in one or more senses, may well be more conscious of the reality than those of us who are blessed enough to have been given all of our senses.
I have a suggestion to all parents. Experiment with your children things like this. What a wonderful way to demonstrate the fact that people might not have the same physical abilities that they have but that doesn’t mean they are inferior. Quite the contrary!
