Yield

Last week, I had the chance to see Eddie Vedder perform a solo show at The Wang Theater downtown. A friend of mine passed along the ticket at the last minute and even after meeting some visiting family for a lengthy dinner on Newbury Street, I hustled toward Chinatown and grabbed my seat just as Eddie was taking the stage.

I was tired and thought about passing on the ticket...for about 0.5 seconds. After all, I grew up in the grunge era. During my formative years, I spent more hours listening to Pearl Jam than I could even begin to count. Like I could actually pass up the opportunity to see Sir Eddie play live. Ha. Besides playing an awesome set, engaging the crowd with his toast to the recent Bruins Stanley Cup victory, playing one of my all time favorite songs, and generally being one of the best live solo acts I've seen in awhile, Mr. Vedder passed along a little nugget of wisdom I've decided to keep right at the front of my mind. He was telling a story, the details of which aren't too important, about various people he's come in contact with in the music industry throughout the years: "You know, in the industry there are some really, really great people. And there are some really, really awful people. But that's the thing about humans. You can stop and look at the bad ones and say to yourself, 'Okay. That's exactly how I don't want to be'."

Ever since I heard Eddie's logic, which of course makes total sense, I've found it easier to shake off the annoyances, frustrations, and sheer ohmygod,I'mgoingtoscream moments one inevitably has when dealing with the general public. When a driver (ahem. Usually with New York plates.) refuses to let me merge, or the supermarket cashier is rude, or a person shoves me on the T, I just take a deep breath and repeat Eddie's thought. "So, that's exactly the person I don't want to be."

And then I just carry on my own merry little way, trying my very best to be the person that I do want to be.