A friend (Alan Messer) asked me over for lunch last Friday, and I thought about canceling all morning. I just didn't feel like being around anyone. I'm so glad I didn't cancel though, because as soon as I walked in the door, I let out a huge sigh of relief. His house felt like an oasis in the middle of a chaotic day. There were incredible smells coming from the kitchen and gorgeous music pouring in from a record player I couldn't see. The house is about 115 years-old, old plaster walls (he tore the 70s wood paneling off and ripped off layers of old wallpaper to expose the plaster), high ceilings, great wood floors. He's taken the house down to almost its bones, and it looks so beautiful. I felt like I was in Italy or France....definitely not Nashville. The long table in the dining room had the most beautiful salad I have ever seen on it.
After lunch, Alan showed me photos he took from my birthday party, along with photos he's taken throughout his career. I have some pretty amazingly talented friends. In the 60s, he photographed The Beatles, The Doors, The Rolling Stones, Diana Ross, Elton John. Some other incredible portraits? Try Iggy Pop, Bob Marley, Ray Charles, James Brown, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Waylon Jennings, and Johnny Cash. Seriously. The list could go on and on. Those few hours felt like a little vacation....a much needed vacation. And I felt restored and inspired after I left. That's the trick, isn't it? Find the things and the people that feed your spirit & let go of the things that drain you and make you feel less than you really are. So simple, but sometimes so hard to remember.
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