Eddie Vedder

I recently discovered Youtube and have spent the last few days watching live footage of my favorite singer songwriters. It is an authentically enjoyable thing to do. On September 30th 2004, David Letterman had Pearl Jam on his show to sing their rendition of Bob Dylan’s song “Masters of War”. The context of Bob Dylan’s song was the Vietnam War but it resonated perfectly with the second year of our second war in Iraq. Eddie Vedder’s performance is extraordinary, he is Bob Dylan and he is himself; the song he sings is from another time and it is from his heart now. David Letterman put’s a lifetime of work behind sharing this moment with the world. All in all, anyone associated with this performance, in the weeks before to the 2004 presidential election, has to have felt that they were making a difference. The spiritual power and political relevance of Pearl Jam’s performance that night is palpable even years later on Youtube.

Reflecting on that night, I could imagine the sense of excitement and purpose, a sense of the power of truth, the power of art, the power to affect the collective consciousness in the name of love. Then the election comes and with it confusion, disappointment, disillusionment. Maybe what we felt that night was not real. We were there, we felt the power of what we did, why do I know doubt that power? We often find ourselves like someone who sows a field and a week later, looking out over an open field asks: Where’s the corn? I worked hard, I planted the seeds at the right depth, at the right time of year, time of day, just enough shade, just enough sun. I even said a prayer for each seed, I felt the power of what I was doing, where is my corn!

We feel the power of love often. What we must learn is to trust it.