Gotta pay the bills.

Monday, December 23, 2024

When I was teaching, students would often come in and discuss their career plans. Many of them obviously wanted to do something in music, since that’s what I taught, but they seemed to struggle settling on a career in performing. Sometimes they wanted to act and dance or to do any number of things they loved. But they couldn’t seem to get past one thing – the but.

I really love __ and would love to do it for a living, but…

There was always the proverbial “but” that seemed to get in people’s way. There seemed to be some argument against why they couldn’t do what they loved. Trying to counsel students in their vocational choice, I noticed that what followed “but” was always along the same lines. The argument against doing what they loved was that it didn’t pay the bills. But I say, love does pay the bills, and it does a much better job than working to pay the bills.

I’m a living testimony that I simply did what I loved, and it blossomed into a fantastic career in music. Now, I’m writing. I’m doing what I love and while currently, it doesn’t pay the bills, I don’t care. Playing music didn’t pay the bills until some time after I began. I continue to do everything merely for the love of it.

Love is what makes the universe work. The Beatles reminded us, all you need is love. They played in crappy bars for years, and they managed. They just kept loving, and the bills got paid, and paid, and paid – and then some.

Love pays the bills because love created the world. Love created bills too. So, I’ll let love cover the expenses. All I need is love, and I’ve already got that covered. So, who cares about the damn bills? I care about doing what I love.