Someone once told me ‘It never ends.’. He of course was talking about gear. Guitar gear; namely.
And boy is he ever right. I have a list of gear that I’d like to have that would run be about 10-15,000 in debt just to get. The problem with that kind of extreme gear-wanting and drug like fix requirement is that of course it’s great to get a shiny new toy. But it isn’t about that really; it’s about the inspiration you get from that new toy.
Take for example my Canon 60D. I love it to bits. I know a lot of people would love to own one themselves. The difference between me and them is that I have the means and that I have the mental willpower to put my feelings into what it would be like to have it. And now I do. And it’s wonderful. I don’t call myself a photographer; but now my videos look a lot more professional and I can take some shots here and there and they turn out great without a lot of effort. Some people would call that a waste? But I call it an inspiration. It has been the greatest gift I have received this year because it stimulates a different part of my creativity.
And that’s what it all comes down to. Having that new shiny toy isn’t only about having that high quality piece of gear; it’s about the inspiration and the actual use you get out of it. A horrible use of my Canon 60D is as a dust collector. But a great use is to explore the world I already live in through a different kind of lens. But back to the guitar fix.
Since music is my main career path and interest; the gear involved with the guitar is a lot more exciting for me. The idea of a new guitar entering my bedroom door and gracing me with songs and melodies that I might have never thought of otherwise is inspiring in itself. It’s that near drug like high moment where you just want to play and do nothing more but express creativity. Thankfully I have a modest home studio that is able to record those ideas.
I believe that is why it will never end: the gear addiction. Because it stimulates creativity. I am reading a book about being grateful for what you have in order to attain more of what you want, and I am grateful for my creativity, but I am grateful for what I am going to receive one day as well. In that there is inspiration. I am grateful for the day I receive my first custom 8 string guitar because I know it will be perfect. You should be grateful for your next big purchase too; because you damn well earned it and don’t think for a second that you didn’t.
I am also grateful for my YouTube subscribers. I have a lot of positive and negative feedback which keeps it really fresh for me and tells me which direction I should go as well as changes my inner dialogue to be more appropriate and actually kind: meaning, when someone says something awful to me about my video, I realize that it’s just them projecting their own shortcomings onto me, and that it isn’t my problem. Some might say that is delusional thinking but really it works out most of the time to be true. That’s the thing about YouTube though; you can always make content private or delete it.
But I’d rather learn through the experience of being wrong than take such immense offense as to give it more energy than was already expressed to me.
It’s all about the way you think about things; and I think I’ve stumbled upon a great way of thinking.
Paul Ozz 