Living Loud

In honor of Veteran's Day, this year falling on the perfectly symmetrical date of November 11, 2011 -- you know, 11/11/11 -- we at The Job of Work, along with many of you, can't help but be reminded of that precious scene from Rob Reiner's brilliant 1984 mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap in which band member Nigel Tufnel explains to Rob why his amp has the ability to play louder than any others. Check it out.



Hey, if you want your band to be the loudest, you better have amps that go beyond what was previously thought possible, right? Makes sense to us. In a kind of a Nigel Tufnel way, that is.

But maybe Nigel was trying to tell us something. Something important.

Maybe we should all try to live loud, louder than others.

No, we don't mean at the top of our lungs. Not that kind of loud. We mean living loud: With honesty, immediacy, excitement. Authentically. Being truly present. In the moment, in every moment. With awe. With joy.

As if today was our very first day. That's living loud.

(Not as if it were our last day, as many urge. I don't know about you, but if I were to live each day as if it was my last, I'd be watching the clock constantly, concerned with each passing second. I'd also be wondering what I would get for my last meal and whether I should have the curly fries or the mashed potatoes. Pie or cake? I'd also be thinking that there's no need to attend to work since I won't be around tomorrow to deal with the repercussions. No, living each day as if it were our last seems shortsighted, in more ways than one.)

Instead, we hope you live each day as if it's your first. With unbridled curiosity. Like that first day when everything was new. When everything was interesting, full of color and complexity. When you didn't know where the roads led or the planes landed. Where everything was a wide-eyed wonder. Where there was splendor at every turn. When each new day was truly that: Utterly, completely new.

When you asked questions, many questions, most beginning with 'Why?' When each answer led to another question. And another. So open you were to learning, so hungry you were for information, for reason.

When mysteries abounded. When being smart meant you sought answers rather than having them. Where being inquisitive was the ideal. When you could go out and play and, indeed, play. For hours.

That's what we mean by living loud.

So, in honor of 11/11/11 and Nigel, turn it up to 11. Don't hesitate and don't be afraid. You already know how to do it. Give it a try. And here's a thought: Take someone along with you. It might take some 'splainin', as Ricky might say, but it will be worth it. And when you make it, when you're living loud, write to us to tell us what it's like. About how brilliant the images, how wonderful the sounds, how fragrant the aromas, how each new encounter is a universe unto itself.

And after you've been living loud, after you've turned it up to 11, ask yourself this:

Is there any better way to live?

Thanks, Nigel.