Reading Blog #2

John Cage’s story truly inspires me to be mindful and present at any given moment. To me, this does not mean we should all be some ever-enlightened being, always enjoying the moment with open ears and a good mood. His story is about teaching the world to be in the moment without judgement of whatever occurs.

If I am standing on a busy street and the sounds of cars and horns are angering me I do not have to stop being angry, I simply have to notice that I am angry. Cage seemed to live his life like this: observing without judgement. I believe his goal in his works was to convey this message through experimental music. Personally, I deeply follow mindfulness and similar meditation practices and I find Cage’s pieces analogous to my meditations.

Though the approach is different, both reach the same goal of pulling the audience into the now and challenge us to question what exactly is going on. I find his “4’33” piece most intriguing because it is identical to a mindful meditation. The deliberate intention of forcing people to observe silence is followed by each individual observing themselves. By allowing a group of people to sit in silence, Cage is offering a moment for each individual to feel their body, notice their emotions, question their emotions, and observe others doing the same.

This practice is incredibly uncomfortable for most because we live in a society that values activity and productivity at the expense of inner peace. After reading this article I have come to the opinion that John Cage was one of the original pioneers in bringing mindfulness to western society.