It’s been very much on my mind lately the things I learned from Ian. I don’t think any of us really know what others learn from us, and I think he was particularly blind to the good he did for others. Because of him, I’m far less concerned with not messing up in front of people. I’m far less worried that if I’m not perfect, bad things will happen.
Thinking about him at karaoke. He knew people loved him getting up there. He also knew he wasn’t a good singer. I think he thought that people loved it because they could laugh at him, and I think he tried not to let it bug him. He tried to let being the ‘comic relief’ be good for him. I really don’t think he understood that the reason people loved seeing him up there is that his aura of joy, the image he presented of just going up and having fun, consequences be damned, was freeing. If he could do it, and obviously not be the best singer in the world, then so could they.
He created around him a bubble of freedom. Freedom to just be. Freedom to laugh and mess up and be stupid and be smart, and do really anything that made you happy.
There needs to be more of that in the world. Not less. I miss it.
Written 2/7/15
468 total views, 1 views today
