In the past couple of weeks, I’ve acquired this weird tingly sensation in my hands – like they fall asleep – when I have my arms bent. On top of that, the joints in my fingers hurt. It’s uncomfortable and a little scary; and worst of all, it won’t go away. So I’ve made an appointment to go see a doctor. Heart and pulmonary disease runs in my family, so I’m probably a prime candidate for hardened arteries and heart problems. But this condition has made me start thinking: What would it mean to not be able to play guitar?
Understand that the guitar has been pretty much the center of my life since I was a kid. Playing guitar is my escape from the stresses of the world, and pains of relationships. It is my outlet to release the creative energy bottled up inside of me.
I live to play guitar and play guitar live. To not be able to play, well, that would be the worst tragedy of my life, second only to the loss of a member of my family. I frankly don’t know how I’d be able to cope with life without guitar. Is it unhealthy to have such a dependence on it? I don’t know. But it has always been a calming presence in my life – my own personal therapy. If it’s gone, I suppose I could find something else, but 30 years of playing every day is kind of a hard act to follow.
Before I see the doctor, I’ve already resolved to make some major changes in my life. First, I’m no longer eating red meat. I love it, but my steady diet of pork and beef over the years and not enough fruit and vegetables has probably caught up to me. I can eat fish a couple of times a week, and chicken, maybe once every couple of weeks.
I’m also going to start exercising regularly. Before I started really working on my album, I was walking at least a couple of miles a day, and trying to do something active. But when I hit the studio last year, I did nothing. Now I’m paying for it.
I’m not asking for sympathy. I got myself into this mess, and I’m resolved to get out of it. Wish me luck!
Guitar Gear 