Casey O’Neill is a farmer and owner of Happy Day Farms in Laytonville, Calif. The opinions expressed in this column are not those expressed by The Mendocino Voice.
I love the way that playing music brings people together, a shared rhythm that makes for a joyful experience. I love to lose myself in the beat, letting my mind go as my hands play the drum without thought or control. I play by feel, by ear, listening and adapting based on the other instruments around me.
Music is a tapestry of sound, woven together as a picture in my ears. I hear the different contributions as we mesh and find the shared groove, or as we fall apart and shift and regroup. Jam sessions are fun in part because of that sense of effort to find something that works, and the joyful abandon and feeling of relief when the tension dissipates into something that flows.
I love how the shared experience of playing together creates a basket or container that holds us together, whoever happens to be there with whatever instruments are present. The jokes and shared language that evolve in the moment, the sense of camaraderie, the grins and nods when the rhythm slips into place.
Last night as we played around the campfire, we kept joking about “hunting and fishing” to find the beat, the co-creation of something that felt good that we all wanted to play. We’d catch a rhythm and boom, off to the races with joyful abandon. Reels and jigs led by the fiddle, whimsical flute tunes, crashing drumbeats. I love the ebb and flow as folks come in and out of the session as the evening moves along.
Smoke a little reefer and feel the music change in my mind, accentuated and enhanced as my hands play the drum. Enjoy cold drinks and hot food among friends and community, a shared sense of gathering and merriment that pervades the evening. Laughter, jokes, stories and music all bring joy to the faces around the fire, lightening the burdens and reminding me of the joy of living.
I think of the ways that music is like life, sometimes easy and smooth and sometimes uncomfortable and offbeat. How when things get weird you just have to keep playing, to listen, to find each other and get back in sync. That even the best grooves have to end, and that those are moments for reset, for checking in, for rebuilding to begin again.
Playing music reminds me to listen, to hear what’s happening around me, to accommodate and to be supported in turn. When we play together we form tacit agreements, often unspoken yet real in their effects. We experience the joy of life, of presence, of the moment at hand. All else drops away, worries forgotten in the joy of playing.
Music has been with me for as long as I can remember, and playing percussion has been part of my life for more than thirty years. Just like rhythm, it has ebbed and flowed, sometimes unplayed for weeks or months, but always there, always ready when I want it. Music lightens my steps and eases my burdens, carrying me through the hard parts of life and lifting the good times even higher.
As I wind down a restful, joyful weekend, I reflect on the summer gone by and the weeks of heavy work to come. I am glad for the respite, energized to return to fall planting and harvest. The work continues, flowing into the final rush of the season as it has done so many times before.
Seeds sprout, grow and make their way through the cycles of the farm to land on plates and in bowls as sustenance for people I love. The magic of life continues as the seasons change and so do I. As I age, I feel a deeper gratitude for community, for the people I get to spend my life with, which motivates me to be better, to strive for excellence and shared meaning. As always, much love and great success to you on your journey!
Casey O’Neill owns and runs HappyDay Farms, a small vegetable and cannabis farm north of Laytonville. He is a long time cannabis policy advocate, and was born and raised in the Bell Springs area. The preceding has been an editorial column. The Mendocino Voice has not necessarily fact-checked or copyedited this work, and it should be interpreted as the words of the author, not necessarily reflecting the opinions of The Mendocino Voice.