Ooh, thanks !

Often my mind is half-flooded with details and ideas before I start writing. And I have a feeling that only some of them will fit into a blog post, and I don't know how to choose what to tell and what to leave unsaid. But, as this post was written in present tense, it naturally guided me to stay focused only on what I felt in each moment - leaving out many of the things I thought afterwards.

Like, for example; The band finished with a version of Space Oddity, Astrid singing the last verses while laying on the hospital bed. Afterwards I've been thinking how to interpret that. Is there an aspect of hope in Space Oddity? Or was it the final song, just to remind that after all one day we will die? Or, to say that when we are gone something remains? Bowie is dead, but his songs remain.

Or those Jugend-style houses built in early 1900's - the architects and builders have been long dead, yet their creations are still homes for a lot of families, and get regularly mentioned in Helsinki sightseeing guides.

Hehe, there probably are thousand ways to analyse the lyrics of Space Oddity. And, anyhow, as usual - personally I don't care that much if my own life will leave behind something which lasts for longer time. As, after all, what matters is the moment at hand. These moments we exprience and share. The depth, the beauty, the love and connection. And so I'm glad that I went to see Astrid's show; yes I have the record, but a live performance is always just one-and-only unique experience, it lasts for a short moment but can have a life-altering long-term effect =)

Also, I was thinking one of your posts, when you were thinking of what help art is for those people in fear of a dam breaking - or any such looming catastrophe. If a dam is about to break, a pretty song doesn't make a difference if it will break or not. Or, no matter how beautiful and talented songs Astrid has been writing in her life, she still got a breast cancer. Sometimes shit happens, and no art is going to prevent all of the bad luck we might face. Sure thing. But what art can do, is to help people cope with bad luck. To help people recover. To help people to re-find trust, courage, love and joy. Or, to help people feel connected, finding a way over trenches. And that is what we need art for. "Writing is doing the dirty work. The work that keeps me sane." wrote Astrid.