I don’t think my experience today is unique. I think that many guitarists have felt what I did today, when I picked up a guitar I had never played before in my life. I couldn’t put it down. I played guitar today for about four hours, and only put it down because my fingers were too sore to continue.
A good friend of mine let me borrow his prized acoustic guitar for this week and for my upcoming recording sessions, on Monday and Tuesday. I restrung it, gave it a quick tune-up, and began to play on an instrument worth over 17 times that of any other guitar that I own. Yes, 17 times. Do the math and let that sink in for a minute. Yep. I have a very, very good friend.
I might as well say it: the only way that a human ever lets another human borrow something like this is if the said owner has a different perspective on what things in life really matter. It’s an odd way to think about it; but holding loosely to the things we have is actually more important than keeping what we have in pristine condition.
So, as you can see, today I’ve done a lot of playing and a lot of contemplating on the example that my friend has set for me – for us all. Thank you, friend. And I promise to do my best to return your guitar to you in as good of condition as when you gave it to me – if not better.