Most human beings have an absolute and infinite capacity for taking things for granted. (Aldous Huxley)
Among things I hate in this world, people who take things for granted are one of them. When I see someone does it, either to me or to someone else, it usually starts me boiling.
Lately I have been feeling that I'm outgrowing a friendship with a person, well, a friend, of course.We've known each other for quite a long time, and we've been through so-so-times and not-so-good-times but never at all time can I really tell if I can call this person my "best friend". But I haven't got a chance to decide until we grow more and more apart. She's really a kind person, but just like romance, sometime the chemistry just ran off and suddenly I got bored silly when I'm near her. Then my psychoanalytical mind starts to see that during the course of our friendship, she was taking me for granted. I didn't mind, at first because I knew she wasn't doing it on purpose. She didn't intentionally do it. And in a way, being taken for granted could mean a compliment. It means that somebody feels at home with you, no matter what they do. But so it happened, I got tired of accepting. And because I'm too lazy to tell her that she needs to change, after all it's easier for me to change, so I let it go.
But in this one particular circumstance, I'm not sure that I can let go that easy.
I organized a concert this week. It was probably the worst concert I've ever organized in my entire concert-management career, and I surely hope it will be the last of such concert that I will do in my life. To this day I still feel disappointed, violated, frustrated and angry, as this stupid incident happened simply because the artists weren't prepared to give a performance. For me, it's a sign that they were taking things for granted. They assume that people, at least some people, will still think that their playing is awesome. They think that they can escape criticism. They think people, at least those who don't really understand classical music, won't be able to tell the difference between making music and just hitting notes on the piano. It's unforgivable.
I need not tell how bad the concert was. There is no miracle that will help an unprepared artist for a show, and it was unethical and close to immoral, if the so-called "artists" had indeed proper, adequate trainings in music and claimed themselves "professional". If I am allowed to compare this one with so many concerts by our young, amateur musicians in the city, who could also be quite excruciating sometimes, I would say this is almost inexcusable. In many cases, these youngsters don't have good music education, their techniques are limited, their (and a lot of time their teacher's) understanding of the repertoire could be very much on the surface, so it was only natural if the presentation isn't excellent. But even with their confined abilities, most of the time they prepare themselves very well, they practice very hard with everything they've got even if it's not a lot, and they still earn respect in the end. After that concert I lost not just respect but also trust in Indonesian "professional" musicians. How can I not? For me as organizer, what they've done is disrespectful to what I've done as the concert promoter. It's always an effort to bring people to concert hall, and local projects hardly bring any profit. But I did my part. They didn't do theirs. So how am I to trust them again? And sadly now, more and more "professionals" are doing this.
But as usual, there's always something to learn out of every calamity, a silver lining even in the darkest clouds. No one and nothing should be taken for granted. It is human, like every other thing in life, that when we're on top of things, when we're enjoying a position of high status, we tend to assume that we will stay there forever no matter what we do; that we can get away with everything, even if what we do is rubbish. I've seen in many cases that when we start to take things for granted, we're actually starting to lose them.
As for me personally, I hope that I will learn to never take things for granted. Because even the smallest thing in life is a gift, and I'd like to return to the house of my Lord with the angels saying to me, “God blessed you with unique talents and abilities, and you have used those gifts well! You've taken nothing for granted; rather, you have worked hard to prepare for a challenging future.”
