What a 90s Concert Reminded Me About Being Present

Recently, my wife and I went to a 90s nostalgia concert featuring the Spin Doctors, Blues Traveler, and Gin Blossoms.

We were joined by thousands of our formerly young peers.

Before we could enjoy any of it, though, we spent about 45 minutes sitting in traffic and trying to park. There were several jokes in the car about asking ChatGPT for emergency help.

I often work with clients on cognitive reframing. We don’t always control what is happening around us, but we can sometimes change how we are looking at it.

No amount of reframing was going to make the traffic move faster. But joking about it helped keep a difficult situation from becoming the story of the night.

Eventually, we parked and made our way into a beautiful amphitheater by a lake.

Then everything changed.

For the next several hours, there was nowhere else to be. We were completely absorbed in songs we had known since we were teenagers.

At one point, the Spin Doctors and Blues Traveler played together while the stage transitioned from one band to the other. Later, the Gin Blossoms played one familiar song after another. I counted at least six huge hits.

It was awe-inspiring to hear thousands of people singing all the words together.

I think there is something powerfully human about singing with that many strangers. We didn’t know one another, but somehow we all knew the same words.

The concert felt like a cram session on mindfulness, presence, awe, and flow.

We were paying attention to what was happening right in front of us. We felt part of something larger than ourselves. We lost track of time. For those few hours, we weren’t thinking about the traffic, what we needed to do the next day, or anything beyond where we were.

Experiences like that aren’t limited to nostalgia concerts. Moments of presence, awe, connection, and flow are available in everyday life, too. We can find them in nature, music, conversation, creative work, relationships, and many other places when we allow ourselves to become fully absorbed in what is happening.

Sometimes we just have to notice the opportunity and let ourselves stay with it.

Although singing “Hey Jealousy” with thousands of strangers probably makes it a little easier.