How can anyone begin to describe Albert Schweitzer's contribution to the human race, to music, to the performance and study of Bach, to medicine or to theology? There is little left to say that has not been said already in the volumes of books, research papers, newspaper and magazine articles and his autobiography. Yet, Glenn Gould himself had much in common with the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr Schweitzer, especially when it came to his philosophy on the "Reverence for Life" - or " Ehrfurcht vor dem Leben". As Angela Addison writes, when talking about Glenn Gould, like Albert Schweitzer before him, Gould possessed a reverence for life that extended to bothersome insects, cold-blooded fish and even to reptiles, those most difficult of God's creatures to love. After leaving the life and world I knew for so many years behind, after leaving behind all the possessions that I had somehow managed to accumulate over the years, and after returning to the city that I was born, amidst the crowds and the pollution, the traffic and the chaos, I wonder just how much people in the West understand about the reverence for life. Many flock to the East in the hope that they can find themselves, or rediscover that spark in their lives that will enable them to get up each morning. Meditation camps and yoga retreats aside, the one thing that strikes me is how oblivious we all are, or can be, to the thoughts, feelings, emotions of those around us. Our actions speak for themselves. I write this because I became disillusioned with nearly all the people that I was in contact with. There were a few exceptions, of course (a handful of very worthy students), but the majority had little regard for the lives of others, let alone a reverence for them. I began to ask myself if I too was beginning to become like those around me – selfish, cold, manipulative, egoistical, rude, uncaring and unaware of the feelings of those around me. How apt then that life should throw another curveball my way – as the famed proverb goes “he who has health has hope, and he who has hope has everything”. And when my health suffered another setback, I found myself in a position where I was beginning to feel devoid of all hope. Yet, this proved to be a blessing – not only did it force me to tackle some of my greatest fears – losing everything and having to start again from scratch, but it also gave me the time and capacity to read more about the life and works of Albert Schweitzer. Trying to recuperate in the city of my birth, leaving everything that I have known as a professional musician and teacher behind, immersing myself in the company of those that reared me, animals and children in a country where materialism and avarice has not completely ruined its people has given me hope. People like Schweitzer and Glenn Gould were not mere one offs. They chose to live life on their own terms, and in Schweitzer’s case, they chose never to settle. Despite being a supremely gifted musician, Schweitzer chose to study medicine, despite being a brilliant doctor and philosopher, he chose to get his hands dirty in Africa, rather than simply waxing lyrical about the merits of compassionate living and caring for those who need it the most. In my case, I was forced to open my eyes to pain and misery that I know exists in this world, far more than any I have ever known. My own physical and mental suffering pales in comparison to a lot of what I have seen in recent months. In Schweitzer’s words, “Whoever is spared personal pain must feel himself called to help in diminishing the pain of others. We must all carry our share of the misery which lies upon the world.”
This is difficult, and every day I am reminded of how difficult it actually is to leave behind a life that you once knew, and choose to go back to the bottom, to start from scratch and try and “help diminishing the pain of others”. There I things I miss desperately, not mere material possessions, the piano, books, recordings that find themselves in good hands, but there are also things that I am glad to be free off. No matter how difficult the road ahead now is, at least I am safe in the knowledge that I am not wasting precious time, precious hours on children or people who do not appreciate it, on spoilt, ungracious people, on those who have no love, appreciation or understanding of music or their fellow man. Of the good people that I have had the pleasure to know, I can only hope that they too are inspired to take the lead of people like Schweitzer, that they too may be motivated to not just settle for a mediocre existence but use their bodies and minds to better the lives of those who need it. It should not take a catastrophic event, a health emergency or a curveball event to make one realize why we are on this planet, but in many cases this is the only way. I wonder if those I knew in music circles in the West would ever be the same, if those wealthy parents of haughty and unpleasant students (most with little or no talent to speak of) would be like that if they thought occasionally of the suffering of which they spare themselves the sight?” Glenn Gould certainly did, no animal who turned up outside a recording studio would ever be turned away by Gould, and every member of the technical staff, from the senior producer to the odd jobs person would be thanked by the great pianist. Gould though did tread on the side of caution, never really living the life he sought to with abandon. His genius and his early fame probably did him disservice, yet he did make an attempt to be a humanitarian, to attempt to live life on his own terms, as much as he could, and in his own way. As I leave one life behind, I sometimes think of the people I once knew, so many who only cared to be seen in all the right places, those who did not even like, let alone love the music itself, those who were so in awe of their own self importance, of titles and qualifications, of money and status that the only way they would ever experience true contentment and happiness is by taking a leaf out of Albert Schweitzer’s book, by following a little of what is the philosophy of the reverence of life. Otherwise, as Schweitzer himself said “Until he extends his circle of compassion to include all living things, man will not himself find peace.”
