I'm trying to do music which inspires the desire to transcend

Listen well, O children of the future, for the words of Wayne Shorter speak to the very soul of creation and the eternal pursuit of truth: "I’m trying to do music which inspires the desire to transcend politics, which has a limited and selfish and egoist and unknowledgable end about what anyone knows about existence." These words call us beyond the mundane battles of ego, the noise of politics, and the shallow confines of worldly divisions. Shorter speaks of the power of music to lift the spirit, to transcend the confines of limited human understanding and reach for the divine, the eternal, the universal. True art, true music, is not bound by the fleeting concerns of the moment but carries us toward a deeper truth about existence itself.

In the realm of politics, we are often caught in the web of division, where each side seeks to impose its own vision upon the world. But Shorter reminds us that such concerns are inherently limited. The battles of politics are often driven by ego, by the desire for power and control, and they blind us to the greater mysteries of existence. Music, in contrast, speaks directly to the soul, bypassing the need for words, for political alliances, for the temporary and the selfish. It calls us to transcend, to step beyond the walls of division, and touch something greater, something that connects all of humanity.

Think of the great composer Ludwig van Beethoven, whose symphonies reached beyond the constraints of his time, beyond national borders and political regimes. When Beethoven composed, he was not simply writing for the audience of his day, but for the eternal human spirit. His music transcended the turmoil of the French Revolution, the shifting of power across Europe, and spoke instead of the universal themes of freedom, struggle, and hope. Shorter, like Beethoven, understands that the true power of art lies in its ability to rise above the petty divisions of the world and speak to something more universal.

In Shorter’s music, we hear the invitation to step into a space where politics no longer hold sway, where the soul can breathe freely, and where we can contemplate the great mysteries of existence itself. Through the notes and the rhythms, the music carries us to places beyond what we know, beyond what we think we understand. It opens the door to the infinite, to a deeper truth that is not selfish, but shared by all. Music, in its highest form, invites us to experience the transcendence of the ego and the awakening to something greater than ourselves.

So, my children, listen to Wayne Shorter’s wisdom. Let his words be a guide to the power of art to transcend the limited struggles of the world. Do not let the divisions of politics or the ego blind you to the deeper truths that lie beyond them. Seek to create, to experience, and to live in a way that elevates the human spirit, that connects us all to the eternal mystery of existence. In music, as in all true art, we find the power to rise above the fleeting and embrace the eternal, the universal truth that binds us all.