The Wisdom of George Harrison

Musically he wasn't my favorite Beatle, but in terms of his outlook on life and existence he certainly was. He died in 2001, a couple of months after the 9/11 tragedy, at the age of 58. Although he died comparatively young, his was an extraordinary life by any measure. For the average person, life is routine and with the passage of time, the unusual days are the ones we tend to remember. Imagine life as a Bealtes, the string of memories... George described it this way:

I think through the Beatle experience.. we'd grown so many years within a short period of time.

Even as a young man, surrounded by every temptation imaginable, he recognized there was more to life:

But yeah, I think fame is a good thing in terms of giving you heightened experience or at least more experience. But then, it's what you do with that, or what that uncovers. I think for me, you know, as I say, I realize I just want more. This isn't it, this isn't it, you know. Fame is not the goal, money, although money is nice to have, it can buy you a bit of freedom, you know, you can go to the Bahamas when you want, but it doesn't, it's not the answer, and the answer, you know, is how to get peace of mind, and how to be happy, that's really what we're supposed to be here for.

He set out on a spiritual quest during his years with the Beatles. He also had the painful experience of John Lennon being murdered in front of his apartment in NYC in 1980. George himself not only fought cancer, but fought and survived a home invasion on Dec 30, 1999.

A man armed with a large knife broke into the house of George Harrison, the former Beatle, early this morning and stabbed him in the chest, the authorities said, and evidence emerged that the assailant may have harbored a dangerous obsession with the band. Mr. Harrison, 56, one of three remaining members of the Beatles after the murder of John Lennon by a crazed fan 19 years ago, was treated for a collapsed lung and various minor stab wounds at a hospital near his home in Henley-on-Thames...

The intruder hit Mrs. Harrison on the head and then repeatedly stabbed Mr. Harrison when he went to his wife's aid...The couple fought back and inflicted head injuries on the intruder, detaining him while a member of their staff called the police. (NYTimes)

In a 1997 interview on VH1 George shared his insights into the meaning of life. You can watch it in full on YouTube, but I wanted to showcase a bit of it. We think of ourselves and the objects around us a solid, but in reality, we are bundles of energy held together by attraction. It's a bit of an illusion, as Goerge wrote in a song, “we are one, and life goes on within you and without you.”

Beyond the material aspect of our bodies, we exist as consciousness. I tired to highlight that in a short video clip using George's voice along with footage from the film “Hard Days Night” with the infinity of fractal geometry flowing through everything.

My Clip highlighting the Wisdom of George Harrison

If you have not seen this documentary about George, it is excellent and I highly recommend it.

Movie Trailer

How about you, what did you like about George Harrison?

---

Photo: copyright holder unknown, taken at his sister's home when he visited America before the Beatles were famous there. Effects by @roused