An Open Love Letter to Sting
bracketing the election with the bright fire of dreams
Dear Sting,
When I was eight years old, your voice summoned me to feel galaxies of greater Love than I had yet known.
Every breath you take…
Every move you make…
As I inhaled the soulful velvet of your voice, I felt illuminated with possibility.
I had just declared Love as my religion and there you were, enchanting me with your musical genius. And I felt tickled by the fact that you were born male and named Gordon Matthew, as I was born female and would’ve been Matthew Gordon if I was a boy.
Forty years later, last year I was 48 and you were 72. I had become good at listening to my dreams, and still I had a bucket list. Seeing you perform live was on top. Big dream, crystal clear in every part of my being.
Then last summer, I heard you were coming to San Francisco.
A close friend looked up your tour dates and offered to gift me a trip to see you in Chicago. Windy and cold Chicago? I am a Puerto Rican blooded devotee of skin-silkening sun, and a frisbee fanatic. Chicago? No thanks, my limited mind had thought. But with you there, my entirety said yes.
Something much deeper than the brain in my head took the lead, and I surrendered.
My friend picked me up on Saturday from Chicago O’Hare. As we drove into the city, its skyline grasped my throat like a passionate lover and I fell in Love with it from a distance.
I didn’t know why — was it because I’d see you there? All I knew is that I felt the burning fire of Yessss in my belly, my sacred center, my womb.
On Monday night as you performed at the breathtaking Auditorium Theater… (here are the tears again)… a bright wild fire was born inside of me. I cannot see what it is materializing yet but I can feel it. I could feel it at your show and it’s making a bold home inside of me.
Sometimes I see your face…
Stars seem to lose their place…
Why must I think of you?
Why should I….
Why should I cry for you?
Why would you want me to?
I’ve never melted and cried at a concert, in ecstasy and awe, like I did at your Chicago show. Everything about it was spectacular. Your voice and poise. Your communion with your stage mates. The lighting. Your vivid fresh expression singing songs you’ve sung 1,000s of times before.
I speak for millions when I say that I am catapulted by the beauty of your existence. You are embodied artistic majesty.
Am I dazzled by your fame? No.
Are you better than me? No.
Love doesn’t play that game.
What is it about you?
It’s the way you choose to shine, spilling the poetry of your soul’s splendid madness for all of us to see.
Your artistry invites us all into freedom.
All my life, your singing passion has helped my soul feel fuller streams of Light.
Your Eros-lit presence is an invitation for all men to step up their game — and for those of us who adore Man, you invite us to champion their greatness.
Your riveting creative fire beckons me to further enliven my own.
Great music is an instant getaway from the agonizing illusion we’ve all bought into, that we are separate from each other, from nature, from God.
Through your devotion to the art that breathes through your ribs and rolls across your tongue, you help me remember that I am not separate. I am one with the great Light, the Light that shines inside your voice and also mine. And when I fear that “dark angels follow me over a godless sea…”
I can simply listen to your voice inside my own soul and remember — I am free.
My deepest salute,
Jessica Maxine
P.S. I’m ready to melt again. See you tomorrow night in San Francisco.
What if our dreams actually want us, as much as we want them?
We don’t know how long we will be gifted with Life. We can either take it for granted and pretend it’s gonna last another five or 50 years or we can REVEL in the playful, not-knowing of Now — tune in and listen to the authentic fire in our own being — pull out a pen and write down our dreams — lean in to that Light.
What’s on your bucket list?
Jessica Rios
Writer + Love Coach
Founder, Making Love to Fear + Leaning into Light
IG @makinglovetofear
Ready to bring your dreams to Life?
Email me to get on the waiting list for my 6-week Making Love to Fear Masterclass or to set up a 15-minute call to explore one-on-one coaching.