Lessons from a Pinball Wizard
Did Pete Townsend of The Who inadvertently create the modern alchemical blueprint for surviving childhood trauma and transmuting it into a celebration of our authenticity as unique individuals—each with a gift to give?
The Who’s “Tommy” was one of those mysterious gatefold albums that my older sister had. It was a dark concept album dealing with explicit episodes of sexual abuse, betrayal, and personal teen triumph.
At its heart was the rejection of the axiom that states that if everything that happens to you is just a long stream of ups and downs, heartbreaks and breakthroughs—then we are always at the mercy of forces outside of us. We’re just pinballs ricocheting off one bumper or another, hoping we can stay in play. We develop victim mentalities and lose our personal sovereignty.
“Personal sovereignty is the concept of self-governance, meaning an individual has the ultimate authority over their own life, body and choices. It involves taking full responsibility for one’s actions and decisions, making choices based on personal values and principles.”
With personal sovereignty as our baseline, we become Pinball Wizards.
“He stands like a statue, becomes part of the machine
Feeling all the bumpers, always plays it clean
Plays by intuition, the digit counters fall
That deaf, dumb, and blind kid
Sure plays a mean pinball”
–The Who, Pinball Wizard
Let’s take a deeper dive into this quite revolutionary song and rock opera. It explores topics that are just hitting the mainstream today. First of all, the hero is a neurodivergent (possibly autistic) deaf, dumb, and blind kid–but he plays by intuition, and that never lets him down. He has been traumatized by sexual abuse at the hands of his wicked Uncle Ernie and bullied by his cousin–yet he rises from that pain, isolation, and betrayal to go on a journey of self-realization and become an unlikely champion at pinball. He does this by “feeling” and using his “intuition” while being in a flow state—all very modern psychological concepts.
You’d think the story would be much more likely to come out of modern trauma specialist Gabor Maté, rather than a 70s rock superstar. Concepts frequently mentioned by Maté, like mirroring, get full-song treatment in “Tommy.” This deaf, dumb, and blind boy finds peace in his own reflection—as we all do when our feelings are mirrored back to us by another. This is echoed later in the song “See Me/Feel Me,” as the protagonist pleads to be seen and understood for who he authenticately is:
“See me
Hear me
Touch me
Feel me”
After Tommy’s many trials he introduces himself as someone who “became aware this year.”
These are deep and almost taboo topics (a rock song about incestual abuse in 1969?) and all its themes are relevant today.
We don’t need to look very hard for our Uncle Ernie on the world’s stage. Aren’t we all struggling to find our authentic selves amidst systemic oppression? Aren’t we all that deaf, dumb, and blind boy that has been traumatized by living in a world of lies and abuse—desperate to be seen and heard for who we really are? Aren’t we all on a journey of self-discovery towards trusting our intuition, and our feelings?
The western world is on the verge of any number of types of collapse—and the powers that be are crumbling under the weight of their own lies. A quick peak at history will clearly reveal:
“We’re not gonna take it
Never did and never will”
Maybe Tommy showed up 50 years too early. Or, maybe like all great art—it still resonates as strong or stronger than it did when it was made. Its messages are clear: Embrace your trauma—it makes you who you are. Demand to be seen and heard for who you authentically are. Who you are is enough. Stand up to those in power that are liars and seek to control you. And, as corny as it sounds—alchemize your pain into unconditional love.
Until next time
Lennart and Scott