Back to the Howling Dog Out in the Woods…

They say with age comes wisdom. While I believe this to be true, I feel more than wisdom is gained with age. We gain perspective. When we are young, we are adventurous to the point of wrecklessness. There is a sense of invulernabity that people approach life early on.

We strive for the exceptional life, traveling a “yellow brick road” to fame and glory. We constantly dream of being more than we are, no matter how successful our life has been. How many times have you imagined yourself as a music star or a great actor? I know all of us dreamed of fame and fortune.

With age comes perspective and the realization that the road we walk is endless and will never reach the great kingdom of Oz. No matter how much we achieve, the human soul craves more and will be unsatisfied.  It is human nature. There is a spark in each of us that strives to perfection even though we see clear as day that we are completely flawed.

We must come to a realization that perfection is impossible within the human framework. Perfection or success is not found on a road paved in gold or a penthouse in the highest building. We need to focus beyond the physical world of success.

It is the success of the soul.

Oh, I’ve finally decided my future lies beyond the yellow brick road.

Cultivation of one’s soul is where satisfaction in life comes from. It is clear there is moral right and wrong and a life focused and learned on the moral good will bring about our best life. You may or may not believe in God, but I do, and I believe that the key is to sow seeds of peace, love, and holiness while rooting out evil, hatred, and selfishness. These things will strangle one’s soul, causing misery and despair.

Now is the time…. change your perspective and let go of the unattainable. Go beyond the yellow brick road and find a fulfilled life cultivating your soul.

The Wealth of Knowledge

This weekend, I was mulling over my next article, but I wanted to reach out to those reading my blog. Topics come to me from listening to news, reading books and articles, and many times, music ignites a thought. This time, I would like the audience to ignite a thought or two.

What about you? Is there a topic or thought that you would like me to write about? I would like to pursue topics that my audience is interested it.

Please share in the comments any topics you would like to hear about. The pursuit of truth always continues, and we must persevere, persisting in the hunt.

I was bold in the pursuit of knowledge, never fearing to follow truth and reason to whatever results they led. -Thomas Jefferson

I look forward to your responses!

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Give Me the Beat, Boy, and Free My Soul…

For my entire life, music has been an important part of who I am. I grew up with a small briefcase style record player, tossing aside the kid’s records that my parents bought me and swiped their (much better) albums. ELO, The Beatles, Barry Manilow, and Ted Nugent were among several that I would put on headphones and let myself be carried away.

I have found that as I am older, music has become a type of therapy and a form of meditation.  A song can comfort during sadness or help release anger that is boiling up inside. Another way to use it is to bring you back to earlier times in your life. It is like time travel, but without the DeLorean. Nothing sparks a memory like a song. I can sometimes capture a feeling I had as a kid with the rift of an old song or a relevant lyric. I believe it was the book, All is Quiet on the Western Front, where the soldier tried to recapture memories and feelings before the war by reading through books he had read in the past. Unfortunately, he was unable to capture those feelings of comfort and his past. It is music that can do this!

Music is not just entertainment or background noise. It is a catalyst that can help an individual process emotions, memories, or feelings. It can bring back good memories but can also bring back the sad. Even through those sad memories, we can begin to heal and learn. Use that sadness to strengthen your resolve!

I am music,  and I write the songs.