Stoneman
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4/15/2018 2:33:08 PM
My Source Of Contentment
Yesterday, while i was in the middle of my daily 5 mile walk, a lady I never knew came up to me and said that she had been seeing me walk the trails for many years and that I always seemed so happy and content. What is the source of your contentment. I had to think about that question for a minute before I answered. This is due to the fact that the source of my contentment is multilayered. First is the fact that I am retired from my day jobs. Those were the source of my angst for over 30 years. But now, I just get up and walk and then come home to my music. Of course, there is also my wife. She is an integral part of my contented being. We never argue and she supports me in whatever I want to do. Plus, in my eyes, she is still hot! Seeing her and interacting with her daily brings me so much joy. But then, that is all visible from the surface of my life. But if you go deeper into my psyche you will find a familiar story indeed. One day I found music and it gave me a source of magical happiness that a whole lifetime of hardship and pain could not penetrate. I become obsessed with meeting, greeting, and conquering instruments. It started with the Sax and most recently has involved a certain slide guitar that I have been studying. With each instrument came the challenge of the unknown and doubts of other musicians furled my obsession with proving them wrong. I succeeded enough to become the multi-faceted producer and songwriter I wanted to be. You see my goal was to some day become a one man band. Only then would I be able to accurately this music that has been bubbling up from somewhere in the recesses of my talent vault. Then, came the challenge of genre. I wanted to learn to play and produce all the genres that I loved. So, it began. I turned my self built studio into a laboratory of sound. Reggae, Pop, Rock, Soul, Gospel, Funk, Jazz, R&B and Hip-Hop were all a part of my daily studies and with each new song I derive a certain amount of joy. It is the creative process that brings me contentment. I love to see the craziness swarming around in my brain coming out in the tracks that I produce. Each song is the culmination of many years of study. I am content because I have all he time, tools and facilties that I need to meet the many challenges before me musically.
Anyway, the lady that asked me why I was so fucking content followed up with how frustrated she was with the music industry and all that goes on. I had to give her an Amen! on that one. But I also encouraged her to lose herself in her music when she starts to feel discouraged. It is the music that always brings me back to being me. One song in particular called "Hope Is Still Alive" is a song that I like to listen to when I am down. It reminds me of how far we have come and that gives me hope for how far we can still go. After all these years and thousands of songs, I still have not written and produced the perfect song yet. The good news is that I have everything in place to write and produce that song. The fun is in the doing. The contentment is in the results. I listen to my shit all the time. It gives me peace to hear a piece of me in the airwaves. A long time ago I lost myself in my music. A long time ago I found myself and peace in my music. I am sure that a few of my musical friends here have experienced similar results. Would love to hear about it.
Much Respect,
Stoneman
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