The magical, mystical, sacred and divine nature of music

Music is a calling.  It's where our divine nature meets our fallible, flawed and imperfect selves.  Inspiration is divine and perfect.  We are mere channels for the higher part of ourselves, the universe, god, whatever name suits you.  The inspiration that calls us is perfect, yet we are not.  Music, in my opinion, is a place where our divine nature and humanity intersect.  We sense there's something more to life than just work, bills, survival and so on and so we attempt to tap into this and express these feelings through music.

The pursuit of music as a career can be frustrating, because we are constantly bumping up against these imperfect parts of ourselves and the world around us.  Like when you have an idea for a song that you can't quite get out.  Or a vocal line that you can't quite execute perfectly.  Or when you know deep down that you have what it takes to "make it", but you're forced to deal with the business side of music and the personalities that the business world consist of.

This is why, to me, the pursuit of a career in music is so noble and humbling.  We're forced by our very limited, human nature, to deal with all these obstacles that are a part of being human.  We have to figure out a way to make money, provide for ourselves and our loved ones and navigate our way through life as mere mortals.  Yet we know, perhaps intuitively, that there's something more.  There's something special about being alive that goes beyond the mere superficial aspects of life.  Music, at its finest, reflects and taps into this aspect of ourselves and the world around us. There are some feelings and ideas that can't be put into words. Language is a great tool but it has severe limitations.  Music is a language for the soul.

Maybe this sounds a bit woo woo and "out there".  But think about it.  Where do songs even come from? Can you really explain how you "write" a song or "harness inspiration"?  Words fall short in terms of really explaining the creative process.  Sure we can articulate to a certain extent what we're doing when we write songs. We pick up our guitar and sit down, perhaps have a glass of wine and wait for inspiration to strike. But where does that inspiration come from?  From other songs and other musicians?  Where did there ideas come from?  

I have had my share of frustrations and setbacks along my path, but I've noticed very clearly that when I'm true to myself and I pursue life with courage and I trust that inner voice that quietly is there leading the way, I never go wrong.  Things don't always turn out the way that I want them to, but they always work out.  Conversely, I've had periods of my life where I have ignored my intuition and guidance and things at times have gone very wrong.  There is a price to pay for ignoring our dreams and aspirations.  

I do my best to teach other musicians how to make money and understand the business side of the music business. I do this, because at the end of the day, I think the world needs music and musicians as much we need air and water.  As much as I do my best to educate musicians about how the business works, I can't guarantee anyone success.  As much as I think that it's dangerous to ignore your dreams and intuition, this doesn't mean that you'll immediately find massive success by following and pursuing your passion.  However, what I do believe with absolute certainty, and what life has taught me over and over again, is that when you're true to yourself AND you work hard at your goals with a sense of conviction and trust that things will work out, they do.  It's sort of hard to put into words, but I guess Mick Jagger said it best when he sang. "you can't always get what you want, but if you try sometime, you might just find, you get what you need".

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