Let me be the greatness that I am
Let me revel in my human divinity
Let me be the being that you created in all aspects of myself
Nothing more
Nothing less
Categories
Affirmation
Tag: inner peace
Ian Tyson began making a living as a rodeo rider. After breaking an ankle in a spill, Tyson began playing the guitar. As things turned out, rodeo riding was not to be his destiny. Tyson went on to become a famous Canadian folksinger and songwriter. After spending an evening with Bob Dylan, Ian wrote his first song, namely “Four Strong Winds.” It is widely recognized as one of the best folk songs ever written.
While singing in clubs and on college campuses, Tyson met Sylvia Fricker. The duo began singing together and eventually became known throughout North America as Ian & Sylvia. After some time on the road, the duo decided to go to New York to seek a manager and a record label. They succeeded. Vanguard Records released their first album titled “Ian and Silvia” in 1962. The couple married three years later. Ian & Silvia, along with Gordon Lightfoot, are the most popular folk and pop recording artists to emerge from Canada.
“Four Strong Winds” is another song about lost love, but I find great beauty in the words and the melody. I hope you can too. The song is usually strummed, but I’m using a finger-picking method. Here’s my cover.
Categories
The Place To Be
I want to be there. It’s better over there.
Doing that.
Wait.
Take a breath.
If I’m not here now, it won’t be better over there.
I am here. Now. Doing what I’m doing.
If it’s not good enough, I will make it better.
Right here.
Right now.
Categories
Phil Ochs: Changes
I always thought Phil Ochs was your basic regular-guy-folk-music icon until reading a few articles about the man. I’ve learned that Phil Ochs was anything but regular.
As a boy, Ochs enjoyed going to the movies. His favorite heroes were James Dean and John Wayne. Always a dreamer, Ochs fantasized about becoming a stoic cowboy like John Wayne, a teenage rebel like James Dean, or a rockabilly sex symbol like Elvis Presley. He took his early love of Hollywood to New York where he became one of the most celebrated folk singers in the world. He surfaced in Greenwich Village where he wrote songs so profusely that friendly rival Bob Dylan complained that he couldn’t keep up with him. At the same time, Ochs became a social activist leading protests against the Vietnam War with songs like “I Ain’t Marchin’ Anymore.”
Recognition came too late for Phil Ochs. He suffered from undiagnosed and untreated bipolar disorder. Ochs committed suicide in 1976 thinking himself a failure.
His song “Changes” is a soft philosophical ballad exploring the transient nature of human life. Everything changes, including our relationships, the seasons, our ages, and our circumstances. Through it all, Ochs believed we have an obligation to make a meaningful contribution to life. Ochs left behind his beautiful music and deeply held beliefs.
Here is my cover of “Changes.”
Categories
A Prayer
Let Me Be a Conductor of Light and Energy rather than a Resistor
Everything will come to you in its due time. Do you want peace? It will come to you. Do you want love? It will come to you. Do you want joy? It will come to you. All you have to do is keep intending and act on your intentions. Then, reap the rewards of what you have sown. And then, keep intending and acting.
Categories
Effortless Effort
Whatever you are doing, relax. With an effortless effort and a well-directed intention, it will all work out.
Categories
Be The Light
If in our daily life, we can smile; if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. This is the most basic kind of peace work.
Thich Nhat Hanh
Categories
Finding More Love
When you find more love within yourself, you will find more love for everyone and everything.
Cat Stevens rose to prominence as a folk and pop artist in the 1970s. I’ve always enjoyed the thread of childlike innocence and spontaneity that runs through his music. After a near-death experience, Stevens began a serious search for a deeper meaning in life. In 1977, he left his rock and roll lifestyle and converted to Islam adopting the name Yusuf Islam.
Stevens wrote “The Wind” five years before his conversion. The song has always been one of my favorites. It’s a simple song that speaks volumes. In a 2022 Rolling Stone interview, Stevens (Yusuf) shared these thoughts about The Wind:
“I’m talking to somebody; I think it’s the divine, but I’m not quite sure, and because I’m not sure, it’s universal. My goal was to be able to detach myself from my physical surroundings and material things. I was very earnestly searching. I would visit esoteric bookshops whenever I could, and pick up whatever new pathway to the truth I could find.”
Here’s my cover of the song played in Yusuf Islam’s unique guitar style.
Heart Banter by David Gittlin 