The Beauty Of It All

  Not being able to have any contact with my wife, I've had to do a lot of things by myself lately.  Last night at the laundromat, I had a lot of time to read while waiting for my clothes.  I've been reading Friendship With God by Neale Donald Walsch.  I don't think it's any accident that I'm reading these particular chapters at this particular time.  Neale specifically asks God how you can find joy in situations where you find yourself alone.  God tells him that you are never alone.  You always have God with you.
  Joy comes from being able to express your true inner being.  He said that your heart is the bridge between your soul and your mind.  When you, for whatever reason, keep from expressing yourself, you restrict the freedom of the soul to connect with others.  It is connection that brings the highest joy to both parties involved.  Fear, inhibition, shyness, self-loathing can all get in the way of connecting with others.  When you're alone, you can just sit still and connect with God.  Since we are all one, you are connecting with everyone when you connect with God.
  That's where I'm at right now.  I've found many opportunities lately to connect with God.  My mantra is 'I am love'.  This very blog is an expression of love from me to you, my readers.  You see, when I hear a Garth Brooks song or a Hatebreed song, I hear love being expressed in different ways.  I cry when I hear 'The Wolves' by Garth Brooks, but I also cry when I hear 'You're Never Alone' by Hatebreed.
  I cried when Andrew Wood (Mother Love Bone), Paul Gray (Slipknot) and Mr. Rogers died.  And it wasn't because I want them back or can't live without them.  It was because they each had found joy in expressing themselves to the world without shame, inhibition or selfish ambition.  They loved what they did and it shows.  I envy that pure joy of living that they each had.
  I cried when Charlie Bucket gave Willy Wonka back the Everlasting Gobstopper, when Han Solo shot Darth Vader's TIE fighter out of the sky, when Ben Stiller lifted the headphone from Mary's brother's ear and when three of Charlotte's offspring stayed in the barn with Wilbur.  All expressions of love.

Did You Know?

  This is probably more than you ever wanted to know about a band that you've probably never heard of.  They're called Living Sacrifice.  Now, you know I'm not religious so why do I like a Christian death metal band?  I'll tell you why.  Their music is intricate and brutal, yet melodic and beautiful.  Their soft drink of choice is Mountain Dew.  If you didn't know, that is most of what Kayla and I drink as well.  They once did a song about the perils of drugs that they dedicated to the memory of Andrew Wood, one of my favorite musicians.  He sang for both Malfunkshun and Mother Love Bone and died of a heroin overdose.
  Living Sacrifice come from Little Rock, Arkansas, which means little to me, but it does mean they don't generally come around to play at places I live, which sucks.  An interesting (to me, anyway) side note is that the drummer for Living Sacrifice went on to drum for Evanescence.  When I took my teenaged daughter to see Evanescence, I got to see him drumming.  Of course, their music is like five times slower than most Living Sacrifice songs,  but I wasn't there for myself, I was there for my girl.
  I've been listening to LS since 1992 when their album, Nonexistent came out.  I think they're still together, but I haven't heard anything new from them in years.  Nonexistent is still my favorite album of theirs.  Another good album from them was the Hammering Process.  The only other Christian metal group I like is called Focal Point.  They only put out one album before they disbanded, but it's a worthy one.  To me they sound somewhere between the Deftones and Hatebreed.  Please share with me some of your musical tastes.