What are you thankful for? I am thankful for my family and friends. I am thankful to be relatively healthy, wealthy and wise. I am thankful for Rock and Roll.
For the past few years, every Thanksgiving, I surprise my best friend Rob with a CD of songs with the words "Thank" and "Give" in their titles. I usually drive by his house very early in the morning and slip the CD into his newspaper on his lawn. He frequently asks me, "Why the Hell do you get up so early?"
This year's setlist is:
"Thanks a Lot" - Ernest Tubb
"Thank the Lord for the Night Time" - Neil Diamond
"Thank You (Live at BBC)" - Led Zeppelin
"Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" - Sly and the Family Stone
"I Thank You" - ZZ Top
"Thank You" - Dido
"Thank You For The Music" - ABBA
"Thanks for the Pepperoni" - George Harrison
"Give a Little Bit" - Supertramp
"Give My Love to Rose" - Johnny Cash
"Give Peace A Chance" - Joe Cocker
"He Gives Us All His Love" - Randy Newman
"You Never Give Me Your Money" - The Beatles
"I Can't Give You Anything" - The Ramones
"Let's Give This Love a Try" - John Hiatt
"Never Gonna Give Your Up" - Rick Astley
For as long as I remember, Music has brought me, my family and my friends, great joy. I am happy to report that it seems to bring my 1-year old granddaughter joy as well. There is great power in music to lift our spirits above the sorrow and tribulation of this world. That is definitely something to be thankful for.
Personally, Rock and Roll music continues to bring me the greatest joy, contentment and satisfaction. Whenever I've had a particularly rough day, I can listen to "Ramble Tamble" by Creedence, or "One" by U2, or "Like a Rolling Stone" by Dylan and I am instantly soothed and comforted. I hope music has that effect in your lives. If so, be thankful.
Thank you, Rock and Roll.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Ignorance is Bliss
Are you happy? What makes you happy?
I took a poll of my friends, asking them what makes them happy. The range of responses was staggering. On one end of the spectrum, a friend said "Winning the Lottery would make me happy." On the other end, another friend said, "Getting through the day without everything going to Hell makes me happy".
James Taylor said, the "Secret O' Life" is "enjoying the passage of time...any fool can do it, there ain't nothin' to it". Is he saying that we should just enjoy being alive? The point of that song, unless I am missing it completely, is we should just "enjoy the ride". I know people who are perfectly content being passengers through life. While someone else is driving, they are just staring out the window, enjoying the view, watching the other cows and sheep by the side of the road. Not me.
Like the spectrum of answers to my question of happiness, there is a spectrum of people in this world. Some are successful and happy (or do they just appear happy?). Some are successful and unhappy (why?). Some are unsuccessful and unhappy (makes sense to me). Some are unsuccessful and happy (WTF. Ignorance is bliss, I guess). I suppose the answer may be different for each of us. What makes you happy might make me sad or angry, and vice-versa. I also suppose it would be a boring world if the same things made everyone happy.
Being together with the ones you love, like in the classic song "Happy Together" by the Turtles, may be a universal source of happiness among all people. Achievements of any kind, great or small, generally make people happy. Receiving praise for a job well done makes us happy.
"If it makes you happy, it can't be that bad", says Sheryl Crow. I believe she's right, at least in most instances. If hating or hurting people for no good reason makes you happy, that's bad. There appears to be an exception to every rule, except for death and taxes. So, perhaps it's not a good idea to think too much about what makes you happy. If you think about it too much, you might conclude that you are unhappy. Perhaps Ignorance is Bliss.
I took a poll of my friends, asking them what makes them happy. The range of responses was staggering. On one end of the spectrum, a friend said "Winning the Lottery would make me happy." On the other end, another friend said, "Getting through the day without everything going to Hell makes me happy".
James Taylor said, the "Secret O' Life" is "enjoying the passage of time...any fool can do it, there ain't nothin' to it". Is he saying that we should just enjoy being alive? The point of that song, unless I am missing it completely, is we should just "enjoy the ride". I know people who are perfectly content being passengers through life. While someone else is driving, they are just staring out the window, enjoying the view, watching the other cows and sheep by the side of the road. Not me.
Like the spectrum of answers to my question of happiness, there is a spectrum of people in this world. Some are successful and happy (or do they just appear happy?). Some are successful and unhappy (why?). Some are unsuccessful and unhappy (makes sense to me). Some are unsuccessful and happy (WTF. Ignorance is bliss, I guess). I suppose the answer may be different for each of us. What makes you happy might make me sad or angry, and vice-versa. I also suppose it would be a boring world if the same things made everyone happy.
Being together with the ones you love, like in the classic song "Happy Together" by the Turtles, may be a universal source of happiness among all people. Achievements of any kind, great or small, generally make people happy. Receiving praise for a job well done makes us happy.
"If it makes you happy, it can't be that bad", says Sheryl Crow. I believe she's right, at least in most instances. If hating or hurting people for no good reason makes you happy, that's bad. There appears to be an exception to every rule, except for death and taxes. So, perhaps it's not a good idea to think too much about what makes you happy. If you think about it too much, you might conclude that you are unhappy. Perhaps Ignorance is Bliss.
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