The Light in the Road

This week’s lesson and coaching did not go so well. They weren’t horrible, but they were not the extremely positive experiences they had been last week. That is ok. Circle of life and all that crap. But, I have noticed something that I need to continue to work on: centering on the positive. Last week, I had done so much meditation, and was able to get my heart chakra open. Maybe I should say something about that: I probably have mentioned that the “end game” of my vocal development, this part where there is just fine tuning to be done, annoying fine tuning that my sweeping generalities kind of mind finds hard to concentrate on, is enough to get me sent to the funny farm (where maybe I could learn to be funny. Secret!)

Anyway, I equate it to the mind games that a sportsman plays with himself before the game--he psyches himself up, making himself believe that he can win. That’s what I am going through on some level right now. Last week was such a contrast to this week because of this “focusing on the positive” idea. The problem is, you gots to be vigilant, wacking those negative impulses out of your head. Really, you don’t try to get rid of them, you just shift your focus to the positive. I’ve been too yin-y and need to be yang-y.

Grunge is out people! The frustrated intellectual who wears all black and sees the universe as a decrepit place is so 90s. I think that I have enjoyed wallowing in the mire for far too long. Now is the time where I have somehow allowed myself to stand up and see the horizon. I kind of forgot it was there. This week, though, was an involuntary slip back into the pit. Must stand up and escape. There are parts of me that don’t want to leave the darkness.

Speaking of the mire… Just finished a truly remarkable book called “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy. Now, this is truly a masterpiece of writing like I have never seen. Spectacular wordsmanship. Truly amazing. Please read it. It is really one of the best books I have seen in a long time. It may not necessarily be the right book for someone like me who is refocusing on the positive. Let’s just say Pollyanna does not make a guest appearance in the book. But, I could hardly put it down and it has been strongly in my mind since I read it. McCarthy has to be one of the most gifted writers I have encountered. Did I mention it won the Pulitzer?