How it all came to be
In the wisest traditions of the world it is taught that in order to get the most out of life we have to live totally in the moment. Indeed, each moment is a new reality, and while it is easy to intellectually understand this, it a bit trickier to actually live in accordance with that knowledge. After all, unless we are someone like the Dalai Lama, raised from boyhood to have a completely holy existence, our experiences with this approach to living might be less ingrained, harder to grasp, and seemingly impossible to maintain throughout our daily lives. Be that as it may, we all still manage to have those occasional moments that remind us, that jolt us, that awaken something we didn’t even know was asleep, and maybe didn’t even know existed.
That is how I felt the first time I wrote a song. I was absolutely surprised. In fact, it felt like I had found a secret that had been hidden from me, or that I had hidden from myself. This is a strange thought to have; after all, why would I hide something from myself? Perhaps it can be explained by the old saying, when the student is ready then the teacher will appear. Nonetheless, it was clear to me at that moment, to my astonishment, that I was a songwriter.
That “ I’m a Songwriter” revelation was sometime in 1996 as I recall. Since that time, the teacher (my life) has been devotedly teaching, and the student (that’s me!) has been gradually learning, sometimes enthusiastically, sometimes begrudgingly. Along the way I have managed to craft some songs that I feel pretty fondly of, in fact, I actually like them enough to share with other people (hopefully that’s you!). So far, one CD has emerged. Please have a listen, send me a note after you do (as long as it’s nice), and get signed up on my mailing list so I can keep you informed of all the Grammies I win! But really, I do hope you find something of value in the music I have selected to share, and humbly invite you to partake in my musical journey as much as you so desire. John