The Road That Leads to Nowhere - The Road That Leads to You

In the song "Pilgrim" Enya beautifully sings about a philosophy of being-a metaphysical way to joyously live your life. The second verse reveals timeless wisdom. "One way leads to diamonds, one way leads to gold, another leads you only to everything your told. In your heart you wonder which of these is true; The road that leads to nowhere, the road that leads to you." One Way Leads to Diamonds - One Way Leads to Gold Roads that lead to either diamonds or gold are no doubt fruitful paths to embark upon. Tragically most people never discover either path. Instead they stumble down roads of pain and suffering-never learning from the trials and tribulations everyday life places on their path. Others aimlessly drift down the road of mediocrity-leading lives of quiet desperation. Often these roads tempt people with immediate gratification. They offer plenty of short-term "thrills" such as drugs, excessive alcohol consumption, jumping from bed to bed in search of sexual pleasure, gluttony, over-indulgence in television, etc. Eventually a person's senses become dulled and the road they so enthusiastically embraced suddenly becomes one of pain and suffering (it's 'funny" how these are the only feelings that are enhanced) or at best a road of boredom-boredom that is sometimes interrupted with a few mild pleasures. Fortunately there are roads that are littered with diamonds-paths that actually lead you to that illusive pot-of- gold. Another Leads You Only to Everything You're Told From the time we're born to the day we finally enter eternity-outside influences attempt to mold us into "society boy or society girl." Our parents, friends, lovers, civic leaders, religious figures, the news media, etc. influence how we think and feel. Of course, some of the influences in our lives have good intentions and others are helpful. However many are purposively attempting to brainwash us with their propaganda so they can gain control over our lives. Very few can escape the clutches of these predators. They end up living their lives on the road of everything they've been told. The beginning of personal enlightenment means that you discover that you are wandering down a path you didn't consciously choose. You become aware of your surroundings. You realize that you may have unconsciously chosen this path-and you begin to wonder if a different road is available for your journey. Ads by Google In Your Heart You Wonder Which of These is True You look around at your surroundings. You think "How did all of this come about?" Why am I manifesting these things instead of my dreams, desires and fantasies? Is this the life I want to live-or is there a happier, more fulfilling way to spend my days? During your meditations you realize that this must be what you have accepted all of your life. You can't remember when you believed differently. After all "others" claim that this is the "moral or right" way to live. You think "I have never questioned whether this is true or not." In the deepest recesses of my conscious mind I have fantasized about events and happenings I longed to experience-however if I revealed these to others they would accuse me of being selfish and self-centered. Is it possible that they are wrong? Could I possibly live for my own sake-walk a path I choose-do it my way? The Road that Leads to Nowhere - The Road that Leads to You When I first heard the song "Pilgrim" I thought that this verse meant that you walk down the road that leads to nowhere-frustration and lack of love-or you walk down the road to your soulmate-the path of love and sexual ecstasy. How sublime and romantic! It wasn't until listening to the song in a high state of awareness that I realized that "the road that leads to you" was the path to self-enlightenment-layered with gold, filled with diamonds. It is the discovery of the Holy Grail. I listened to the song at least four times in a row. Tears of joy spilled from my eyes-eyes that were actually "seeing." I was euphoric for hours. The whole song is a symphony of a wondrous journey-a journey to who you really are. So you do have a choice. You can stumble down the road that leads to nowhere-or you can joyfully glide down the road that leads to you.

Do You Really Listen To Lyrics, Or Just The Music?

I admit, I've found myself in the past enjoying a song without really listening to the lyrics, but for me, I really need a good combination of both. If you like songs simply for the beat, or rhythm, that's OK, but you should try to start listening closer to the words of the song, and see if you can figure out what the song means to you. There are some really great songwriters out there that many people have never even heard of. This article will mention a few of my favorites. RELATED ARTICLES Use Language Creatively When Writing Music Lyrics Psych yourself to Power With Southern Gospel Music Lyrics Feeling Blue? Cure it With Powerful Southern Gospel Music Lyrics How to Write Country Music Lyrics Are music and lyrics two separate beings? I say no, because while obviously they go together well, they can both exist independently from each other. That's why we have "instrumentals" and also "spoken word poets." Ok, so that makes me think "what about acapella" -- is it music or is it lyrics? I say, obviously it is music because it has a melody. So anyway, I got myself off track here and started talking about music in general, but as I said, I like songs that have a good combo of melody, lyrics, and instruments. I like a wide variety of music from all genres and time periods. Everything from classical instrumentals, to "oldies" from the 1950's and 1960's, to rap, rock , country and pretty much anything else that sounds good to me. An example of an artist whose songs I really enjoy, but honestly I don't even know what she's saying in her lyrics most of the time, is Enya. I like Enya and I listen to her music a lot, it's in rotation on my playlist. She makes absolutely beautiful music, but obviously I don't usually understand or pay a great amount of attention to her lyrics. There are some rap artists who have songs I like the lyrics for, but not necessarily the beat. Nas is a good example of this for me. Sometimes it takes listening to a track a few times before it catches on with me, but he is a very good lyricist. Don't get me wrong, he has some catchy tunes also. If I Ruled The World is a good example, it just sounds good all the way around, even if I don't agree with all the lyrics. Ads by Google A recent band that it took me awhile to get interested in, is Arcade Fire. I still only have their "The Suburbs" album, and I haven't heard any of their other stuff. I first saw them when I was shown a cool video made using the Arcade Fire song We Used To Wait (The Wilderness Downtown). That was cool. Then another of their songs popped up when someone showed me a Youtube video of a girl running track, she falls down, gets up, and wins the race. A good video with a good song behind it. So I bought their CD, and I'm glad I did. It took about playing the CD four or five times before I finally caught on to what the lyrics were saying in Sprawl II (Mountains beyond Mountains). When I noticed her say "Can we ever get away from the sprawl? Dead shopping malls, rise like mountains beyond mountains", I was immediately interested in the song, and it just kept getting better each time I listened to it. The singer, Régine Chassagne, performs the song perfectly, even though I've heard people criticize her voice. Regardless, it is the lyrics that primarily attracted me to the song, because I grew up in rural country areas, and have watched those areas turn into concrete jungles and suburban sprawl. Then we have a ton of garbage that calls itself rap, like Soulja Boy, and his stupid song Crank That. My apologies for hating this song. To each his or her own, I suppose, but this is not songwriting, and it barely qualifies as music even though it was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rap Song. It has terrible lyrics, and a boring repetitive beat. Give me some Nas, Eminem, Notorious BIG, or Outkast. In closing, I'll say my favorite songwriter of all-time, in any genre, is Ryan Adams. Check out his music.