Whoa! Didja get the numbers off that truck?!?

July 28, 2003 - 9:32 p.m.

Rock and Roll Religion

You can�t always get what you want.
You can�t always get what you want.
You can�t always get what you want.
But if you try sometimes, you�ll find
You�ll get what you need.

Mick was right on with that sentiment. The song came on the radio as I was driving to work last Friday morning in a particularly foul mood. I was beaten down and felt defeated. I posted the entry before this one that morning, and it was a form of relief from the melancholy. Writing is release for me, it�s therapeutic. I�ll say this, as base as it may sound: writing for me is sometimes like taking a shit. It gets the poisonous bad feelings out of my system and allows me to get on with the day. I actually wrote that Thursday night before and I�m proud to say it made it to this page nearly intact with very small edits. Thank you for all the positive comments on how good it was, I promise to produce more. Of course someone who is close to me pointed out that if I write about �voices that transcend lifetimes� I�m sure to tug the heartstrings of some of my readers. I know she�s right.

Friday was Mick Jagger�s birthday, and the station I was listening to was featuring his music. The words to that song reached out and grabbed me, as song lyrics often do. I�ve heard that song a hundred times at least, Let it Bleed was a regular feature on my Voice of Music turntable when I was in high school. Every song on that album has merit; I�d love to have a copy of it today.

But the lyrics never grabbed me, never was the melody as perfect as it was on that day. It spoke to me, that song did, with special significance because I needed those words right there and then. Of course I turned it up.

Sometimes the randomness of life�s experiences will develop a pattern of importance, if you pay attention to the details. Sometimes we get just what we need at just the right time. That song came along at just the right time and it lifted me up. Some folks are inspired by a church sermon, or a special hymnal. Some people are inspired by the words in a book and they highlight the paragraphs they like so they are easier to find as they re-read, almost wearing the words off the pages.

It was rock and roll for me baby, in that car on that black cloud morning where my world lacked hope. I�m sure one of my guardian angels was smiling and moving to the beat as he/she was explaining Life to me in a way only I could understand. I was somehow transformed as I blew through the last toll on my way into work, my I-Pass transponder working its electronic magic for me. I moved past the significance of what I wrote, the magnitude of what was bothering me grew smaller. I knew deep in my heart that everything was going to be all right. Didn�t Muddy Waters say that for all of us at one time? I knew in a small way that �eva-thing� was gonna be all right now� oh yeah�� I felt much better.

Dear Readers, what am I leading up to?

Foundations are built brick by brick. Firm foundations are built that way. Sometimes we�re distracted by the physical realm and this gets in the way of setting those bricks in place. The song I heard on the radio that morning was a mere prelude to learning that lesson. True friendship sometimes takes time to evolve and the noise encountered in the physical realm distracts us from the true meaning, and it gets in the way of the evolution. If we cast that aside we can sometimes allow the other aspects to develop and it can be more rewarding; the foundation means more, becomes more solid. Bricks and mortar are cemented in communication and understanding. The foundation must stand before the house will weather the storms of time.

I�m happy to report that I put more than a few bricks in place this weekend. I gained a better understanding of myself in the process. There are no easy answers to the questions I keep asking the dog, but I do know that I passed this personal milestone with more questions answered.

If you try sometimes you�ll find you get what you need.

the last one -*- the next one