Words to live by...

My world it moves so fast today

the past it seems so far away

and life

squeezes so tight that I can't breathe...

And every time I've tried to be

what someone else thought of me

so caught up

I was unable to achieve...

But deep

in my heart

the answer

it was in me...

And I made

up my mind

to define

my own destiny...

The lyrics above are the first verse from the song "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" which is the title track of Lauryn Hill's first album. This is one of those instances where music really had an impact and influence on my everyday life.

This song kind of describes my evolution as a man. Growing up my life moved so fast, and lacked it's own direction. I felt the pressures of society. I felt like a lot of decisions I made were influenced on what was considered important by the by the masses, and not by me. It wasn't that I was a follower or anything, but I just kind of went along with the established status quo of the world. When I finally figured out that my life wasn't about anyone elses idea of happiness or success but my own, I felt free. My life actually became my life.

That's why I am how I am. For the most part, I don't care what people think about me. I don't need to be cool, or to be what someone else wants me to be. I don't need to fulfill anyone elses expectations on what I do with my life, other than my own. I don't have goals of obtaining material things to make me feel accomplished, or goals of obtaining a career with a title to make me feel important. Like the song says, I made up my mind to define my own destiny.

I love my humble life. I love living my life slowly. I just try to take it all in, and enjoy every moment. I love blending in with the crowd. I love my cool little family. Being a great husband and a regular dad make me feel successful. Watching my kids evolve into good people who will make a positive contribution to the world is what makes me feel accomplished. I just love being comfortable enough to live my life on my terms, and not worrying about the pressures and influence of the outside world.

What makes me love this song even more is that Lauryn Hill really lived what she sang. This album won like 8 Grammy awards, but despite that we never heard another album from her again. She had a family, and her heart was no longer in music. She could have easily made another album, and made millions of dollars if she wanted to. Even though she felt pressure from fans and people in the music industry to make more music, she stayed true to herself and she stayed away. She wanted to live her life and raise her family out of the spotlight, and that's exactly what she did. I applaud her for that

So thanks again Lauryn for giving me these wonderful words to live by. I am very grateful.

Ok that's all for now... thank you for visiting and stay tuned...