The level of chaos in the world seems alarmingly high right now. And it may be, I don't have the historic perspective, and I don't have the geographic perspective. Maybe somewhere in the world it finally feels calm. If that place exists I wish them well.
For the rest of us we have to decide how much raw, unfiltered reality we can handle each day. Can I watch the news? Is social media going to ruin my hope for our species again? You can only hide behind work, or family, or heavy drug use for so long. We need an outlet for our emotional angst to purge the bad spirits, and then we need a thread that connects us back to our center.
The answer, as it's always been, is music.
I've found only a handful of things that can do this for me. Rock Climbing makes me forget my problems because I have to pay attention to the serious task at hand. Skiing. Fishing a remote mountain lake. But I can't do one of those things every day, and I need an every day kind of fix currently.
The answer, as it's always been, is music. It's compact, travels well, fits almost any social situation even if you're by yourself. It doesn't require your full attention, but it keeps you from paying all of your attention in one place for too long. Listening to music doesn't ask much of you it just gives. The best friend you could ever ask for and better therapy than most things that are legal.
So it's clear to me that what is wrong with the world today is that there's just not enough music. We have to fill it up. If we end up broke and destitute, adrift in chaos, we can always find our way back.
So get your mind right, Hit This Button to Power Up. Go ahead, click play.