In My Mind’s Zen Garden

I slept very early last night. I had to pick up my father-in-law from LAX yesterday. I left home around 10:30am and got back around 5pm. So, a big chunk of my day was spent picking him up from the airport in LA. The traffic was pretty good for most of the drive, but there were parts that were less than fun.

So, now I’m up at around 3am in the morning!

Merry Christmas!

And now that I’m up, I’m sort of in a reflective mood. And just reviewing my life this whole year.

Overall, it was a good year musically for me. In that respect I am blessed.

And I have a lot to be thankful for on Christmas Day. Being alive to experience another Christmas Day, for one.

I’m also thankful to have a very supportive wife who is behind me 100% with my musical endeavors. She’s a person who believes in me when others don’t.

Performing music is a very tough life sometimes. On the one hand, you have all these dreams or expectations. Goals. And then there is the harsh realities of the music business in general… at whatever level you are at, whether an international artist or just a struggling local musician like me.

Maybe like most things in life, it’s somewhat of a bittersweet pill.

But, I enjoy the struggle, I suppose.

And I’m going to be 50 next January, which is a very scary thought for me. As a musician, it can be very scary. As a human being it can be very scary. So, chances are, my life is more than half over. Unless, of course, I do make it to 100, then my life is exactly half over.

Anyway, once again I have a goal to get much better at playing piano. At 50, it’s more of a challenge. But, I’m already expecting some 6 hour days of practice in 2008.

And, that is why I’m so committed to trying to do whatever it takes outside of practice (diet, exercise, yoga) in order to improve at my age.

Incidentally, Christmas time is a very lonely time being primarily a raw vegan. First off, all the traditional sinful delights are being offered. And in my family I’m pretty much the only raw vegan around. So, I’m the oddball who isn’t eating anything on the Christmas dinner table.

But, Christmas time is spending it with family… so, onward I suffer… looking on at those cooked and baked foods that I used to eat, but have to pass on now.

By the way, eating a fresh garden salad gives me a LOT of energy. I ate a big salad for dinner before going to church and I was so hyper and fidgety throughout the whole church service.

Anyway, Christmas for me is a bittersweet pill. There is the good, the bad and the ugly.

I know that we all should focus on the good. I sincerely always want to. But, the reality is that life isn’t always a bowl of cherries. As great and awesome as it can be, Christmas time usually reflects life. And it can truly be insane on any day of the year, including Christmas.

Well, enough Christmas ramblings…. I just hope everyone has a great and grand day today.