Music knows no boundaries. It transcends every language, breaks down every perceived barrier we have. It enters straight into our hearts, minds and souls because it is divinity in its very essence. Music is love.
Music is connection. And connection demands courage in the form of a willingness to let go of our comfort zones enough to embrace discomfort and authentically show up for ourselves and others.
Unknowns are limitless. This is why knowing – or at least, thinking we know – can often feel better than not knowing. Yet, to participate on a deeper, more soulful level, we must find the courage to meaningfully connect – to trust ourselves enough to relax and find satisfaction in the experience of discomfort itself.
For many years, while writing and performing my original songs (allowing them to “fall out,” as it more fittingly feels, to me), there were times I felt ignorant, embarrassed and uncomfortable about how little I knew about my very own work. I’ve had people come up to me after a performance and ask, “What were you doing in this part of the song?” or “Why did you choose to go to that chord there?” or even, “What is it [your song] all about?” I should know the answers to all such questions…after all, it’s my own work. But the truth is, I haven’t always had the answers.
It’s not that I have any more answers now than I did before but I can say that, in my relationship between myself and the music that G-d sends through my soulful being, I have finally become genuinely comfortable with the ‘I don’t knows’ that are natural to being in connection as a singer songwriter; because that’s where all the beauty and possibilities live; where music thrives and grows; where the world becomes special; where the smallest moment can bring us instantaneously back, into our divine nature.
Sterling G. Wiseman
