A Life Well Lived Been thinking so long and so hard about why we sometimes choose to live out othe

r peoples dreams and expectations over our lives. For as long as I can remember I have only wanted to do one thing and that was to make music, in whatever shape or form. Without it, my life just didnt seem complete.

I started playing piano at the age of 8 years old; incidentally my eldest son is 9 years old already. I suppose thats the reason I am feeling this way. I look at him and remember the little dreams I had as a kid and the belief that I was to be somebody great someday. A great musician or singer perhaps. I threw myself in to music from then on. All through my adolescence and youth, my memories are pep pered with rehearsals, concerts, youth camps, church services and the like. I ca n never remember a period of time where I wasnt playing music in some way. Even i f it was just me at home with a piano or guitar.

Enter adulthood. As soon as I completed my education, modern society and the pre valent culture of the 90s told me that I needed to get out into industry and make it. Making it was understood to mean succeeding in business, career or academics as we understand it today. Pursuing a life of purpose and destiny through the us e of ones gifts were always secondary. Go get a REAL job was always the response o f those tasked with advising us as young people.

Well now Ive so-called Made it. Ive conquered my vocation and career with some succe ss. Granted, I have not achieved as much as I could have, but I live a fairly st able and successful life. If this was what we were supposed to achieve as human beings, why do I still lay my head down at night and still think about music, my passion? Why do I still stop when I see or hear a live band playing in the mall or at church? Why do I still insist on finding the nearest music equipment stor e when I visit a new city? Could it be that judged by the standards of God, who is the author of my destiny, I have not Made it? Should I have paid more attention to that still small voice within me that told me to pursue with absolute resolu tion what I knew I was created for?

You see, in my opinion, the world and society as we know it has conquered most o f what there is to conquer. Money and finance has squeezed creativity out of the fabric of our society with great effect. There are very little new inventions ( in regard to industry), or rather, the pace of new inventions has slowed dramati cally. Banks and finance corporations own and control everything. So, in effect, once you have reached a certain place in your career, you might as well realise that there is very little further you can go. You may well be the best engineer , lawyer, artisan or whatever; you can only ever think of storing up huge retire ment packages and then hope that you can survive on it for 20 30 years after you decide to stop working. Even so, the majority of people who retire at 65 cannot afford to do so. Which beggars the question: If pursuing your dream will make y ou broke, why is it that after working in a REAL job for two-thirds of your life y ou stand the risk of retiring broke anyway? It doesnt make sense.

So what am I saying? Im saying that the only thing that cannot be controlled succ essfully by this world is your ability to be creative. Its a gift that cannot be

bought or sold. Its built into you. Think about this: after thousands of years an d all the songs that have been written, how come people still write new songs? H ow come sportsmen still continue to push the boundaries of physical achievement? This is what being a human being is about. Harnessing your gift and using it to the fullest. This is what brings you success in life. It may not bring financia l success as told to us by our culture, but it brings fulfilment which equals a happy existence. Failure to live out your destiny is what mid-life crises are al l about. Dont let it happen to you. While you are enjoying the fruits of your lif etime of labour, your still, small voice will grow ever louder and regret and diss atisfaction will take over your life.

I will be taking my own advice from hereon in. Lord help me! .