Blowin’ Still

I believe that, as children, we know deep down what we came to earth to do. Isn’t it uncanny how children have that inner knowing? Unfortunately, well-meaning adults, unkind siblings, and playmates don’t always believe in us or our stories. Especially if our ideas are grandiose and outside the box of convention. Grownups have so little imagination given all that they have to worry about. Believing in the zany dreams of a child is not their primary concern most days. And then we lose that innocent belief that anything is possible. We stop believing in ourselves and our hearts.

When I was a very young kindergartener, I announced to my mother that someday I would sing like Peter, Paul and Mary, an iconic folk group back in the sixties. Her response was, as one would expect, polite but dismissive.

Almost 50 years later, I recorded my version of PP&M’s song, “Blowin’ in the Wind” with my band, Simple Souls. I called it “Blowing Still.” It has subsequently been published and can be found pretty much anywhere music is digitally streamed or sold.

I wonder… what did you love to do as a child that you lost all track of time doing? Did you have a dream that someone scoffed at? Do you remember not being believed when you said you were going to become something special to you? Did you give up and believe you couldn’t do it because the vision or dream was just too big or beyond the status quo for your family or social circles?

You may not have known the context under which it would or could happen. Maybe you still don’t. You may have not known the details, and perhaps what you saw has not even been created yet. But I do believe it will be. If you can see it, you can be it.

I never imagined that I would record my first album in my fifties. So remember, it’s never too late for you either.

Just because we don’t have the answers now, my friend, it doesn’t mean they don’t exist. They just don’t exist yet. The answer is somewhere around in the ethers. It’s blowing in the wind, my friend. Our job is to reach up and grab it when we hear it blow by.

Writing songs is very much like that for me. I hear them in the wind. I know that I have to reach up and pull the lyrics and melody down to earth or they will fly right by me and someone else will hear the song and write it down. There are times I have written a song down when driving because I didn’t want it to pass me by. And I’ll sing it all the way home at the top of my lungs so I don’t forget what I’ve heard. I’ve learned to keep my phone handy to record voice memos for this purpose.

And I never imagined that I would be telling this story from the vantage point of my sixties.

So don’t give up on that childhood dream, my friend. It’s never too late to be what you might have been.

Distilled into three simple words, the tonic for today is: Dare to dream.

Looking for bite-sized daily wisdom, hope, and encouragement? Check out “Lessons in the Key of Today” on the Divine Moonshine YouTube channel.

I write for those who dare to dream, for those who choose to live a soul-led life. Written in coffeehouse style, my album, Naked & Undone recorded with my band, Simple Souls, is available wherever digital music is streamed or sold. Click here for more info.

Would you like to say thanks? Now you can buy me a coffee! Just click on the cup above. And thank you! ☕️?