Since graduate and seminary days (60’s+) I have written a ton of songs. It came easily. Especially songs about my faith as if it were an appendage. However, since leaving the faith I have discovered that I am virtually “songless”. Delightful tunes that drove lyrics into a manageable song seem to disappear before I can set up chords and melody. This is a rationalization for the sudden lack of creative juices that used to flow unimpeded through my brain and body, often like a freight train. I miss those days, days full of working a tune into a listenable song using software to enhance its “sellability”.
Frankly, I never had much luck with marketing anything I produced, perhaps it wasn’t marketable in the first place, I don’t know. Always sounded good to me at the time of production. And, that’s the thing, it does sound good for a few days, perhaps weeks. But then when months have passed and one listens again you say to yourself, “What was I thinking?” Indeed! Did you think you were some kind of musical guru? It seems to follow like dust on a dresser. And, there will always be chunks of expectorated cat hairs tangled to resemble a regurgitated enchilada turned into some kind of failed musical notation. Spare me!
About Ed Anderson
I am "non-religious", not an atheist as some suppose, since after reading what I have written many wonder if I believe in "God", I just don't have a name for the concept, "God", nor do I have an origination story or theological mystery tour to stretch your faith. (I have no proof of what I believe and I wonder if my belief in "God" is supportable as I have increasing doubts.) I just can't accept an inflexible point of view that says, "I know what you need, and I know what you should know and here it is, you can have it too." Religionists present yet another obstacle to finding "truth" as they claim to have succeeded exclusively in finding it.
Having been a part of the religious scene for years it is clear to me how easily duped we are to believe in something we have no proof of, has caused an abundance of divisions, and "territorialized" people into believers and non-believers.
Furthermore, my belief in "God" equates to the larger perspective which includes an awareness of "God" in everything. I speculate at times whether or not consciousness is "God" So, my belief in "God" does not necessarily match up to the Christian/Judaeo tradition of a being existing somewhere in the beyond or in one's "heart". If there is a "God" he/she/it could be anywhere and in anything.
Though I believe in God, it is not a belief in the God of Scripture. Too many “holes” in Scripture to satisfy my inquiring mind. It may indeed point me in the right direction but I find it not only unreliable but full of plagiaristic thought and re-writing of some of history’s interesting solutions. I much prefer to trust the minds of men and women who conjecture on the basis of what we now know of our universe than those men and women who trust the minds of ancient spiritual guides who, in turn, contributed to a book allegedly “inspired” by God. It is all unprovable, either side of this argument, but I prefer to invest most of my thinking in current ideas rather than those that show little support in logic. Do I hear an "Amen"?
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