Free Your Mind
Every Thursday night I would leave for school – driving through the Central Valley to Santa Barbara to study Jungian Psychology. Before I would hit the Grapevine, I would always seem to be listening to the disco hit, “Don’t Leave Me This Way.” My heart is full of love and desire for you. You know the one. I would usually roll down the windows and sing.
As I approached the top of the mountain Lynard Skynard’s Freebird would usually start playing – one of the greatest songs of all time. I was certain at the time I was a “freebird,” too. One of those free spirits being tied down and unable to spread my wings. I’m not sure who wrote Freebird but I’m pretty sure it was someone that was already married. It’s taken me a while to realize the truth of Freebird. If you’re single and not in love then Freebird probably isn’t high on your list of all time best tunes because you are already a “Freebird.”
What’s my point? My point is that it’s always those that have a taste of something that want more. You know the expression, “the grass is always greener on the other side.” Well, it’s not really. I’m writing from the other side. I’ve been on the east coast, I’m now on the west coast. I’ve been in love, and now I’m out of love. I’ve lived in the USA, I’ve lived outside of the USA. The grass isn’t greener. The grass is exactly the same and sometimes when we live in the past and dwell in psychedelic visions of climbing the Grapevine to bliss, we miss the true greatness of the moment.
Nothing replaces the moment – whether you’re free as a bird or chained to the ground – it’s all a state of mind. Never love less than you can in a moment that will soon pass you by. Or, in the immortal words of En Vogue, “Free your mind and the rest will follow.”