Just Beyond the Light: Making Peace with the Wars Inside Our Head

by D. Randall Blythe

get stuck wandering around inside my head, which (sadly for me) happens to be a really bad neighborhood to get lost in.

With the proper perspective, we can determine what actually matters in life and what is inconsequential, thereby saving a ton of mental, physical, and emotional energy. When we are not so exhausted by endless worry over a ton of trivial bullshit, we can instead clearly and calmly face issues of true gravity without losing our minds.

One day, each of us will stop breathing, and no one not-breathes better than anyone else.

Everyone is perfectly equal in death, and in the end, you’re no better than a piece of roadkill rotting beside the highway.

Death is life’s participation trophy.

“What do you mean you have no idea? Aren’t you supposed to be a Zen master?” The Zen master replies, “Yes, but I’ve never been a dead Zen master.”

But the idea of being dead itself doesn’t scare me. Why should it? It’s inevitable, so I might as well accept it. In the interim, I want to make the most of what time I have left

For a day or two, this fear overwhelmed me until I realized that (just as with virtually all cases of fear I experience) I was really just thinking about myself.

Plus, as we say down south: “Every good redneck needs a rabbi.” (Okay, okay, so we don’t say that down south, but it’s true.)

Empathy requires attentive listening, so I shut my mouth and listened.

prohairesis (reasoned choice and free will)

When someone’s life is coming to an end and they spend time with you, don’t take a single second of it for granted. They are giving you a piece of the only thing they have left.

Busting balls is a fine art, one I love practicing with my family and friends,

My fave

Another way I like to explain my career is this: although my job title on tax forms is “professional musician,” I am actually a glorified traveling black T-shirt salesman. In other words, kids: merchandise is where the money is.