happiness

I'm at the beach for a week-long vacation with my honey and I'm so happy. We're having so much fun just doing nothing, reading books, napping on the sand, walking around - just being together. It's great being in love! But it makes me wonder about the importance I put on my music and songwriting career. When I'm home, it seems to be all I think about and how I "need" it to fulfill my life. As soon as I'm away from it, the pressure is off. Of course, I know it's still in the back of my mind, vacations are temporary things that you allow yourself to let go for a week or so. I still want the success - it's an inner thing, a fulfillment of my soul. But when we're children, we're happy, even before we've accomplished a single thing or written a song or whatever. Happiness is just a state of being. And being on vacation at the beach with my love is a state of being. All that stuff, that weight, is lifted. Isn't that why adults get so miserable in their lives, from the weight of existence? Too many responsibilities and unfulfilled desires and pressure. Isn't our natural state, without all the other stuff, happy? And isn't all that other stuff all made up? It's all in our mind, right? It's my mind telling me "I need this, I have to do that, I must live up to so-and-so, I feel guilty for not taking care of that person's needs", etc. The mind can be enemy or friend. So vacations are great for getting back to basics, for remembering our natural state of joy. Of enjoying the simple things in life: an ocean breeze, a good book, a nice meal eaten leisurely. What will happen when I get home? Will I immediately go back to worry and what's wrong and why has success alluded me? All that mental battering....I'll just try to remember the simple things of what really matters....

And yes, I still want my songs heard on radio world-wide, and a large festival gig, and a #1 song on the Billboard charts....but for now, I'm happy without those things...