A good life

So, in order to have a good death I need to live a good life.  That's the bottom line in Buddhism.  Or one of them.  And one of the ways I can get closer to that is to meditate.  Never been very good at that in the traditional sense.  I can meditate on subjects but as far as clearing my mind....?  Although I have noticed that the older I get, the easier it is to not hang onto thoughts.  Hmmmmmmm.

Impermanence

"Nothing stays the same" seems like a trite saying until you meditate on it, really examine it.   Really?  Nothing stays the same?  NOTHING??  Yes, nothing.  Not rocks, not people, not their bodies or their minds, not streets or buildings or relationships, everything is continually evolving and shifting. We go along, accept what life brings us, strive to create a reality that pleases us, try to live a life worth living and then comes the greatest thing we will ever do in our lifetime and that is die.  What we hope for is a good death and what makes for a good death is a good life.  So, by examining death, a subject that so many people, especially Westerners, find taboo (or, at least, extremely difficult), we are able to meditate on our ideas about living, and, hopefully, achieve some of what we idealize.  "Compassion and love and the attainment of knowledge" is, according to Buddhist masters, what life is all about.  I'm learning how nothing is permanent and studying why it is we grasp ahold of seemingly everything.  We try so hard to keep things from changing.  Being uncomfortable with change is to be uncomfortable with life.  The knowledge I'm striving for these days is how to be comfortable with life and all the changes it brings so that when my death comes (as it will to all of us!) I'll be ready.  I want to live a long and satisfying life and at the same time, be ready for the end as I know it on this plane.

How to become a musician

I get asked this question.  Honestly.  People don't seem to know that learning an instrument has never been easier.  Great music teachers abound. The internet is loaded with information from lessons to song lyrics and charts to about a million songs on youtube.  Get a decent instrument and, oh god, her comes the "P" word.....PRACTICE.  Start with a couple of campfire songs that you know all the words to....("Red River Valley" anyone?) Search them out at chordie.com or some other site that gives you lyrics and chords.  Learn these few songs well and start building your repertoire.  That's it.  You're now a musician.  :)