Follow The Money

Strife shakes the ground, beliefs create barriers to understanding. Violence rocks our world. Excuses and blame pile up. This group, that group, because- because- because... Because of the wonderful things it does.

Money.

Set aside Saints, Sinners, Prophets, Saviors, even Gods. We'll get back to them.

Money. Greed. Profit motivates war. Profit motivates underpaying workers, choosing substandard materials and shoddy workmanship.

Greed and money motivates advertisers and politicians. Corporations overshadow society. Shaping our rituals and manipulating our emotions into sales. Diamonds are? Stones. Hard rocks used to cut rocks that aren't as hard. You are aware that the diamond industry wanted higher sales, so they invested in Hollywood. Marilyn Monroe sang the advertising into our hearts. A new ritual was created, diamond engagement rings. It's a gimmick. Did you fall for it?
Lithium? Powers your electronics. Where is lithium found? Afghanistan.
Middle east? Oil. If I wanted to incite you to violence oil wouldn't do it, but slashing at your religion or culture that's different.

Before you start foaming at the mouth, rising to a media sound bite or meme catch phrase pause.

Follow the money. Drop the feelings. Facts only.

Everything changes.

We each have the power to vote. We vote everyday with our spending.

Media argues and pushes topics at us, while filtering out topics that might negatively impact sales for the highest bidders. Others buy our information, that we freely shared, bored and lonely and curious on Facebook. The ads become tailored to you. You're stalked by virtual profit hunters, political manipulators.

They'll use what you've given them against you. Your interests, insecurities, deep seated fears are the weapons they use. They let you pick your poison, even earn you of the risks. They let you pick what you sentence yourself to. Twenty years in this cubicle or that production line. Sign yourself into indentured servitude with loans.

Educate yourself. Find your own freedom, follow your passion and face down fear. Shit happens, pain too, deal and go on.

Follow the money. Be aware the more alarmist the news gets, or the more superficial that there's a reason it's being shoveled out the way it is.

What are you missing? Why do you hate who you hate? Life is too short to waste being poisoned by spite and rhetoric.

Remember, the choice really is yours. If you choose to have it.

Being Human Means Choices

This weekend is an exciting start of a wonderful festival I've been looking forward to entertaining at.

Sitting in a room full of monitors holding my significant other's hand, everything I'm hearing is "you can't go now." Reason says you have to, work adds money we need to our coffers. We support each other. The heart says hell no. Instead of letting either decide, while these angels and devils argued I asked my boss for advice and let her in on what's going on. Choices. Stay, go or attempt the herculean task of trying to commute 900 miles for the first few weeks of a show.

Fear paced the floor with me and a thousand negative what ifs. It didn't take long for her to respond. Her response brought tears to my eyes and relief to my heart. Stay. Take care of your significant other, come when everything is resolved. I can't put my words together well enough to say how grateful I am.
So many friends, so much love. I'm looking forward to the day this health situation is resolved, I'm looking forward to getting out my paints, putting on my hat and sharing out the profound love in my heart, paying it forward in magic moments at Bristol.

I read a post on Facebook that asked "Would you give up a thousand dollars to stay with someone you love if they developed a serious health concern?"

Honestly. I would give up more than that. Society pushes and pressures, insinuating that everything falls apart without money. Allegedly primitive cultures do not allow money to be the determining factor in support or life choices, so why should we? I can't put a dollar value on being able to feel the warm, live flesh of my significant other or to hear his voice calm and happy. I refuse to. I will do whatever jobs I need to to get by, whether it's gardening, cleaning, cooking, counseling, tutoring, or entertaining. For the next couple of weeks I'm focusing on my partner's health. Then I'm looking forward to entertaining and sharing the magic and love that surround me from friends across the country.

If you aren't happy, look at the choices you make. Is the duty or social pressure to have money or possessions driving you away from your happiness? Are you struggling to get money for happiness? Did you notice yet, money doesn't lead to happiness- it leads to more stress, conflict, and more wants- it is the most harmful drug ever invented that you don't snort, inject, inhale or swallow. Just the sight of it has led people to fight and kill. We give it more power than any God- every church bows to it, using it for influence and thriving on it.

Perhaps the primitives aren't so primitive?

It's all in how we rationalize it. It's all in our choices and our priorities. Listen to your heart more and your wallet less. Take time today to just appreciate life, friends, flowers, music, stories, art and the sunset. When was the last time you gazed at the stars?