Life is Everything

Endings are beginnings and beginnings are endings. The life that is lived "in transition" IS life. No one arrives. There are no destinations. Conclusion is delusion, as the mind must remain open to all things and be focused on what is often overlooked as "the getting ready". You're already there; BE there. Look around. Look with an open heart and be grateful that you were born into a body and brain that can, in its own exceptional way, experience nature with all its love and mystery. Using as many senses as you possess, smell, taste, touch, see, and hear yourself and all the wonderful things that spawned your existence. Start with water, plants, food, gravity, dirt, air, and the great emotions that anticipate yet another day of life. Remain firmly and reverently aware that it will all end and change into something else someday, but also that this is only the start. Avoid distractions. Want what you already have. Life, in and of itself, is everything.

The Real America

America has always been, and always will be, represented and populated by more than one group or race of people. Since our inception, we have been a kind of "every-country" to the rest of the world. Our "melting pot" type culture fuels our democracy, keeping us from dipping down into the"third world" status. Some of our earliest founders, like Thomas Jefferson, loved other cultures, traveled the world, and wanted what was good from around the world to become a real part of their dream for America. Our diversity is our strength; E Pluribus Unum - "out of many, one".

Look around and be grateful, rather than resentful of our differences. America has always been about many types of people. It took ALL kinds of people and cultures to build our country, and it will take all kinds of people and cultures to move us into the future. We can look forward with pride, because of our rich history, art, and technology; always remembering that our freedom and diversity has made us the envy of the world on so many levels. We should be proud of the mixed fabric of our contingency, never afraid of it, letting liberty and justice actually be for all. If we don't, we could start witnessing the slow death of what made us who we really are as a country. Has our decline already started? We can always do better, and must, so that our children can live in a great country in the future that will remain a true leader in the world, a light, an example, the real America - Jeff Mosier

Old Lady to Young Lady - "the green thing"

Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested
to the older woman that she should bring her own grocery
bags because plastic bags weren't good for the
environment.
The woman apologized and explained, "We didn't have this
green thing back in my earlier days."

The clerk responded, "That's our problem today.

Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations."
She was right -- our generation didn't have the green
thing in its day.

Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and
beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to
the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so
it could use the same bottles over and over. So they
really were recycled. But we didn't have the green
thing back in our day.

We walked up stairs, because we didn't have an escalator
in every store and office building. We walked to the
grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower
machine every time we had to go two blocks.

But she was right....
We didn't have the green thing in our day.
Back then, we washed the baby's diapers because we
didn't have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a clothes line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that young lady is right.....

We didn't have the green thing back in our day.

Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not
a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the
size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen
the size of the state of Montana. In the kitchen, we
blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have
electric machines to do everything for us. When we
packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used
wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or
plastic bubble wrap. Back then, we didn't fire up an
engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used
a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by
working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run
on treadmills that operate on electricity.
But she's right.......
We didn't have the green thing back then.

We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a
drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink
instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor
blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole
razor just because the blade got dull.
But we didn't have the green thing back then.
Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus, and kids
rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning
their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. We had one
electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of
sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need
a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from
satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the
nearest pizza joint.

But isn't it sad the current generation laments how
wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have
the green thing back then?

Mistake Learning

One of the hardest dances in life, is learning how to face conflict. We learn more from those with whom we disagree, than from the pandering friends that applaud our every whim. We can only get better when we stop getting bitter in the face of the disapproval that comes with conflict. It's so hard not to fight against it. Embracing conflict means to see conflict as an opportunity to see ourselves and others more clearly, as we learn to face our foibles and the faults of others. Nothing feels better, in the long run, than actually learning from our mistakes. Conflict remains a part of life, and dealing with it makes all things better in the short run, and in the long run. Life is only as rich as our ability to face and deal with our conflict, because ultimately that is dealing with life as an adult, not as a child. As the old saying goes.. "It's what you learn after you know it all that counts."

Forget the Past (lyrics)

I wrote this song around 2000, in an attempt to remind myself that the music is not the music business. My band at the time Blueground Undergrass was tanking with internal conflict and this was my attempt to remind myself, and the band, about the live show and the power of music. It's also a statement on the existential aloneness of togetherness.

It appears on the album "Newground" which can only be found used online. Thanks Ian Brown for asking me for the lyrics. -JM


Forget the Past by Jeff Mosier

The old man and his band were all in tune.
They stepped right up and filled the room.
And the dancers as they slowly came around,
That ole' floor was solid ground.
As they danced away their troubles they could find their way.
They let the music do its magic while the whole band played.
In the sound they found the answers to their every wound.
Forget the past, then you'll hear your tune.

As the band played on the dancers closed their eyes.
As night went on they realized.
That the sound of the music takes away,
all the pain that tries its best to stay.
As they danced away their troubles they could find their way.
They let the music do its magic while the whole band played.
In the sound they found the answers to their every wound.
Forget the past, then you'll hear your tune.

Bridge
Life gets hard when the music goes away.
You've got to change the steps you're doing as the music plays.
Never let your feet stop movin' on that ole' dance floor.
When the music speaks, there's nothing more, nothing more.

Life gets hard when the music goes away.
You've got to change the steps you're doing as the music plays.
Never let your feet stop moving on that ole' dance floor.
Forget the past
Them you'll hear your tune
Forget the past now.
Forget the past.

Humans Not Being

“If all insects on Earth disappeared, within 50 years all life on Earth would end. If all human beings disappeared from the Earth, within 50 years all forms of life would flourish.” ―Biologist Jonas Salk

We're only viable to ourselves, not to the rest of nature. We've added heat, weight, toxins, and many other things we're not willing to face. We may have created god in order to make us feel better about ourselves. Maybe we're not a creation, but rather a mutation. Like spam with a plan, meat on a mission, running our mouth on delusional memory. No animal does to its members what we do to ours. If the planet's lucky we won't be here long. I'm being nice. :-)

Until we start facing ourselves, and our species-wide behavior, we have no hope of becoming any better. To start a discussion about human beings anywhere else is delusional, and most certainly a colossal waste of time. Stare at your dog and then stare in the mirror. Try to learn from your dog. You'll either see it or you won't. Surely we can and must get better.

Once and for All

St. Simons Island, Ga.. - today I start applying to my body all the things I know and understand cognitively about health, nutrition, and fitness. It will be hard, but it will be worth it. This story will hopefully inspire others.

NOT taking the "Silence Pledge"

A kind well-meaning musician friend of mine sent me this. Others have sent me similar notions on Facebook

TAKE THE PLEDGE - Everyone has opinions about their ideology. Everyone has deeply held beliefs.
But I pledge I will not clutter, inflame, nor waste bandwidth with political opinions that might cost me friendships until November 7th, 2012. So Sayeth I. I would rather hear about the wacky thing you churren or your cat or your dog or even your ferret did.
So Sayeth, I.

My response..

Hey man. My friends love me. My mild acquaintances can go if they will. Too much is at stake for me to remain totally silent on what is going on in our culture. Silence is the soil in which most of the world's greatest injustices have grown. I would rather be judged than be silent. Looking at my kids' future makes a difference in my attitude. Barack Obama does not scare me, Mitt Romney does. 

Love you man.

His response back.. "Love you Brother" - 


This is the way it should be. If you lose friends over politics, they're not real friends. All sides of the political spectrum need to stay engaged in this debate. This debate is what WE have as citizens, this is OUR part, and for US to exit the debate and abandon our mind to avoid mild conflict is not intelligent. I will respect any opinion when it's handled by the hands of a civilized person. I don't attack people personally, but I do, and will, continue to engage in policy debate because of policy's undeniable interconnectedness with life, our culture, the future of our country, and the natural world. I post plenty of non-political life-affirming things about my life, music, and my family. I think I'm more balanced than in the past, but to be silent on what's at stake in November would be dishonest of me. I have many who disagree with me, many ultraconservatives in my "friends" list, and even some Christian conservatives who pray every day for my hell-bound soul. ;-) I know that, and they know that I know that. However, we are still friends, and we continue in our ventures in life together. We should all have more tolerance for each other.

I can lay back, but I won't lay off, neither should you, no matter what your opinion may be. Humor helps, and so does the realization that we are all just trying to figure things out in the best way that we know how. Now that may just sound like a bunch of wimpish liberal baby food to those of you out there collecting guns for the coming Obama take-over revolution, but I mean it with all my heart. ;-) Peace is possible if we think it is.

Bass and Grass 2012 line-up announced!

If you've never been to Bass and Grass this is the year to start! We fish, philosophize, and sit around talking about music and life with friends while conducting low key jam sessions for all levels of playing ability; helping each other grow in our love for the craft of music. Even if you don't play, it a great time to listen to the jamming and the final concert of the weekend is always a great blow-out party! Mostly we have a great time playing music, jamming, talking, laughing, and eating amazing food on the Robinson's beautiful Green Bell Farm and award winning lunker bass lake in Perry Georgia.

Check out this year's line-up and get your tickets now! See flyer for details!! Help spread the word! Don't miss Bass and Grass 2012. See you there!!

Love That Music Still (for Red Yates)

Love that Music Still

Smile on his face, pep in his step
No one ever saw him frown one bit
You could hear him laugh from near and far
As he picked it on stage, or played it in his car

Not only could Red play that lonesome sound
He had played all kinds of music all around the town
But he never heard a note that could make him frown
Red loved that music so

Chorus

Cause we love that music still
We'll play til our time is nil.
Everyday we will gather round
With our friends who love that lonesome sound

We will play til our fingers bleed
You never know if it's your time to leave
So everyday let us gather round
With our friends who love that lonesome sound


Now here in the town we can hear him still
In the passing tones, of our jigs and reels
We hope he knows we can hear him play
In that land that is far away

Chorus

Cause we love that music still
We'll play til our time is nil.
Everyday we will gather round
With our friends who love that lonesome sound

We will play til our fingers bleed
We never know when it's our time to leave
Everyday we will gather round
With our friends who love that lonesome sound

(Written by Jeff Mosier on Sept. 30, 2004 for musician Red Yates shortly after his death.)

Life Realizations Learned Through Letting Go of Your Children

Throughout ones years of parenting, you go through one realization after another; you learn lessons about being human. This weekend I experienced watching my first child walk out into the world. She just went to college, which should be no big deal, but I found that as I watched her move in, it brought up all of the sadness I feel about where our country is at this time. I watched her and so many kids walk around with that sweet hopeful look on their face, yet I knew that they've all grown up in a warring world, a divided government, and a loss of faith in what made the country great. The Internet, though it has served as a great disseminator of information and facilitator of communication, has also served to make denial a whole lot harder to hold onto. This generation knows what is going on so much more than we did. They're smart and informed, yet often jaded and cynical. They sense the fear that's out there, and they know that things must change. They also know that people don't agree on the solutions. They're on their phones laughing, talking, texting, and anticipating so much. I feel sad to admit that I felt sad for them today, as I know they must wonder about the future.

I'm 53 now, but I try hard to remain young at heart and hopeful. The only thing I believe in is thought itself, the power of ideas, creativity, and the love of philosophy and wisdom all directed through the artful work of critical thinking. I think, I don't believe. The only real thing that comforted me today, when leaving my daughter, was that I felt sure that I had taught her to think, be safe, love herself and her body, and show empathy and love toward others.

In the back seat of the car, as we drove away, was her sweet, yet very sad boyfriend, who returns to Atlanta to finish his senior year in High School. Also in the backseat were her younger brother and sister, who had sad yet hopeful hearts that she would return home soon for a visit.

Most importantly, today I honestly experienced for the first time just a thimble-full of the sea of sadness that so many parents live for their children everyday. It made me sad to think of all those kids who war for our country as soldiers never to return, or who return never to be the same again- or those who die prematurely from disease, drug addiction, suicide, or kidnapping. But most of all, it made me sad to think of all the parents who love their children just as much as I do, yet will NEVER have the opportunity to give them an education, care for them and their body through health care, or provide a clean, safe, loving home environment where they can grow up to be secure, loving, and contributing members of a community. My wife works in youth detention and she sees first hand everyday what happens when kids aren't loved or nurtured. The breakdown of the family is a huge destructive scourge on our culture. May we as a nation find ways to rebuild, through love, the network that it takes as a culture to recognize, and support, people who need love, attention, help; a culture that reflects the values that we say we have on paper as a country. May we all try to lovingly fill in their blanks, recognizing that to help them will help all of us in the long run.

I felt blessed and sad today, all at the same time. I have everything. I hope I can do more for the remainder of my life to help others and present a more life affirming message of hope in my art. Saying goodbye temporarily to my daughter only helped me want to be a better person; desiring to see a country that places more value on the family, the community, health, peace, and an empathic desire to love and tolerate the differences between people; a better place for our children to be, to live, and to thrive towards making the world a better place, not only for humans, but for the rest of nature, and this great planet that spawned us.

J.M

(Below is the note that her mother and I sent today as we departed with tears in our eyes. This is for all of the parents out there who may be comforted in the fact of knowing that you're not alone.)

Dear Natalie,

You will now venture out on your own, live your life and have your own thoughts about life. As long as we're alive, mom and I will always be here for you and care for you no matter what. Today is hard because we hope that we've given you the love and guidance that you will need to live a happy and successful life. We hope that you will be in a healthy enough relationship with yourself to know what to embrace and what to avoid, what to draw closer to and what to move away from, and what is healthy for your body and what is draining of your life force. Knowing that no home is perfect, we hope that you will take what we gave you and improve on it for your life. Today is a hard and sad goodbye, mixed with the love of wanting all the happiness in the world for you. Today is a great day, one of gratitude, one filled with the amazing pride that we have in our hearts for who you have already become and the anticipation of the great times and laughs that we can all have together as adults throughout life. We will always be your mommy and daddy, but today is your day to take the roots and wings we have given you and to really fly.

One thing that mom and I can both say is that your birth brought more meaning to our lives than we had either one ever had before. You will understand this if you ever have children, and you will also know what today means. No words could ever describe how much we love you.

Mom and Dad

First Daughter Goes to College

I never prepared myself for this day. It's not like just another spend the night party, or trip to the lake with friends, or school trip. It's watching your child go out into the world.

Today I wish I could muster up a better picture of our country and culture, but I can't. I wish I could tell her that her life will be easy, but I can't. The one thing Kathleen and I can stand on today as parents is that we have let her know the truth about what's out there, good and bad, and given her an unsheltered freedom to live HER life. We've only demanded one thing of her; that she use her mind to be smart, safe, intelligent, and above all else kind to herself, her body, and to those around her; that being "good" is relative, being "smart" isn't.

So as I shed these tears that drip on the boxes of clothes that I carry to her car, I feel hopeful that we have raised a real, kind, sweet, and intelligent woman who will now begin her journey to find her place in this world. We're so proud of her, her heart, her love for life, and the great energy that she brought into our lives in June of 1994.

I'm so grateful that I was given the chance to be a parent in this life; to see what love brings forth, and to see the possibilities of what her life could bring to the future.

I'm already missing Natalie...

Nominating Col. Bruce Hampton Ret.

Dear Governor's Awards for the Arts and Humanities:

" I Jeff Mosier support the nomination of Colonel Bruce Hampton to the Governor’s Awards for the Arts & Humanities".

Bruce Hampton has affected the careers of many artists in ways that are hard to describe. I would not have the career that I have, nor would I have had the chance to accomplish the things that I've done, without the influence and example of Col. Bruce Hampton. To have an artist like Hampton who comes from Georgia and remains a resident of Georgia, is a blessing for our State. His true value over time, in my opinion, has been to mentor artists by teaching them to "give themselves permission in their own art" and to be themselves, to not only replicate their artistic influences, but to find their own voice. His influence in fostering artists, in so many pervasive ways, has spread into multiple genres of music, avant-garde performance art, spoken word, poetry, and film, from major motion picture to experimental and independent film.

Even today, Bruce maintains an incredible work ethic and continues to influence a young generation of musicians. He continues to produce cutting edge versions of his work through various band configurations and is touted as "mentor" by many of today's most popular artists as the documentary film about him portrays - including accolades by Dave Matthews, Phish, REM, Widespread Panic, and more. The film about his life and work ("Basically Frightened: The Musical Madness of Col. Bruce Hampton") has just been released, and in my opinion is the first credible capturing of the depth, nature, and power of the artistic influence and works of this deserving award nominee.

May you consider him in your nomination process as a true gem for the arts here in the great state of Georgia. Thanks.

Jeff Mosier
Atlanta, Ga.

Excerpt from Albert Einstein's - "The World as I See It"

"I cannot conceive of a God who rewards and punishes his creatures, or has a will of the kind that we experience in ourselves. Neither can I nor would I want to conceive of an individual that survives his physical death; let feeble souls, from fear or absurd egoism, cherish such thoughts. I am satisfied with the mystery of the eternity of life and with the awareness and a glimpse of the marvelous structure of the existing world, together with the devoted striving to comprehend a portion, be it ever so tiny, of the Reason that manifests itself in nature".

- Albert Einstein, The World As I See It

Steven Pinker on "Beliefs"

Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. (Voltaire)

From Steven Pinker’s, “The Better Angels of Our Nature”: (pp. 139-140)

Human sacrifice and witch burnings are just two examples of the harm that can result from pursuing ends that involve figments of the imagination. Another may be seen in psychotics who kill in pursuit of a delusion, such as Charles Manson’s plan to hasten an apocalyptic race war … But the greatest damage comes from religious beliefs that downgrade the lives of flesh-and-blood people, such as the faith that suffering in this world will be rewarded in the next, or that flying a plane into a skyscraper will earn the pilot 72 virgins in heaven. … The belief that one may escape from an eternity in hell only by accepting Jesus as a savior makes it a moral imperative to coerce people into accepting that belief and to silence anyone who might sow doubt about it.

A broader range of unverifiable beliefs is the temptation to defend them by violent means. People become wedded to their beliefs, because the validity of those beliefs reflects on their competence, commends them as authorities, and rationalizes their mandate to lead. Challenge a person’s beliefs, and you challenge his dignity, standing, and power. And when those beliefs are based on nothing but faith, they are chronically fragile. No one gets upset about the belief that rocks fall down as opposed to up, because all sane people can see it with their own eyes. Not so for the belief that babies are born with original sin or that God exists in three persons or that Ali was the second-most divinely inspired man after Muhammad. When people organize their lives around these beliefs, and then learn of other people who seem to be doing just fine without them—or worse, who credibly rebut them—they are in danger of looking like fools. Since one cannot defend a belief based on faith by persuading skeptics it is true, the faithful are apt to react to unbelief with rage, and may try to eliminate that affront to everything that makes their lives meaningful.

My Favorite Hymn (also the reason I don't go to church)

Dear wife I found a model church
And worshipped there today
It made me think of the good old times
Before my hair was gray

The meeting house was finer built
Than they were years ago
But I found out when I went in
It was not built for show

The sexton did not sit me down
Away back by the door
He knew that I was old and deaf
And saw that I was poor

He must have been a Christian man
He led me boldly through
The long aisle of that crowded church
To find a pleasant pew

I wish you'd heard the singing, wife
it had the old town ring
The preacher said with trumpet voice
Let all the people sing

Oh Coronation was the tune
The music upward roared
I thought I heard the angel choir
Strike on their harps of gold

I tell you wife it did me good
To sing those hymns once more
I felt just like some wrecked marine
Who gets a glimpse of shore

It made want to lay aside
This weather beaten form
And anchor in that blessed port
Forever from the storm

Dear wife the toil will soon be o'er
The victory soon be won
The shining strand is just ahead
Our race is nearly run

We're near to Canaan's happy shore
Our hopes are bright and fair
Thank God we'll never sin again
There'll be no sorrow there

There'll be no sorrow there
In heaven above
Where all is love
There'll be no sorrow there

Ernest Becker on depression

The ego, after all strives to create a continuity of integrated experience. As [Erik] Erickson's work shows so eloquently, the identity is a painstakingly fashioned work of art. It is symbolically constructed, continually refashioned, never complete. The individual can be compared to a movie director who is saddled with a lifetime job of staging a plot, the outcome of which he never knows. Indeed, he never knows what will happen in the very next scene, but he must strive to give the whole thing credibility and self-consistency. This he can only accomplish by reworking the previous material as new events joggle his creation. When one gets down to the last twenty years of a life drama, it becomes more and more difficult to justify abrupt changes in continuity: there is too much preceding plot for it to be re-manipulated with ease. Whole portions cannot be re-interpreted with credibility, much less re-staged. Hence, if the continuity is radically undermined, the individual grasps at whatever straws his ingenuity can muster. No movie director would accept such an assignment, yet each individual is burdened with this ultimately and perilously creative task. The remark that an individual cannot know if his life has been satisfactory until the moment before he expires then becomes understandable. Life is symbolically re-appraisable until its very last second. The proverbial drowning man who passes his life in review is merely exercising the last impulsion of the reclaiming artist. Ernest Becker - "Toward a Comprehensive Theory of Depression"

What Would Andy Do?

In my life as a child, long before WWJD, (What would Jesus Do?) was WWAD. He always kept the Barney Fife's of the world in line without beating them up as bad people. He added such a balanced sense of love and justice to his world. How much better off would we all be if we had been treated like Andy treated those in his town. The world needs laws, but we really need them enforced with the love of a Sheriff who let's the town drunk sleep in the jail cell by leaving the key within reaching distance, and who, as a single father, cared nothing more than to love his son by teaching him life lessons and always listening with awe to every single one of Opie's stories. There's nothing like a real man when you see it, and for me, even though Andy was just a character written into a script, he gave me as a child my first real sense of how to be in a world full of characters like the ones in Mayberry. I really just wanna go to Mayberry when I die, not heaven. It was so much more than just a TV show because we made it so much more. To see what TV has become is as sad as the death of one of its great artist. Goodbye Sheriff Taylor.

Thoughts on Human Thought - Ernest Becker

Human   Advancement in Language

"As part of the evolutionary genesis of species, human beings share the physical and even emotional traits of their animal cousins. However, human behavior is in most areas quite different from other primate behavior. It is the uniqueness of human behavior that intrigued and fascinated Ernest Becker. Drawing on a broad range of investigations and writings, Becker pointed toward human language as that which qualitatively sets human thought and behavior apart from other primate behavior.

We do not have concrete knowledge of when language developed among that peculiar ape species from which human beings have descended. Nor are we able to adjudicate decisively between the various theories for how this development took place. But we are sure of the fact that with the development of language, human self consciousness was made possible, replacing instinctual stimulus-response behavior. This is what is, in essence, distinctive about human behavior and human existence.

Becker dwelled at length on this development.(6) He repeatedly suggested, in a way that somewhat reifies the evolutionary process, that this development of individual self consciousness in one species is a great experimental leap forward by the evolutionary process itself. This development of self consciousness in one species Becker presents as the first really great revolution in evolution; that is, where something qualitatively new came into existence.(7)

The history of the human species is a story describing the steady outworking of this great evolutionary experiment in self consciousness, an experiment that gave to human beings the real possibility of rising above the constrictions of nature itself. But the very gift of human subjectivity contained within it its own special constrictions. While the development of language and symbolic expression allowed for conscious cooperative efforts among human beings far beyond that of any other species, this also created in human beings a peculiar kind of socialization into group behavior.

The subjectivity and sense of self which each individual achieved is dictated directly by the cultural symbol system into which that individual is born.(8) Each person gains a sense of well being by automatic and uncritical performance within that cultural symbol system. In short, by our upbringing and entrance into the social environment, we are symbolically "reinstinctivized" within a particular world view.(9) The individual sense of self, of nature, of morality, are all imparted in a reflexive and uncritical manner by the human environment. It is as if the evolutionary process raised the human individual up from the other animals, only to quickly and quietly tuck him right back down again, as solidly and firmly as before."

From - http://www.ernestbecker.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=234%3Aa-five-part-introdution-to-ernest-becker&catid=1%3Aabout-the-ernest-becker-foundation&Itemid=11&limitstart=1

Understanding this about ourselves safeguards us from the unquestioned mental abductions of childhood thus setting your mind free to work on its own apart from what you've been "converted to" by your environment.  This could assure you the ability to really think on your own for the first time. Though it may be seem scary, it remains necessary, in my mind, for full mental potentiation of human thought, thus human living.  J.M.

Forward Towards a Brighter Memorial Day

On this Memorial Day may we never forget how many millions of lives are affected directly, and indirectly, by the decisions of so few among our ranks. May we demand, out of respect for the lives lost and the permanently wounded, that more light be shed on this growing giant; this unquestioned black hole of wasted money and unlimited power that parades as military "defense", all while enjoying virtually no accountability to the public that eventually become the victims of the process. It's slowly becoming like some holy sacred rite never to be questioned, proof of your "patriotism"; all while eating away at the base of our national dignity, killing our youth in battle, and forcing our children to grow up in a never-ending cycle of conflict and debt. It never gets graded; gets no report card, or evaluation. It mostly gets a free pass, never a fail. 

We need intelligence, surveillance, and technology, not gun powder and nuclear bombs in this new age of war. We need to stop supplying fresh target meat for an insane religious war machine that thrives on an enemy for its very life blood. We need to stop using our citizens as fuel for a murderous Jihadist cause; giving our enemies an endless recruitment strategy for generations to come. We need to mind our own business and stop spending away our future trying to police the world. 

May we always memorialize the lives lost, but may we NEVER stop asking questions that help us become safer here at home without sacrificing so many at such an immeasurable cost. We can do better, and to not think so belongs to the thinking of the insane. We can and we must do better looking forward toward a brighter future, not a future filled with more inevitable loss and tragedy.

Something Else

“Yet, at the same time, as the Eastern sages also knew, man is a worm and food for worms. This is the paradox: he is out of nature and hopelessly in it; he is dual, up in the stars and yet housed in a heart-pumping, breath-gasping body that once belonged to a fish and still carries the gill-marks to prove it. His body is a material fleshy casing that is alien to him in many ways—the strangest and most repugnant way being that it aches and bleeds and will decay and die. Man is literally split in two: he has an awareness of his own splendid uniqueness in that he sticks out of nature with a towering majesty, and yet he goes back into the ground a few feet in order to blindly and dumbly rot and disappear forever. It is a terrifying dilemma to be in and to have to live with. The lower animals are, of course, spared this painful contradiction, as they lack a symbolic identity and the self-consciousness that goes with it. They merely act and move reflexively as they are driven by their instincts. If they pause at all, it is only a physical pause; inside they are anonymous, and even their faces have no name. They live in a world without time, pulsating, as it were, in a state of dumb being. This is what has made it so simple to shoot down whole herds of buffalo or elephants. The animals don't know that death is happening and continue grazing placidly while others drop alongside them. The knowledge of death is reflective and conceptual, and animals are spared it. They live and they disappear with the same thoughtlessness: a few minutes of fear, a few seconds of anguish, and it is over. But to live a whole lifetime with the fate of death haunting one's dreams and even the most sun-filled days—that's something else.” 
― Ernest Becker, The Denial of Death

There's no one who tried harder to paint a more honest heart felt view of humanity than did Ernest Becker. He grapples with life's struggle inside the central nervous system of the human being.
 J.M

"Losing Earl Scruggs"

To a three-finger style, five-string banjo player, losing Earl Scruggs is really hard to describe in words, or even fathom; yet his work will never die. To have even been alive during this time in banjo history is an honor, blessing, and responsibility. Hopefully when I'm in my 120's, ;-) it will mean even more to me to have met him and lived during his time; this great time of banjo innovation. What a wonderfully great man, innovator, and example of pure stellar professionalism.

   I can't think of another instrument, or style, so closely related to one single person; the greatest of artistic accomplishments and compliments. He found a way, through the influence of Snuffy Jenkins and others at the time, to make the 5-string banjo work in musically new ways, cutting through with volume and clarity; putting a unique sonic stamp on the music that had never been heard before. Earl brought in streams and patterns of exotic polyrhythmic bliss that could dance, swing, drive, rock, and roll in and out of every musical crack and crevice of virtually any genre, giving familiar sounds a completely new life; adding to them without taking away from them. He gave an instrument that was once viewed by the public as a comedian's prop, an authoritative and credible musical voice and identity; a new banjo template and pathway for future applications that are still yet to be imagined.

   May life "after Earl" remain even richer for our wonderful instrument. It's in our hands now; may we all make him proud. 

   We really loved you Earl Scruggs. Thanks for the rich life that streamed from the fingers of the North Carolina boy who figured out and forged ahead with the joyous three-finger rolls of the ole' five string. I can't even imagine what my life would have been like without the banjo and all of the wonderful times it has brought to my soul as my faithful partner in song writing and performing. Banjo never lets me down.


J.M.

- RIP Earl Scruggs

(also in memory of my sonic banjo hero.. "Banjovi" Mark Vann - true lover of Earl Scruggs)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMQFDx1MddY
Turner Field Tribute

240 Banjo players play "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" for Earl Scruggs for 5 minutes, breaking a Guinness Book of World Records. Turner Field - Atlanta  9/13/2006

First Time meeting Earl in person June of 2008 - Elberton, Georgia

"Let the Writing Paper Win"

shake the paint, then paint the shakes

catch what's there before it cakes
parchment dancing wildly with the pen
that's when the writing paper wins 

let new thoughts just usher in
it's not all pain when pleasure wins

let it take you where it may

the miracle is today
 

it passes fast from start to end
don't even try to reel it in

just give it to the parchment with your pen

that's when the writing paper wins

let it speak and have its say

never judge one single day

your life, the parchment

your mind, the pen

shake the paint, then paint the shakes

enjoy your toy before it breaks

let it take you where it may

the miracle of just one day

you'll have to bend or you will break

you'll have to give or they will take

your life, the parchment

your mind, the pen

you shook the paint, then painted great

taught with your mind for the children's sake
your parchment danced so wildly with your pen

one teacher let the writing paper win

just let your writing paper win.

your life, the parchment

your mind, the pen

just let the writing paper win.

Written by Jeff Mosier 

--in memory of teacher and friend Carl Brown R.I.P

 

 

Don't You Think?

   If the early free thinkers and discoverers, like Galileo, could see what has been learned since their time, and use the technology that we now have at our service, do you think they would willingly run back into the dark ages; a time where passed-down whims and fears were rampant, human thought was suspect, and the very idea of "individual thought" or even "pleasure" were met with violent suspicion? No! I think they would be running freely toward the future and away from the dark; constantly learning and yearning for more, invoking in themselves a genuine gratitude for what has been discovered, and a mystical and reverential humility for what is not yet known. Don't you think? 

Ongoing Thoughts, Quotes, and Ponderings - by Jeff Mosier

There is no "Them" - We've lost our collective minds over our "them" obsessions. There is no "them". This is so pathetic; a sign that the clouds of useless misery, violence, and tragedy are rolling in ONCE AGAIN. When will we ever let go of our stupid mental obsessions with the unseen fear and blindness produced by our own mind, and let go our delusional human dominion over the natural world? E pluribus unum could work if we would let it work.

Art  is - Art is the unique and essential work of our species. Through art, we extend our lives beyond death; leaving proof that we were here by building in a brief glimpse into our times. "Culture" is the by-product of the systematic way that humans create outward communal statements and create unique identities; these sensual out-workings effectively extend our lives into the future. Calling the senses into the service of creative production, living in the body, creating every imaginable object beyond nature, and facilitating complex movement through dance; these are only a few of the myriad of realities that set us apart from other members of nature. Making things, building things, and celebrating our lives through the creative process IS art; without which no human life can thrive. Art is our deepest and most sensual expression, fueling our mind and body. The "art life" is where we need to be, and where we need to stay in order to evolve, survive, and more importantly, thrive. 

R.I.P. Carl Brown

This was posted by one of my friends on Facebook, teacher Carl Brown, on a thread concerning education and the value of teachers.

"I consider the most important part of my job to be helping kids learn how to think and how to learn. The best discussions we have involve me not answering any questions, but rather, guiding the discussion so it doesn't stray too far from the issue at hand. Recalling facts isn't required of me if they have to defend their thoughts and opinions by recalling facts from what has been read. I am fortunate in that I work with small groups of very bright students that soon learn to expect higher level thinking questions from me."  Carl Brown

My notes a year later prior to his death and on the day of his death..


3/9/12 - Above was my first exchange with Carl Brown on FB. Though he and Jane have heard my music for years, I technically didn't know them until recently. I wrote this "note" as a result of his quote that came about during the teachers union debates in Wisconsin. Now Carl is dying of a very aggressive brain tumor. I rededicate this note to him and Jane Mauldin and for the wonderful way that he used his mind to help so many children for so long. I have no words to explain the way this quick and sad illness has made me feel about so many things in my own life. Music is what i know and what I do in life. It is what I go to. I wish for a peaceful and pain free transition for this wonderful man Carl Brown, and peace of mind to his wife Jane of many years.


3/18/12 - Carl died this morning.. R.I.P. I will miss posting with Carl. I have no words to express the sadness. I will say that he was a special man, especially to this man who is typically not a "man fan". He had an intelligence and inner spirit that was very unique. Jane will have all of our love as she wakes up to this loss and deals with life without him. May we all surround her, pray, think, or say the things that remind her of how much she is loved. It may seem silly to say, but I am grateful to FB for facilitating these connections in a way that would have never been possible even 5 years ago. My "lost banjo" showing up in their town, and my visit to them, made our connection possible and special. It's important because of what Facebook helps facilitate in our lives that is uniquely human. I always say.. for whatever we think we have lost in privacy, we have gained so much in connection; living life more together than apart, realizing that we have more to be thankful for than to argue over, more to celebrate than to dread, and more to hope for than to fear. Bye Carl Brown. 

Wilson Funeral Home, Inc.

---

Carl Everett Brown
(July 23, 1956 - March 18, 2012)

Carl E. Brown, 55, of Fort Payne passed away on Sunday, March 18, 2012 at his home.Carl was born in Boston, MA in 1956 to parents Norman and Joyce Brown. He was a twin. Carl graduated from Merrimack High School in Merrimack, NH and from Jacksonville University with a BA degree in Education. He later earned a Masters degree in Elementary Education and School Principalship.
Carl started his work career doing an assortment of jobs including archaeology before becoming an elementary school teacher. He taught third grade in Menlo, GA for a few years prior to coming to the Fort Payne City School System. He recently retired after teaching fourth grade at Williams Avenue School for many years and spent the last 6 years of his career teaching gifted children. He loved his job and was passionate about making a difference in the lives of his students. He was also very active with the SCPA and the Humane Society, serving as president.
Carl is survived by his wife Jane Mauldin, mother Joyce Purinton, brothers Danny, Gary, Scott, and Eric, sister Linda, brother-in-law and sister-in-law Tom and Teresa Mauldin, special nieces Katie, Anna, and Sarah Mauldin, as well as many other nieces and nephews. Carl will also be greatly missed by his special animal companions, Lupi, Stella, Mandy, Wilson, and Aiko.
A memorial visitation will be Wednesday from 4 until 6 p.m. at Wilson Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions be made to the Humane Society, P.O. Box 680653, Fort Payne, AL 35968.
Wilson Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements, online guestbook, www.wilsonfhinc.com

These are my first conversations with Carl. What a wonderful man. I post these to remind us all of the fragility of life and to once again say that social networking is only as good as we are. We are blessed to be able to talk to each other. The last two entries are sad and are about a year later. today was his funeral. 3/21/12

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  December 29, 2010

  Carl Brown

  • David Brooks
    Check out David Brooks' thought provoking article, "The Arduous Community".
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  December 29, 2010

  Jeff Mosier

  • I will check it out. Thanks Carl.
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  March 5, 2011

  Jeff Mosier

  • do you mind if i repost that note on education ? great
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  March 5, 2011

  Carl Brown

  • Not at all. I'm flattered that you ask. Especially since a week ago I had a stroke and a few seizures and now have a 15mm piece of dead gray matter, or should I say, jelly fish
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  March 5, 2011

  Jeff Mosier

  • Call me if you can 4046265973. So sorry to hear that.
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  March 5, 2011

  Carl Brown

  • Jane thought you might remember me better if I pointed out that we are friends of Chad and Pam and were at the house concert at Christmas when you played with Joe Craven.
    I enjoyed talking with you tonight. I hope we get to go to Spring Fest this year. I'm not supposed to drive and that colors everything since we usually pull a small camper and Jane doesn't feel comfortable with the long highway drive towing. If we're there I look forward to reconnecting with both you and joe
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  March 5, 2011

  Jeff Mosier

  • I do remember. Thanks. I enjoyed talking with you. Take care.
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  April 25, 2011

  Carl Brown

  • Wall Photos
    ISURE YOU CAN RELATE. i love his cartoons
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    Wall Photos

    My hell would be a roomful of blues harmonicas.
    

    By: Doug Gauss
    Share

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  June 8, 2011

  Jeff Mosier

  • How are you Carl and how is it going. Been traveling a lot, but have been thinking about you and hoping all is well. Talk soon.
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  June 8, 2011

  Carl Brown

  • i have followed in your travels and wish i could have caught some shows. Had we stayed in B'ham we would have started therapies 3 weeks ago, but it would have been a terrible hardship on Jane to have to live in hospital housing for 6 weeks and she doesn't get much of a break now. I'm not sleeping much, but still have plenty of energy to do household chores like mowing and cooking. I'm gladto be getting a lot of reading done. Some novels and alternative therapies like visualization for change and focused enregy and detox through Pascalite clay twice a day. I'm 

    getting tired of all the meds and worry about polluting myself
    
    
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        Share
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      February 11

      Carl Brown

      • hey, I am going to need a preacher for a funeral! You available? I will be donating my body to UAB hospital THey'll cremate mewhen they're done with me so Jane can scatter my ashes inFt. Payne area
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      February 11

      Jeff Mosier

      • I will be ther.
      • There
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      February 12

      Carl Brown

      • Thanx,much brother!
        
        
        R.I.P Carl Brown