Dear All,

              Yesterday was actually an odd kind of day. I had suddenly become very aware of some odd personal revelations. During the day I was fielding a lot of email from people that I hold dear and I was also on the phone with several of you and I had a couple of one-on-one 'office visits', as such. It was a little bit busier than usual but I do thoroughly enjoy those moments that I spend with all of you.

               The realization came about when I paused for a moment and thought about relative relationships. Everybody's relationships .... my own .... yours .... ours .... personal ... casual .... all kinds.

                Actually, I had previously found myself having a rare You Tube sort of pixel-based relationship with a lady I had never met .... Donna Eden The Five Minute Routine by Share Your Mind. She was very busy coaxing me to embark on some 'Thymus Thumping' and accu-pressure exercises. One of you had been kind enough to do the cyber-introduction - and the meeting, it turns out, was one I very much enjoyed. (Ms. Eden's style is a gift unto itself.)

                I liked it mostly because it had dredged out some energies that I am aware of - but that for one reason or another lie too far down on the horizon to be felt as strongly as they should.

                Then I began to think of all of you. And of all your family members that I have had the pleasure to share my life with. That includes those that I have met only over the auspices of Skype. Energy exchange on a personal basis is really just sharing 'particles' traveling at the speed of light .... So for me hearing and seeing someone captured in an 'electron-initiated' transmission is almost as good as being in the same room. Contact made.

                 Edgar Cayce was apparently able to dispense with all of that 'contact' and 'personal interaction' .... I'm not that advanced yet, but I'm trying to do the best I can with what God gifted me with.

                 So .... It was then that I knew how really displaced from one another we, as ordinary people - struggling along in our separate existences - have become. ALL OF US! All over the world! .... We seem to have lost that special sense of togetherness .... Unity .... as in 'United States of Being'  .... Having some Relativity between us all.

                  We seem to have misplaced an integral part of communication that is supposed to be what a lot of it is all about. (I plan to delve into that subject at greater length - and will pass along my discoveries.)

                  We have all become so 'busy' with our own personal wants and needs that we find it hard to even share the road with other motorists. We don't even have the time to come to a complete stop at STOP signs anymore!

                   Traveling around the country as a singer-guitarist, and also as a salesman as well, for so many years .... means that I have spent literally years behind the wheel of one motor vehicle or another. There was a time back in the 1960's and 70's when perfect strangers traveling along the highways and byways used their headlights and turn signals to communicate to each other their intentions to pass or change lanes or to give notice to a truck driver that there was now enough room to return from the passing lane over to the driving lane (and vice versa). We, as a people, don't seem to have the time to bother with that 'courtesy' stuff anymore. On the road - or off the road! Instead .... Life has become more a question of who can push and shove who around the most (make the biggest waves) - and get away with it! There has always been a small percentage of ignorant morons that have been given a driver's license - and were then turned loose on the rest of us - but what has changed so dramatically, more recently, to have caused so much overall lack of consideration for one another? I don't have a clue where everybody is trying to go in such a highfalutin rush .... I just wish that they would get 'there' and then stay 'there' for a while and quit making such unnecessary waves! .... If any of you can explain to me in simple terms where 'there' is you are most welcome to let me know.

                    Rule of Thumb: .... TODAY IS A GIFT! .... That is why it is called "The Present"!

                   The present is the only time that is crucial .... What you do with your "Present" determines what your 'yesterdays' will add up to and what kind of direction and import you will be able to bring to all your 'tomorrows' .... You also need to lend some of your "PRESENSE" (the act of sharing your precious 'present' time) to the people that you live with and work with and work for and work on or at .... and even just pass by on the sidewalk or on the road.

The passing of a 'vessel' through water creates a 'wake' - a series of waves generated by displacement and motion. When these waves meet another boat or a seawall or a shoreline .... No Matter How Big Or Small The WAVES Are! .... They affect and alter and change forever everything they impact. Needless to say, the faster the vessel travels the greater the impact .... Think about those situations where you use the term 'wake' to describe some other experiences in life.

                    Special Note: Speaking of vessels and boats .... If you ever want to truly appreciate the effect that waves have on boats I invite you to join the man who first ROWED a six foot long dingy ACROSS THE ATLANTIC OCEAN - ALONE! I can assure you that he has been forever humbled .... I doubt that he ever finds a need to even raise his voice. Why? .... Because he has a more clear and much deeper understanding of the impact of random waves of human energy coming from every direction - with varying force and intent - all generating some kind of effect ................................. upon something or somebody else!

                     Rule of Thumb: Be aware that we, as little 'vessels' all meandering around on the ocean of life, are responsible for ALL the waves that we will ever create! ....

What kind of waves did you make today?

                     Have you ever contemplated the relationship between human interaction and nautical cause and effect? .... Maybe I'm going wonky - but I've noticed in just the last few years an increasing urge to ingest Dimenhydrinate from time to time. I wonder why that is? I thought TUMS were enough to get through the evening news!

                     So I was a-'wake'-ned by all the waves that had come ashore by all the passing boats .... some going fast - most going faster .... ALL impacting me - even though I have posted a yellow sticky note on my forehead that says, "NO WAKE ZONE"!

                     That awareness of oceanic-type waves, in turn, conjured up yet another form of waves more understandably appreciated by humans .... sound waves!  For most humans the favored sound to hear, of course, is the word "Yes"!  In second place follows a veritable plethora of any and all variously syncopated noises strung together and mixed collectively into a blend of sound waves we interpret as MUSIC! .... The key is that the difference between the waves created as music and the waves as created by pure 'noise' (like a jack hammer or a jet taking off or the next door neighbor running his chainsaw at six o'clock on Sunday morning) are exactly the same as either sailing along on a gently rolling ocean or of being engulfed in a typhoon!

                       The most basic and human form of music is, of course, the vocal sound. Some humans are better able to create harmonious and pleasant sounds than others. Belching, burping, screaming and other rude sounds - albeit possibly quasi-rhythmic - are not to be considered musical simply by their nature .... OK?

                         When two or more voices are brought together in concert .... a remarkable thing happens. A chorus of combined human expression can be heard .... BUT, more importantly, HARMONY can be achieved! .......................... What a marvelous creation to discover!

                          Harmony, or harmoniousness, is a deliberate and concentrated effort toward the blending of distinct and different notes to create an even more splendid compositional experience.

'Marital Harmony' and 'Family Harmony' are the exact same things as 'Musical Harmony' - just on a slightly different plane.

                           Harmony, as such, is often found in other human relationships as well - which fall into the category of 'Team' activities. A football team .... A rowing team .... A political party .... A sales team .... A team at work .... a lynch mob .... a team of Army Rangers .... a symphony orchestra .... an advancing Roman legion .... a team of terrorists .... Concerted team effort can be one of the most powerful displays of human endeavor and accomplishment ever conceived! 

                            Team work requires HARMONY or it breaks down into a gaggle of 'noise' makers .... Harmony is MUSIC .... Music is a gently rolling ocean .... therefore TEAM WORK is a very good thing .... with the exceptions of those times when it is employed specifically for the application of negativity .... Six children 'teaming up' to kick the s*** out of another kid just because s/he wears a hearing aid or s/he's got "the wrong color skin " .... are not very good examples of team work .... Sort of similar to collecting six totally tone deaf people to sing 'Ave Marie' at your wedding .... people will soon find out who hired the singers - trust me!

                             So, ideally, you want to have your team be made up of talented people with mutual interests. Six people planting rice in a paddy takes TEAM WORK. If some of them are planting land mines, chances are that somebody is going to suffer some negativity, NO?

                              The thought struck me, yesterday, that I was witness to ne very spontaneous outburst of TEAM WORK! .... I became so beside myself with joy that I hastily made note of it in an email to those of you who took part .... Since many of you missed this dazzling display of genuine teamwork based on mutual respect - I want you all to know how absolutely wonderful it was for me to be a part of it. A rare gem found.

                              Working on other people's computers can be a lonely time at best - NOT quite the same as playing the guitar and singing 'live' before an audience in Las Vegas! - with heaven only knows who might be watching - and what could possibly go wrong at any moment - similar to the feeling generated as you leave an appointment without a sale .... wondering what you could have said or done to have been more effective from a professional point of view .... yet knowing there is no way to change the past .... Mistakes happen to everyone .... the wrong word - the wrong look - the wrong chord - a fly lands on your nose - What can you do to bring it all back and have the chance to do it all over again?                              

I MOSTLY find myself dealing with people very narrowly focused on their own personal MISSIONS in life. People who are in a rush to get 'somewhere' because they're late and profess to have not one spare minute to dawdle .... The waves come crashing in .... The tone deaf people sing their song the best they can (bless their hearts) .... the jet takes off for the South of France .... and eventually calm returns to my humble harbor .... Sort of like an instantly outrageous fire fight on a jungle path back in the day .... and the resounding quiet that falls after the last shot rings out.

                              Please notice that I said 'MOSTLY' .... I am not casting aspersions upon anyone in particular .... I know, all too well, what it is like to be in pursuit of an objective .... I am passing on to all of you a general observation for your own edification ....
                            
                                When I get the sense that I am part of a team effort where a common goal is recognized and a plan is agreed upon .... I am able to enjoy my own memories of all the singing and vocal groups and all the work with people and teams - the battles fought and computers repaired, etc., etc., over my entire lifetime .... making some sense of it all for me.

                                 This world we live in right now needs a whole lot more of that kind of deliberate effort toward togetherness. I don't care where and when it takes place - so long as it happens and it happens more often than not.

                                 When I see even the most simple and basic team effort being played out in some kind of harmony - it gives me hope for the future of the species.

                                  I just wanted to try to tell you .... Take the time to look for an opportunity to 'sing in harmony' with your family and friends, the other members of your special 'team' .... even people you don't know. You owe it to them and you owe it to yourself.

Love and Blessings to ALL,

                       Richard