Matthew J. Packer

Flushing, MI, USA

Chris Robinson

South Carolina, USA

Peggy Bull

Karen

Malvern, PA

Jim Lee

Columbus, MS, USA

Embrace your uniqueness, practice mindful presence, and choose to live with authentic purpose and service.

English

In this heartfelt and introspective track, you are taken on a serene journey through the mountains of South Africa, where stargazing and the soothing sounds of nature set the stage for deep reflections on life, purpose, and presence. We contemplate and explore profound themes such as the uniqueness of individual experiences, the power of choice, and the importance of living authentically. With a focus on mindfulness, gratitude, and self-liberation, this track encourages embracing each moment with curiosity and joy, offering gentle reminders to slow down, breathe, and appreciate the beauty of existence.

A Love Note (From The Mountains Of South Africa)

Greetings from the mountains of South Africa. I'm sending love from a late night evening stargazing at a half moon with a river running and frogs making sounds feet on the earth breathing appreciating grateful for this moment sinking in sinking into the breath sinking into the body sinking into this present moment and contemplating life and death and purpose purpose for being here on this planet on this earth at this moment in history at some stage we all ask ourselves why am i here why am i here and what i hear is nature the frogs the river the wind my heartbeat this body belongs to this earth this body belongs to this earth someday it will return for now i walk above the earth and someday i will dissolve into the earth this body will return all the atoms and elements will return to the soil so what i choose to do while i'm here walking breathing dancing singing what i do while i'm above the ground is a choice and when our choices are only to benefit ourselves it's unnatural it's not something that fully serves our being or serves our higher purpose each and every single one of us is unique unique is special each of us has our own sets of challenges and struggles and each of us has our own innate gifts talents and when we try to be like others when we try to mimic or copy or walk and talk like others do we are not in alignment with our own naturalness and each and every single human being is unique we have a unique sound we have a unique voice unique perspective unique experiences unique insights do we give it space to grow or do we try to be like others fitting in and not standing out towing the line how do we dare to be different do we dare to shine do we dare to grow beyond what we have known what we have been told what we have been sold by society by the communities in which we were raised in the places that we grew the places that we once grew the beauty of this life is that we have feet and we can walk we can move and change not like a tree who is rooted in one place and who will live and die in that rooted place we have feet to move to step into the direction of more alignment of more harmony of more balance of more resonance i've heard it said and i've intuitively felt before i even heard it said that humans are but walking trees but we can walk and we can move and we can step we make choices in what we choose to believe and what we choose to do and what we choose to say and yes we are we are we are we are we are we are we are we are we are we are we are we are we are we are there is conditioning and yes there is trauma and addictions and challenges we will face but we do have a choice when we slow down to take a breath we give ourselves a little bit more space we bring ourselves a little bit more into this present moment now now and now in this moment we can choose to move in any direction or if we can't move our body for some reason in this moment we can choose to put our mind on any different thought and while we think at times we do not have the power to choose our thoughts it's only when we identify with our thoughts it's only when we try to grasp and hold on to thoughts many spiritual teachers say that thoughts are but passing clouds in the sky and we are not the clouds or the weather we're the vastness of the sky that holds it all so breathe bring your attention and your focus to your breath to your body and when inevitably it gets called away by a thought or an impulse know that you are training your mind like you would train your body to be aligned with what you choose what you desire where you intend to place your foot or your mind or your heart it's a choice and with our world filled with addictions and things that grab our attentions from notifications to apps to endless endless scrolling and endless endless screens endless entertainment and sound and sights and smells that hijack our brains and our centers of dopamine and all kinds of foods and things that have been designed to grab our attention to where other people want them to be to make them money or to make them powerful to make them famous the choice is yours where you will put your attention but you have to be aware of this body this breath this moment and remind yourself that you are here for only a little while someday this but your body will return to the earth and until then you get to live you get to sing you get to dance you get to breathe you get to do whatever you choose and each choice has consequences and each choice has lessons and growth points and challenges but do you commit to that journey and when we can ask ourselves how we can use our gifts how we can use our talents how we can use our resources from our time to our energy to our money when we can remember that we came here with nothing and we will leave with nothing not even this body is ours to hold and we can ask ourselves what do we do with what we have been given what do we what will we do what will we choose to do with what we have been loaned because it's all temporary and all the fleeting gratification and pleasures that society and the media tries to sell us they're all but fleeting pleasures true joy is found in places that only you know for me it might be different for you but i've known the joy the true rooted joy of knowing the love of a dog knowing the love of a child knowing how it feels to love another human being even regardless of the reciprocity or the or if they feel the same i have known the joy of traveling to new lands and stepping into the unknown the uncertain taking brave steps to challenge what i thought i knew to let go of what i thought i knew the joy of overcoming struggles challenges hardships the joy of perseverance and moving in a direction of a dream of a wish and the joy of supporting someone else in theirs some of the deepest joys have nothing to do with our own pleasure nothing to do with our own comfort nothing to do with our own gain i smile when i think of the joy the growth the healing that i've seen in the lives of others where i have played perhaps a tiny tiny role in their liberation and their growth and them knowing that they are seen understood understood supported that their life matters and that they get to choose how they live their life one moment a moment by moment day by day because each day we were stepping into the unknown and learning to embrace each moment as it is without trying to change it or impose on it brings a sense of trust of curiosity of adventure i've heard it said that we need to stop looking for our purpose and choose to serve a purpose it doesn't mean that we have to work for an NGO or start a charity or give away all our money and live as a hermit or but in you within you who you are is special and you have specific skills and talents and gifts experience that gives you a unique perspective a unique way in which to reach people and to serve people maybe even in the most smallest and tiniest ways and maybe only in the way that you live and the way that you choose to live and you choose to be with other people i've known people at the gas station or the petrol station or the grocery store to give me a smile or to be kind and change my entire day and remember them for sometimes years we have lasting impacts on people and none of us are perfect we make mistakes i make mistakes or at least my brain says i do or behaves in ways that maybe i'm not always proud of or sometimes later i might regret or wish i could do over and the past is the past i can repair it if i can or i can forgive myself and forgive others who are also just doing what they knew how as best they could in that moment so many are responding from pain and trauma and addiction and the best they can may not seem the best they can but can we let the past be the past know and acknowledge how it has impacted us or how our actions have impacted others and know that we have a choice in this moment to step forward as we see fit and when we carry resentment and we carry unforgiveness in our hearts it's it's understandable when there's been a lot of pain and a lot of hurt and it's not to sound cliche but it is like carrying rocks around with us life feels heavy and dense and difficult and so when i catch myself feeling frustrated or angry or falling back into a mental loop or a story of how somebody treated me in a way i found to be disrespectful or unkind or hurtful i can acknowledge it and i can choose not to stay in that state or generate that state because sometimes i'll retell a story and i'm just regenerating that feeling of anger and frustration and resentment and it does not feel good because i could have spent that moment in joy and playfulness and in creativity and in creating the new and it's not a judgment on myself because i'm experiencing what i'm experiencing and i can also choose where i put my attention where i put my energy where i focus my words and my mind and my thoughts i choose more and more i desire more and more and i'm choosing more and more so you want to experience new things new experiences vision and walk in the direction of those visions to be playful and adventurous and creative and i want to invite you to do the same when you feel stuck and when you feel trapped and when you feel hopeless or helpless take a breath and listen to the sounds that you can hear around you nature sounds for me are so pleasant and when i'm in the towns or the cities it really bothers me hearing really loud cars or construction things that are really jarring to the nervous system and i'm trying to also just know notice i can hear i'm grateful for my hearing i'm to be grateful to just be alive and make choices based on there how i choose to move it's all a choice and when we believe it's not a choice we're stuck in a pattern of belief of hopelessness and helplessness pain or victimization and only we can liberate ourselves only you can liberate yourself only i can liberate myself sure we can cheer each other on and we can celebrate each other but you don't need to you don't need someone to come and save you and rescue you you can stand and shine as a lighthouse for yourself and for others i heard it said that just shine and stand as a lighthouse we don't need to dive into the ocean to try and save and rescue people in fact that's not going to help anyone it's going to make it worse we don't need to people please we don't need to save or rescue we can just stand and shine not with ego not with pride not with any kind of hierarchy or judgment or feeling better than but just shining who we are being our unique selves not needing anyone else's validation or praise or compliments just knowing in ourselves that we are living authentically authentic to ourselves as best we can and as we continue to grow and learn we flower more and more in our authenticity and our creativity and our love