There's No Getting Anywhere

There's nothing to accomplish in life, and we are all equal in suffering.  Before the fall from Grace, Adam and Eve lived in harmony with nature and were immortal.  This was not a mythological story, Judaism is not based on mythology.  It is the best faith, and there are different types of Judaism based on who is practicing.

We are not living perfect lives.  Nobody is perfect.  You start out fresh and young, and grow up and improve constantly until the age of 27 at which you peak, spend a few years at maximum performance, and then begin to wane.  Most men die at the age of 75 or 80.  The happiest time of your life is when you are in your early thirties and start to realize there is more to life than just physicality.

Since we are born to die, nobody can be a master or guru.  Even a zen master means someone who has attained kensho, bears his last body, and will be free when his body dies.  Physical immortality is not a blessing, and Yogic masters are a bit pretentious.

There is no master.  God is greater than mortal man.  But Buddhism completes the Law, and the Buddha was a type of inspired Indo-European prophet who invented a secular mysticism anyone can do and attain happiness in a world of suffering people.

So I am an Israelite, a Buddhist master, and I see the value of Christianity.  It has validity.  Christianity was a way to civilize the barbarians, to bring morality to non moral pagans.  There is no religion greater than Judaism, and Anti Semitism is a kind of mental illness.  There are different kinds of religious and secular Jews in the world. 

So calling me Hispanic Jew is not that far off.  But it is a reductionist way of delineating a half truth and not the complete picture.  Nobody cares about you, they care about themselves.  This selfishness is self-defeating but they do it anyway because they are ignorant.  Altruism leads to the more joy than selfishness.

My greatest joy right now is the music, and I like giving it away both for free and at a price.  In one way, Spotify and YouTube is great, because it is free to the consumer and I get paid a few cents from each hundred views or so.  So it is beneficial to you and me.  It is in theory a good work model, but in reality, they are making most of the money and I am getting ripped off.  But I create music for my own expression not for the money.  Making some money is just a side benefit.

The rhythm and blues music I create is the music of tragedy and hardship.  I in my own way suffered immensely and didn't live the life I should have.  So there is sorrow, joy, and hope all rolled into one in my music.  The story of America is the story of slavery, and white overclass and black underclass.  In Latin America, people intermarry freely and everyone is equally poor.  In the USA, there is segregation, even to this day, but it is more subtle.  If you are black, you can't hide it, it's evident.  White people have white skin and black people have black skin.  But if races intermingle, eventually everyone looks brown skin with Asiatic features.  Latinos are rich in  spirit, culture, and beauty.

There is more to America than just white and black.  Latinos do a lot of low end labor because they are strong and energetic and are willing to do it.  The Asians and the Jews come from a culture of education and raising the young to venerate the traditions of the elders.  Native Americans are still there, but they are marginalized.  And Arabs and Indo-Europeans are everywhere.

Life is not the way it should be, it's the opposite.  Suffering is grace, and less is more.  So I sing the blues because I've lived the blues, and I am not where I belong.  You don't have to be African American to sing the blues.

As my music career goes on, I will find people who play my type of guitar music, who listen to my type of guitar music, and where I am celebrated not just tolerated.  I would play at a Jewish synagogue or a Hispanic Church.  Religion is not that important these days.  You don't have to self identify as something.  That is just a label.

My latest album, Trouble On My Way, explores original rhythm and blues songs, an instrumental, a blues cover, and a couple of flamenco songs.  I am pushing the boundaries because I want to grow.  Even if my music is not popular here, it is popular somewhere.  I know I have a following in Mexico, Brazil, the Philippines, Sweden, and other parts of Europe.  Some people stick to the good music and see rhythm and blues as the best music America ever produced.  I sound like I belong in the 60s.

So my life continues without money being an issue.  I am a musician, Aikido expert, home cook, writer, and I am living a simple but enjoyable life.  Both the good and the wise lead quiet lives.  They don't go running around looking for a party.  Bars and nightclubs isn't where the fun is. 

If you were smart, you'd learn quick that the most important thing to work on is zen.  Being enlightened, content with nothing, and happy in any situation is the ultimate wealth.  When you realize that you are just mind, body, and spirit, and the food is on loan from the earth, you start to value non tangible things more than tangible things.  And then life is a breeze.

The best thing in life is finding a fulfilling career, fulfilling partner, a few loyal friends, and not neglecting the spiritual aspect of your life.  There's no getting anywhere, and even celebrities must grow old, lose their looks, and die.  So nobody really is that special.  God is greater than mortal man, and God is more real than we are, even though he is non physical.

So there's no getting anywhere and the point of life is to be happy and useful.  So be happy, enjoy your work, your lover, your music, your food, and live out your days in peace.  That's all.