I am a contradiction in terms.

It's time to reset. For a moment or two I've lapsed in judgment. I've been drawn to you without rhyme or reason, not sure of my pursuance or need for persistence. Living so close yet so far away it seems as though we're in different galaxies. The universe draws me in different directions for different reasons, mostly for unclear reasons. Honesty is the only release for me at this point in my life, nothing else can satisfy.

I realize that I'm paddling upstream, but a little bit of trust and faith on your side can create such a wonderful, positive motion forward. Bad timing seems to be the bane of my existence, always coming in at the most inopportune time when you're trying to finalize, I'm working on initializing!

My denial of the word "can't" forces me to create abstract worlds where literally anything is possible. Why I can't decipher the difference is baffling to me, setting myself up for disappointment in the most painful ways. This, contradicting my overall philosophy of not setting up expectations?

Health and Happiness

I wonder that if people spent the appropriate amount of time focusing on their health and happiness and not blaming other things for their downfalls, if we wouldn’t be less over populated, obese and depressed as not only a nation but as a world?

I keep hearing people blame not having enough time to exercise or do the things they want on having kids, if you’re not healthy and can’t maintain a healthy lifestyle while having kids maybe you should consider NOT having kids? Accordingly people continue to blame having a family (kids) on not pursuing their dreams or doing what they want in life. If having a family is so strenuous and stressful and detrimental on your health, happiness and dreams, then maybe we should consider the importance of having a family versus health and happiness.

Now I don’t want to play down the importance of having a family, especially for those who want and dream of nothing but that for themselves. I realize that I’m not the biggest proponent for families but all I hear on facebook among other social networking sites is wining. People wining on facebook or myspace about what they wish they were doing, which makes me laugh right out loud (LOL) because they could be out working on their dreams or finding ways to get themselves on the path to their dreams but instead they spend the better part of their day trying to find out who posted what or who’s doing who on their favorite social networking site.

I will end by restating my introduction, I truly believe that if people spent the appropriate amount of time focusing on bettering themselves, specifically their health, and quit blaming their problems on others (having kids) we would all be healthier, happier and more motivated to help others.

Passion: a strong or extravagant fondness, enthusiasm, or desire.

It's amazing how most of these blogs are happening between the hours of 1 am and 4 am. But tonight is no different, I've been up pondering the parts of my life that I adore the most and realized that there are two things that I spend the majority of my day trying to achieve....Women and Music. Through these ponderings I've come to realize that I have only ever really been passionate about two things in life. Music and Women, even from the time I was a little one I've loved women and music with all of my heart and put nothing less into each of them.

There is a reason that I don't date just anyone or join a band with just any Joe schmo...I refuse to accept mediocrity with any part of my life but especially with the two parts that I'm most passionate about. Anyone who does is lessening the value of them in their own lives and not experiencing the full extent that both Music and Love have to offer. This seems to be the same reason why it's not easy getting over either of them when they ebb and flow through my life.

Music is more of a constant but still comes and goes, but when women (love) comes and goes it's much harder because when it's not there, there's an emptiness that can't be filled no matter what. I'm beginning to grow accustom once again to the space between, whether or not it fills again isn't entirely up to me. I do need to be weary though of who is let into the iron gates and even more so who is allowed to venture further in.

This is why I fall back on music, music will always be there in some form or another and when the stars align it's as if the gods themselves are smiling upon me and my love of music the notes almost write themselves.

These passions in my life run so deep that I'm willing to give up everything that others hold so dear just to have a glimmer of a moment with either of them. But that single moment can go on for a lifetime, completely losing oneself, time seems to stop and anything is possible within that one moment.

Revolution

Truth, Beauty, Freedom and Love

Everything in my life has been leading up to these next moments in time. I realize now that the music, movies and performances that have moved me and helped me understand my own involvement in this world are all revolved around one of these four ideas.

Truth is something that too many people have become afraid of. Political correctness has created a fear of speaking one's mind, speaking without censoring, speaking the Truth. A bit of harsh reality, truth, would do this world a bit of good.

Beauty has become something unattainable by the general people because it changes so fast and has become an unhealthy way of life. What people don't understand is that if you work on the beauty within the outside beauty will take shape.

Freedom. Far too many people take for granted what freedoms we do have and then allow many of them to be taken away for a sense, illusion, of security. Take a minute and truly try to understand what "Freedom" means to you. Are you willing to fight for it, even in your everyday life?

Love. What can I say that hasn't already been said. I've given up the greatest love that I may ever know to pursue my dreams in hopes that I might be able to glimmer a small bit of Truth, Beauty, Freedom and Love. I've sacrificed what most people would die to maintain all in hopes of achieving these dreams.

Let there be a light in the end and may Love be contained in a sliver of that spectrum, for me.

Unique Perceptive Path

As I walked up the stairs instead of taking the elevator like everyone else in the building, I came to realize why I do the things that I do; the way that I do. With a unique perception on life and the world around, I've come to accept that I can take no one else's path but my own. Not only because everyone's path is unique to themselves but because of the content of that which I'm pursuing is unique to the majority of the world. When I'm done with my projects and with my life I feel and hope that others can begin to perceive the uniqueness that is my life and my story, helping them to peruse their own understanding of the world around them. As I search harder and harder I feel that what I'm searching for is getting farther and farther away with each breathe of life. It's time for action, to take control of what I can and leave the rest by the wayside for others to trudge through. What are you waiting for; no one can complete a task but you.

Paths Come, Paths Go

Paths come together, paths diverge
Washing to and fro like a stormy ocean surge
Supporting and decaying
Each convergence gives and takes of each
With the honesty of life and a newly blossomed peach
We can now step forward into the next stormy surge

Don't tell me I can't do something.

I still remember one of the first times that anyone told me that I can't do something, more so they said I shouldn't do this or do that but in relation to the fact that I just couldn't do it.

Oddly enough it was actually my dad and my step mom in relation to drumming, they supported me being involved in music because they helped me buy a guitar but they were the first of many to tell me that I couldn't make a living as a drummer because it wasn't melodic enough, songwriters use guitars or piano to write songs. Although their intentions were kind hearted, it completely pissed me off that they thought that there was anything in this world that I couldn't do. I refuse to believe that with enough effort and the proper knowledge there is anything that can't be done.

I don't yet have kids and one day may or may not, but for those of you who do have kids or plan to have kids, NEVER tell them they can't do something. Truly, this day in age anything is possible. "Those who don't try, never look foolish." I'm perfectly happy looking foolish if it allows me the experience of trying something new or getting me one step closer to my end goals. Fear should not dictate your actions or your advice. That's all it is, is fear of looking foolish or sounding foolish in some way or another. Don't Be Afraid! I'm not going to presume to tell you what life is about, but I do know that life is not about living in fear, get over it!

So to my dad and step mom I say, "Eat It" because not only is it completely possible to write songs as a percussionist with percussion instruments but I can even write melodic sounding music with un-pitched percussion and pieces that are not intended for melodic purposes.

I'm continually working toward changing people's perception in every way, but specifically music and even more specifically percussion. There are projects in the works currently that you wouldn't expect and when they hit the scene you won't know what hit you. I look forward to it, I hope you'll join me on the journey through musical perception.

Mahola P. Willikers