Truth from Rock and Roll Lyrics

I love Rock and Roll. I spent a good amount of my teens, twenties, and thirties in record stores and standing in line to buy concert tickets.  A lot of my disposal income went to supporting my love of live music and buying the albums of my favorite artists.

I also spent my twenties, thirties and forties reading. I read mostly Personal Power and self help books. I have complied a list of quotes from my favorite authors and have found universal truths in books such as Wishes Fulfilled by Dr. Wayne Dyer, Awaken the Giant Within by Anthony Robbins, Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsh, and The Way of the Wizard by Deepak Chopra. However, my love of Rock and Roll has also showed me universal truths. Here is a list of five song lyrics by rockers that hold a nugget of truth. It's only Rock and Roll but I like it.

1. "You can't always get what you want, but if you try real hard you sometimes find you get what you need." (Mick Jagger, You Can't Always Get What You Want).  Today it seems we are in a Prosperity Model of Metaphysics. It seems every new age guru has interpreted a statement by Joseph Campbell and turned it into an abundance mantra. We are told to, "Follow you bliss and the money will follow." That is not what Joseph Campbell said. He said, "Follow your bliss and you will always be happy. If you choose to follow the money you may fall off the beam." Meaning, if you decide to chase a dollar there is no guarantee you will make money and you will have given up your passion to do so. If you follow your bliss there is also no guarantee you'll make money but you will always be happy because you did not ignore your passion.

Something you want may not be your passion. We all want money but money does not equate to happiness or respect. Very often we sell our souls for a dollar. We give up our creative drive to sit in a cubicle. If you have the strength and courage to follow your passions and work very hard on finding ways to monetize them, you will get the things we all need. Happiness, satisfaction, contentment, and peace of mind.

2. "Well now you tell me that you love somebody, and you'll love forever. You may love them forever, but you won't like them all of the time. Well now you tell me that you need somebody for the rest of your life you may have somebody, but you won't want them every day" (Billy Joel, Ain't No Crime). People are always looking for their soulmate. Someone they could spend the rest of their days with. Even if you find, or have, that person in your life you will still need to take time for yourself. You will need time for your hobbies, and passions that your partner may not share. Do not create your world around your partner. Do not give up yourself to be with someone. As important as it is to spend time with each other, it is equally important to realize that they, like you, are an individual and you both need alone time or a "guys/gals" night out. Also understand they have values, habits and beliefs you may not agree with. That's okay. Love is allowing someone to be who they choose whether you agree with them or not.

3. "You can't stop us on the road to freedom. You can't stop us 'cause our eyes can see. Men with insight, men in granite. Knights in armor bent on chivalry." (Van Morrisson,  Tupelo Honey). You can't stop progress. No matter how hard you try, you can not stop change nor the march of time. Every time I started getting depressed thinking about the atrocities being committed in this world and witness the pain and suffering of others, I take comfort that those that believe they are being well hidden are not. From the Arab Spring to Ferguson, Missouri social media allows us to see every crime against humanity, every social injustice, and every person who stands for justice, righteousness, and equality for all. There is no more hiding.

4. "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make." (Paul McCartney, The End) This just about sums everything up. The universe will give you exactly what you give it. If you believe you are not deserving of love then you will not have it. If you believe there is only a finite amount of love to be had or that love has to be proven before you give it than you will find an absence of it in your life. If you freely give love to all then your cup will be runneth over. The more love you give. The more love you have to give. It's a bottomless well.

5. Is self explanatory ...

"All you need is love

All you need is love

All you need is love, love

Love is all you need." ~ The Beatles