Along the Way. . .
Experiences, Insights & Humor on the “Long Road Home”
By Steven Maisenbacher
Well, I am getting closer to the final destination – we all are, one second at a time – but I want to touch on something that is kinda cool, maybe a tad bit dark but with a happy ending. see, for all my bravado in my younger years, I was actually petrified of dying. I was afraid and unsure of the end, tried to rationalize my fears and thoughts on the subject in a zillion ways, but after all, the one debt we all owe is a death. We all are born, we live for a finite amount of time, all of us, so we are born, we live, then we die.
The thing of it is, the world has been cooking up so many possible afterlife scenarios since the first sunrise. All the religions of the world have their own twist on what happens and where we go, so we’ve got plenty to cogitate on as far as that goes. But the one thing that scared me more than anything was going before I made my peace with the Creator and turned my life around.
Well as I’ve gotten older I’ve come to grips with the inevitable and found the biggest push toward inner self peace and understanding in one of the most unlikely places. My favorite band!
After you have read this little commentary, check out the band Dream Theatre and look for one of the older live versions of their song, “The Spirit Carries On.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBCNLzhHYYo Nov. 2009
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGGYvXFRdhM 2013 Live at Luna Park with Lyrics
I’m sure that if you do this you will see why I am no longer a mess in my own head where death of this earthly body is concerned. I’m not exaggerating because I have faced some pretty serious issues since I discovered this particular ditty and it has given me much comfort.
The Spirit Carries On Dream Theater Free of the fear and the pain My questioning mind Has helped me to find The meaning in my life again Victoria's real I finally feel At peace with the girl in my dreams And now that I'm here It's perfectly clear I found out what all of this means If I die tomorrow I'd be all right Because I believe That after we're gone The spirit carries on. Source: MetroLyrics
The song’s message allowed me so much more strength and defiance that I made it thru every issue. Eventually though, my day will come and I’m ready for it. Now, don’t get it twisted, I am in no hurry, I’m way too busy with future plans to even contemplate making a date to test the entire theory. But I will say try this beautiful song on for size and apply it however you can. It might help make a little less anxiety over the whole matter. I know it works for me.
Let me go on to say that while this may not be the longest jaunt I have laid out here for you, it has allowed me to toss out the fact that Dream Theatre is my favorite band, so while we are in the neighborhood let me also suggest you give a listen to some of their better tracks:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgIZaL4tROI Top 10 Dream Theater Songs
If you enjoy this sampling, you may want to Google some of my personal favorites: Raising the Knife, Misunderstood, Illumination Theory, On The Backs Of Angels, Metropolis, Sacrificed Sons.
These are just a few songs that I love and listen to at least weekly. As of late, I have also been on a retro kick and have been getting into the now defunct band “Head East.” I love all the stuff off of Flat as a Pancake and also Getting’ Lucky, but any of their live stuff is just good clean rock n roll, not too hard, not too soft, just right. Smile. And with that folks, I’m gonna close this one up. I do hope you will take the info offered up and check ‘em out.
I will probably be done with what I’m figuring to be book 2 “Along the Way” before Christmas and may or may not continue to write about my journey before I get out. So I’m wondering, what do ya think? If you will, please send your thoughts and comments. I cannot see this site from where I am, but Sings tells me of all the comments and I love to hear what you think. So thank you, especially to those of you who are in fact following and reading what I have to say. I love hearing about little emoji’s you post. That means a whole lot to me and lets me feel that maybe someone has faith in me…
EDITOR’S NOTE: Something really awesome just happened for Walks and he wants to tell you about it, so stay tuned to read about “The Gift” before Christmas. Sings
© Steven “Walks On The Grass” Maisenbacher, December, 2021
Journeys of the Spirit 