Optimism from an outsider.

I may not always have this opinion, but for right now I've decided that I live in just about the best place ever.

This may reveal an intense optimism and unspoiledness, and I guess that's appropriate. I am intensely optimistic and unspoiled in many ways.

But cynicism is still pervasive. And I find myself bending underneath it's influence sometimes. Even as an outsider looking in.

I am by no means an insider in the music business. But I do live right next to Music City. And I have lived in Music City at more than one point in my life. So I can't help but hear things. I'm not completely out of the loop. And there is certainly a lot of cynicism around here.

Why are we so cynical? I am aware of many potential answers that I might get to that question, but still I ask why are we so cynical? There is so much opportunity around here. And there is music being played by someone, somewhere, all the time. How many places can say that? Not very many, I think. It's a gift.

I do know that people get burned all the time. It's an unfortunate fact. In those instances it's hard not to feel cynical. But why should we, anybody, for any reason, succumb to those feelings? They can rob situations of any good they may contain, and create people who are never happy because they're always looking for what's wrong. We need to fight against this. I need to fight against this.

A subject I am much more familiar with is the Church. I've been deeply involved in the Church all my life. There's a lot of cynicism there too. And like I said before, with some of the stuff I've seen and heard, it's hard to fight it off. But there is much too much good to let yourself be overtaken by cynicism. Even if there wasn't, I have a feeling that if there was less cynicism anyway, more good could then be created. But I do think there is still overwhelming good. There are people all around who honestly care. There are people who sincerely love Jesus and in turn love other people. And because of that the poor are being fed, the broken-hearted are being comforted, one person at a time.

So we can't let ourselves fall under the debilitating influence of cynicism. In any situation.

Therefore, in an effort to look beyond the eyes of a cynic, I'm feeling pretty good about where I live. Music is a wondrous thing. I think most people around here feel the same way and are operating under that belief. We just have to look out for the ones who aren't, who end up doing everything they can to try and spoil it for the rest of us. For someone as musically minded as I am, this place is a fitting place to be. I need to take advantage of where I live more. I love live music, and though we are never lacking in this area, I rarely go see anyone perform. And most of the live music I've taken in lately has been from a few certain musicians, so I'm not getting much variety in what little I'm taking in. I need to broaden my horizons.

Call me an optimistic outsider, if you will. I can't argue with you there. But I am familiar with human nature. I've had almost 22 years of experience being a human, and while it may not be much, I think I've learned something in that time. I've learned that we need to spend as much time as possible bringing out the good, rather than the bad. That's not to say we should ignore the bad, because to not acknowledge something that's there would be foolish, and would be an insult to all of the people who experience pain and suffering due to bad things every day. But we shouldn't go looking for it. It's quite good at making its way out into the spotlight on its own. The good is harder to see. And it is the good we find that makes life worth living, that makes all of the bad worth it in the end.

Here's to Music City. I'm proud to call you and your many suburbs home.