My Journey with Peace
There are many roads to Peace; for me the way is simple meditation to music. I heard music from the beginning; on that quiet, late winter morning I remember the multi-layered chattering's of nature’s birdsong echoing through the haunting reverbs of the Botanical forest, the Leith stream added its unrepeated burble to the transient mix and Nature’s great symphony played its overture to my landing –I could see with my ears.
I followed music into my childhood, teenage years and through my twenties to the tune of rock'n'roll. A succession of guitars, song writing, performing and bands shaped the landscape of my youth. But with my thirties came the voice I previously had not had the silence to hear, the voice that asked - “Jeffree, who are you when you’re not being a musician?”
Before, I might have dismissed the relevance of such a question. However, now it seemed quite meaningful. As I thought about it, there was a feeling of anticipation – like somehow the answer was close by. I have a spatial learning style and I began imagining the scenario. Who am I when I’m not being a musician? Just for a brief moment I saw a snapshot of my childhood and in that same moment I also saw what I had become since.
I began thinking about what I had become over the years. I saw myself always seeing things in a particular way. Like a racehorse with blinkers I would charge forward. I was driven, and I wasn’t completely in control of that. I saw the intensity of what I had become obscuring something really important. The musician in me had taken over everything. What was beneath could only be what came before the musician. It seemed too important to ignore. I started to get a sense of a “deeper me” and I wanted to explore that. In timely fashion the voice responded, “Well then, let go and just BE YOU!”
Right at that moment without question, I did exactly that. I sat quietly; there was a deep sighing, a moment of surrender. I felt relieved, and at the same time I felt more true to myself. I released rock'n'roll from my résumé and delved deeper. I learned to meditate.