The other day I was watching a documentary about drumming and Horacio Hernandez said something that stuck with me. He said,”We [drummers] have loved this instrument as children and somehow have managed to keep that child alive all this time.  So, every time we play, it’s just fun for us.”

Hmm.  Keep that child alive all of this time?  Wow.  That’s a crazy idea.

When I was young, I couldn’t wait to be an adult.  No more early bedtimes.  No more curfews.  No one to tell me what to do and when to do them.  It’s amazing how ignorant and down-right crazy I was!  I didn’t anticipate how becoming an adult would present such a civil war inside myself.

The thing I’ve learned most about kids is that kids are honest, are oblivious to caution and are fun-loving beings.  They are, in fact, oblivious to many things.  Children like what they like, and that’s that.  They dive head first into whatever they’re doing, and are not concerned about anyone else while they do it.  They exude love, and passion in its purest form.  They truly dance as though no one is looking.

I admire those adults who have managed to keep their “inner child”alive.  But it’s not easy.  On occasion, I have fought to keep my “inner child” in tact.  In other ways, pieces of my child-like self have fallen faint, like a distant memory.  Life has a satirically funny way of doing that to us adults.  It’s as though a rule of being an adult requires you to lose your “mini-me”.  My personal prayer is that those dormant piece of the child-like me would awaken, restoring the free spirit of my youth.

Friends, try your best to keep your younger you alive.  I guess it’s true what I read once: “Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that’s where life starts.”

Until next time:

Love & Peace.

-Herbie