“I’ve just closed my eyes again, climbed aboard the dream weaver train..driver take away my worries of today, and leave tomorrow behind.  Dream weaver I believe you can get me through the night.  Dream weaver I believe we can reach the morning light.” – Gary Wright  

I have been a lover of music ever since I was a kid, a gift passed down from my Dad.  He would have mini concerts in our basement cranking up the music on that record player as loud as it could go. We would sing at the top of our lungs and dance around to the likes of Joe Cocker, Ray Charles, Earth Wind and Fire and countless others.  What really fascinates me about music, (as you might guess) is the writing.  The lyrics, the inspirations behind the songs and the songs’ true meanings are what makes music so magical.  Claude Debussy said that “Music is the space between the notes.”, and I believe there is truth in that.  I was listening to a talk given by Les Brown about dreams and for some reason the song “Dream Weaver” popped in to my head.  The writer, Gary Wright, another artist of the 70’s , not as popular as the other behemoths I mentioned earlier of that era, had an interesting story and answer to the question of what this song was about.  He was invited by Beatles great George Harrison to accompany him on a trip to India, and before they left he gave Gary a copy of a classic to read, “Autobiography of a Yogi”.  Gary became fascinated with Indian culture and its spiritual essence and amongst other readings, he came across a poem called God God God.  The poem referred to the idea of the mind weaving dreams, he wrote the title “Dream Weaver” in his journal of song titles and tucked it away. He goes on to say that when he finally got around to writing the song, the lyrics and music flowed out of him as if written by an unseen source.

When asked about the meaning of the song Gary for a while would respond by saying it’s about a fantasy life.  Only after years of reflecting, he changed his answer to, “… It’s a song about someone with infinite compassion and love carrying us through the night of our trials and suffering.  None other than God himself.”  I stopped and thought, hey, Mr. Wright is on to something here, so I myself began to reflect on my life, my fears and my faith.  Maybe it’s the time of my life or maybe it’s the life experiences I have gone through such as dealing with the loss of loved ones or the highs and lows of my career.  I’ve thought maybe I haven’t become all that I could be or I’m not as successful as I thought I would be at this point in my career.  Have I been a good enough father to my daughters?  Am I saying the right things to them?  Am I setting the example I should be setting for them so that they can become all they can be?

We all have these questions, doubts and fears, I’m here to tell you that it’s okay. I realized that all of these questions brought me to the conclusion that man oh man this guy couldn’t be more spot on.  It comes down to a belief in that weaver of dreams called God.  I attempted to count the amount of times in the bible where it mentions the phrase be not afraid or something to that nature.   There are an endless amount of passages in various books reassuring us that everything will be okay.  You will find the answers you are looking for, you will make it through whatever you are struggling with and you will find peace.   I realize we live in a time where emotions, and the defense of those emotions about various religions are at a fever pitch.  To be clear, this isn’t meant to be one of those religious rants.  Our lives are a work in progress, and we need to work on every facet to find that balance.  Spirituality is an easy part of our lives to overlook, but it couldn’t be more essential.  The revitalization of my faith in a higher power has helped me to find some answers and maybe just maybe it can help you as well.

There is a game I like to play called Bible roulette, where I just kind of randomly open up the good book and read whatever chapter is in front of me. In looking for a way to close this week’s blog I gave my tried and true method a shot, I wasn’t disappointed.  Matthew 8:26, (a coincidence that 8/26 is my birthday?) “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith.”

Dream Weaver, I believe….