At each stage of life there is a sense of feeling old and being behind. Your about to leave high school, worrying about getting into university, your leaving university and worried about getting and job, you get a job , now you feel alone and concerned you haven’t found someone to settle down with. Sometimes life doesn’t follow the linear path of our plans, which can create friction and tension. But a lot of this stems from comparison.
We compare ourselves to timelines. We compare ourselves by guidelines defined by society and our culture. We compare ourselves to perfectly posed pictures overlayed with filters. We run against the clock, when we are not really going anywhere. Inside this web of mayhem is our own expectations and now we’re uncertain which direction we should go.
I wouldn’t say I am old (I am 28), but I’m not considered young in terms of music. I stopped making music after university and only restarted again at about the age of 25. Sometimes I do get caught up in the trap of comparing myself to those pursuing the same goals that are younger. But I don’t think pursuing my passion at a later age has been a bad thing. Living my life away from music and going down the tradition path has provided me the inspiration and content I write in my music today. In order to write about the struggles living in the “matrix” you have to be inside it. In order to understand the struggles of everyday people you have to walk alongside them. With age comes wisdom and over the years my music has grown with substance. Simply put I cannot write about what I don’t know. So if you are pursuing a passion in your 30s, 40s, 50s or over, you have more life experience that I or any of your younger contemporaries could draw upon. The age of the internet is not only for the youth but also for you. Keep inspiring, you have a lot more to offer than you realise.