Yesterday, I was listening to an audio book by Seth Godin. He talked about living the marketing message you want to share. I realized that's probably the reason Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers has done so well. I love cats!
Last night, I was watching a movie and Torre climbed up on little fold out table and stood there like an Egyptian God. He stared off quietly as cats do, looking off into a parallel universe or something.
When he saw me staring, he took a careful moment measuring the distance to the sofa with his eyes. His legs flexed, and he leapt onto the sofa and climbed on my lap. He looked at me to see if I would object. Of course, I didn't. And a couple minutes later, he circled and lay down quietly to nap.
I love when cats do that. I love the way they love. It's so different and yet similar to the way we humans love. My cats are extremely loving and faithful to me. They know their daddy and show it all the time. Sure, sometimes it's a bit stand-offish, but that's just the nature of the cat. If you try petting him when he doesn't want a petting, he shakes you off and walks away. Torre hates it when I kiss him on the forehead. Sometimes he bares it. Sometimes he struggles away. But he's always back with more love to give and share.
That's the amazing thing about love. I'm working on a CD called “A Tribute to Love“. Admittedly, I'm far from an expert. I am single, after all. But I do know that love is two-way even if I can't always adequately balance it.
In order to receive love, you need to give it.
But too often our pride gets in the way. We let it hinder our ability to receive by not giving it to others. It works in many arenas too. That's one of the reasons I try to help indie bands so much. It's to receive that feeling of respect that I so greatly desire too. Love is the same way. You have to give it to receive it.
I was thinking about this as I was driving home listening to that Seth Godin audio book, thinking about it in terms of my Love CD. I don't just want to release another CD. This feels like it should be something different. The album is mixture of love songs. Some are traditional Celtic, but most are original songs that I've written over there years that express different aspects of love that I've experienced.
Yesterday, I was thinking about even raising the price on this CD while donating a significant portion to a loving charity. I've thought about limiting the release to only people of a certain loving disposition who want to love and be loved. But I'm not sure either of those things really get to the heart of what I want.
I want something that shares my love with others. I want something that you can share with people you love. I want to hear hearts beat rapidly throughout the world, all in the name of love.
Maybe it's a little hopeful since I still need finish recording and mix the album. Maybe it's too big a dream to expect from one little album, but love is important in life. And with any luck, I hope to bring a little bit more into the world.