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I met a man with no ego. He was a sprite of a man with feathers in his hat and a near-constant smile. He spoke frequently of light beings and thankfulness and I wondered... is such a thing possible? I went back to the Tao Te Ching to see what the old boy said about light and darkness and there it was!

a clip from Ch2

"When people see some things as beautiful,
other things become ugly.
When people see some things as good,
other things become bad...."

And here is Ch10 in it's entirety. 

"Can you coax your mind from its wandering
and keep to the original oneness?
Can you let your body become
supple as a newborn child's?
Can you cleanse your inner vision
until you see nothing but the light?
Can you love people and lead them
without imposing your will?
Can you deal with the most vital matters
by letting events take their course?
Can you step back from you own mind
and thus understand all things?

Giving birth and nourishing,
having without possessing,
acting with no expectations,
leading and not trying to control:
this is the supreme virtue."

So I can readily understand that such a thing is not only possible, but this man may very well have gotten there. This brings up more questions than it answers though, as good ideas typically do. Seeing that being self aware has survival value and is most likely a product of human evolution with the intention of the flourishing of the species, would being eternally joyful have survival value? Well sure, it creates the conditions that allow for a more peaceful accordance with the universe, but is it an end in itself? Most assuredly not. I think that a peaceful disposition gives us the tools to do the work, but is not an end to the work (I know it doesn't 'really' have an end, but there is a more definite end than this- I may talk about it later). 

My experience often brings up the question of if one must cognitively understand what one does. Does the dancer need to understand why they dance? Of the people I've asked, they have said no. Well, being that I am the artist who understands his art and why I do it, I think it is absolutely imperative. 

Why has every culture in the history of man had a form of artwork(from the handaxe onward)? Even the earliest languages have music that can be traced back to the mimicking of natural sounds and rhythm (which I think may suggest music predates language). 

(Quite possibly the very first jam session)

Point being that throughout history- regardless of when music started- we've had music but haven't really understood music- and so music remains the same. Only when we can use music as a language can it serve it's purpose and language doesn't function if you only enjoy the sound of it.

Play that funky beat, cro magnon man.