It was back in the eighties when I heard my first Journey song. I can remember hearing the lyrics and the vocals of Steve Perry as he sang songs like Sherry and Open Arms. These songs brought more than just a good beat for me, but memories of events that had happened in life. I think that’s why music has such a powerful influence on the soul, and although I will occasionally hear a song or two on the radio, I often wondered why new music hadn’t been recorded.
About a week ago, I had read an interview that Steve Perry had done for The Associated Press. I was surprised when I had read that he had left the music scene. He never hummed a song to the radio, or sang in the shower; the music that he made come alive for listeners was gone. As one of the most powerful voices in rock ‘n’ roll, the front man for Journey had given up on making music. I could understand how the music industry could drive away great performers. What was fascinating about this interview was what drove Steve Perry back to singing. A broken heart.
In a quote, Steve Perry told the world that, “a heart is not complete until it’s completely broken.” For me, that’s a powerful way of thinking about giving up one passion for another. Out of a misstep with his then-girlfriend, he begged for her forgiveness. The one thing that she asked of him was to sing to her. He resisted, but in a plea to salvage their relationship he sang for her, with the promise that should anything happen to her, that he wouldn’t hide away from society.
When she passed away, Steve Perry kept his promise to her. Now with a new album coming out, he has found his passion again. Calling it a life-sustaining passion to return to performing and singing again, I often wonder how many times that I didn’t follow my passion. How many times that I have hidden away from society because of fear or the thought that what I was doing wouldn’t be accepted. I think that if there is one lesson to learn after reading the words of Steve Perry was to Don’t Stop Believing. This is so true.
There are many people who play life safe. What I mean by that is we may stay in the same job or the same relationship, whatever it may be, for the sake of comfort. We forget about following our passions, our hearts. Some of us live in the past for fear of the future. Others live in the comfort zone of life because it’s safe. Whatever the reason may be, it could be the reason for unhappiness.
If we think about it. Eat the cake. Buy that new sweater. Have faith and say what’s on your heart. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but we have today to work towards living happily for each day. What is meant to be will be, but we will never know if we don’t try. We live according to daydreams. Or we could live our dreams. Whichever one it is, don’t stop believing.
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