Oops! Karaoke Did It Again

Last night I went to karaoke again, after having not been in awhile.  I expected to drink a couple beers, sing a couple songs, and talk with friends I have made over the course of the summer.  I never expected to have an epiphany about the way I view the world and the way I view myself.  The strangest things can happen between bad renditions of Piano Man and Ice, Ice Baby.

My sister and I arrived fairly early, expecting to stay a few hours and then return home at a decent time.  The bar was quiet and not many people had arrived yet, so we got our drinks, found our perches and sat and talked.  Slowly but surely, the place began to fill as the singing started and we proceeded to have a rollicking good time.  We met some people there, in the smoking section of course, and began talking with them.  Yet another group not from Alamogordo, but here on short term contract work for the local Air Force Base. We shared some drinks and some jokes, and some profound conversation.

The discussion somehow moved from generic topics to how one lives one's life to the fullest.  Living each moment as it comes and being fully aware of the passing of time.  This man and I traded personal philosophies and while I am still forming mine to a certain extend, he skillfully elucidated an argument regarding embracing one's fears--whatever they might be and becoming one with the world in which you live. In sum, a person should recognize that the fear is what holds a person in stasis, keeps them stagnant and unwilling to move into something new.   Once a fear is identified for what it is and seen objectively it becomes possible to move beyond it and to engage in new, more open behavior that allows for greater acknowledgement of self and one's own personal kind of divinity.  You become self-actualized when you live without fear.  You become more connected to the entirety of the world.  You become fully present in your own life.

All of this really spoke to my heart and my mind.  It was a verbalization of what I do believe to be true. I went home that night feeling great from this one little conversation taking place in between shots of Patron tequila and beer chasers. (Well, the tequila might have had something to do with the good feeling too, if I am really being honest.) But yet again, last night was the perfect example of why karaoke isn't always what it seems, and for me at least, has provided an invaluable education for the betterment of my own life.