5 More Minutes

When the corona virus roared into the US it took an enormous toll on many facets of our lives. It’s “The Great Equalizer” where no one was spared it’s wrath or aftermath. It impeded on our freedom, robbed many of their lives and livelihoods, severely affected our mental and physical well being, and shined the light on our core values. If you’re like me some really heavy questions were hard to ignore. Why the hell am I here in the jungles of space and time called Earth? Why now? Why do I matter? What is my purpose? Is my job fulfilling? Does the amount of my paycheck determine my self worth? Am I taking care of my physical and mental health? Are my relationships loving and nurturing? What’s really important to me? Why do I give a flying fuck what people think of me? Why am I letting fear stand in the way of my dreams? Should my bucket list be saved for “retirement?” Will I live long enough to retire anyway? After all, the quality of our lives depends on the quality of questions we ask ourselves. The most paramount question of all, in my estimation is WHAT AM I DOING WITH MY TIME?

Many of us have mourned lives of friends, family members and colleagues whose lives were cut short from the virus or otherwise. Most recently, our industry came together like never before to honor Bruce “Mason” Brazelle who left the planet at the young age of 53. We were all brought together by our mutual adoration of his zest for life, his humor, his incredibly upbeat demeanor, but mostly our collective love of music. Music is the language of the universe. It’s the common thread weaved through cultures and centuries. Lyrics move you, they connect with your soul, your spirit and emotions, they align with your values or relate to your story. Songs that speak to you are also typically aligned with a life event or memory that’s etched in your heart. In my 25+ years of working in the music biz, I knew songs were hits when the lyrics bowled me over and made the hair on my arms stand up. One such song that relates to the topic of time is Scotty McCreery’s “5 More Minutes.”

Time rolls by the clock don't stop
I wish I had a few more drops
Of the good stuff, the good times
Oh but they just keep on flying
Right on by like it ain't nothing
Wish I had me a pause button
Moments like those Lord knows I'd hit it
And give myself five more minutes
(Written by: Monty Criswell, Scotty McCreery, Frank Rogers)

When we are faced with our mortality we aren’t wishing for more money, a huge house, a better pair of shoes, an adventurous vacation, a face life, or a Maserati…. none of it. We wish for more time. We wish we saw the value of our relationships, we wish we lived our purpose so our dreams won’t die with us. We wish we used the time we were allocated more judiciously. We wish for more time to complete and appreciate what we overlooked, things we took advantage of or sinfully ignored. We wish we lived in the NOW! We wish for “5 More Minutes.” How will you spend your time moving forward? I hope this served you as it has for me. After all, it’s always an Inside-Project.