Just to lift your spirits

We are all one with and inseparable from God, and each other.

Stand By Me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us-TVg40ExM&feature=email

Terrific! and I posted about it on my blog

http://www.sheilacasey.com/2008/12/playing-for-change-stand-by-me.html

Nearly two and a half million people have watched this clip on You Tube, and in the space of two hours the counter jumped up another 17,000 views today. Clearly I'm not the only one moved and inspired by the passion of these little known musicians.*

Why are they so compelling?

We live in a world increasingly dominated by heartless corporations that understand only power. They worship money, and the most superficial kind of sex appeal, and encourage us to do the same.

This materialistic emphasis hurts all of us, whether we be rich or poor, ugly or beautiful. For the rich know that their money might not always be there (just ask Rene-Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet) and beauty fades (ask Elizabeth Taylor.) Deep inside we long to be loved for more than surface attributes that can change from year to year, we want to be valued for our essence.

This video of musicians around the world singing Stand By Me gives a big middle finger to the corporate values of greed and superficial perfection. The song, from the Rob Reiner movie of the same name, tells of the matchless power of love.

If the sky that we look upon
Should tumble and fall
And the mountains should crumble to the sea
I won't cry, I won't cry, no I won't shed a tear
Just as long as you stand, stand by me

We meet Grandpa Elliot, a short, squat, aged black man in overalls and a bushy gray beard, whose entire body vibrates and wiggles with unselfconscious joy in the song. His eyes practically roll back into his head as he loses himself in the music. To gaze upon Grandpa Elliot as he sings is to see straight into his essence, to love him, and to feel the love that he is pouring out in his gift of music...

Excellent music.

I love blues.


Do these people deserve to know how and why their loved ones were murdered? Do we deserve to know how and why 9/11 happened?