The Song You Were Meant To Sing

Lima writes,

Dear Dr. Gupta, I was once a famous singer. I was well-known in my country. But I developed bad arthritis and had trouble making it to my shows. My arthritis was premature. I was only 22 when it came to me. I was not able to do shows for 6 years. I was given treatment for several years and since then my condition has very much improved. But it seems the world has passed me by. In only 6 years. It seems that the latest young talent is what the industry is after. And I would not even mind if it was high quality. But, forgive me, it is not. I have given my life to my craft. But it seems difficult to regain success like I once had. I would love your thoughts.

Lima, your story is most touching.

You should not be surprised that quality is lacking in your industry or in any industry. Quality is passe. It is old school. The society in which we live, regardless of the nation or the culture, is a society that crumbles under the weight of its insignificance. Art, science, spirituality, education, media . . . It all caters to the lowest common denominator. And quality is not part of the equation.

For me, the question that arises from reading your story is not how they will rediscover you. But if you will rediscover your craft.

Lima, sometimes the voice that is discovered is the one that sings only for itself.

Forget success for the time being. Why not find your rhythm again?

Not the rhythm of the music. But the rhythm of your life when you were first finding your way.

Remember those days, Lima? Weren’t they beautiful? Those auditions and failures and long walks on dark streets . . .

Return to that beautiful struggle. And find your way all over again.

Because the voice that THEY heard was of a different tone that it is now. It carried a longing to it. There was an innocence and wildness to it. No hope of discovery. No fear of obscurity.

Tomorrow night, Lima, find an old abandoned building in a busy part of town. Climb the stairs and make your way onto the roof. Set up your microphone and your speakers. And sing under the stars.

To hell with the studios!

Take your music to the lonely souls on the street. And the stars they walk beneath.

Give your music to the world. Without anything in return.

The deeper you sink into yourself, Lima, the louder they will hear you.

And when you have finished your song look at the people below you. And take a bow.

Be there zero or be there one hundred. You hold your bow as if you were the nightingale of the earth. And you hold this pose until you feel that you can once again lift your head high.

Then take your microphone and your speakers back into the stairwell. And sit on the floor and allow the tears to flow.

And flow they will.

They will flow because your songs will have returned home. You will have discovered the person who once believed that the song meant more than the singer.

And in this second wind of your career, you will discover the song you were meant to sing.

Dr. Gupta travels the world working with SINCERE SEEKERS. His clientele consists of professional athletes, world class artists, celebrities, and executives. Human beings who have achieved what most only dream of, but who long for the bliss that they have never found. Upon finding Bliss and Freedom, one’s life becomes a source of his greatest joy, and his work becomes a masterpiece.