Let Your Soul Shine

Many years ago I was out with some family boating at Lake Beshear, right outside Dawson Springs. From as far as ten feet away we began to see an orange object that looked to be swimming just under the surface in our direction. I was very young then and I was amazed to find out from the adults on this trip that this was a large Goldfish making it's rounds at Lake Beshear. In a lake of almost seven hundred acres full of fish native to Kentucky, I don't think that I was the first to be surprise to see this colorful fish come my way. I guess I am always amazed by the many examples of how being different makes us special and unique. We should all learn to celebrate our unique qualities, knowing that these are the things that set us apart. Keeping in mind that insecurities about these same unique qualities will do nothing but bring us down.


Living in Austin makes this an easy task. Here in the Live Music Capitol of the World we celebrate eccentric, weird, decadent, and calm. A place to live and work which proves to be a Mecca for the young at heart. A city filled with people yearning to breathe free, words that are just a borrowed portion of Lady Liberty's inscription; and why not? Long before I came to this fare city it's vibe has been cool and edgy. Spreading music through the streets and neighborhoods through a web various festivals and organizations big and small. We're not the town that never sleeps, we boast not that we are the city of lights, we're just weird, and that I like!

I moved here from Nashville, Tennessee in September of 2008. I came into town just after Hurricane Ike had made his rounds. In my early days here I found my way and quickly came to know that this was not a city to be bored or disconnected. Austin to me proved to be an innovative place, a place where the future is happening every day. I learned that it was a good city to be green in, a good city for Dogs ( I had never seen so many pet amenities or yappy hours), a city for the music lover and for artist. Later after the New Year of 2009 I began to work for the State House of Representatives. That transition showed me yet another interesting side to the city and along with another talented and intellectual group of people. I began to wonder what rock I had been hiding under to have not known much about this gem of a city.

That being said, I won't claim to be the only Goldfish swimming through life here. I'm not sure that the large one that I saw years ago back home was the lone Goldfish either. Either way, I'm different. Fortunately, here and now and hopefully always - different is good in Austin. I had the good fortune of having parents and a family that encouraged me to put my effort into things I liked. I was socialized at an early age to feel good about myself and to yearn to grow, expand my knowledge, meet more people and experience more things. Finding Austin for me was a fascinating process in itself nonetheless, but what has been more fascinating is finding myself. In this city that celebrates the uniqueness of life I hope to contribute all that I can. Doing my part to wave the city's banner that serves as our quirky beacon and the banner reads: KEEP AUSTIN WEIRD!

My only question is…where can you beat it?


{All this put me in the mood for some Allman Brothers; Soul Shine.  Check it out!

"Soul Shine
by: The Allman Brothers
Transcribed by Sean Carpenter


When you can't find the light,
That got you through a cloudy day,
When the stars ain't shinin' bright,
You feel like you've lost you're way,
When those candle lights of home,

Burn so very far away,
Now you got to let your soul shine,
Just like my daddy used to say.

[Chorus]
He used t

o say soulshine,

It's better than sunshine,

It's better

than moonshine,

Damn sure better than rain.

Yeah now people don't mind,

We all get this way sometime,

Got to let your soul shine, shine till the break of day.

I grew up thinkin' that I had it made,
Gonna make it on my own.
Life can take the strongest man,
Make him feel so alone.
Now sometimes I feel a cold wind,
Blowin' through my achin' bones,
I think back to what my daddy said,
He said "Boy, in the darkness before the dawn:"

[Chorus]
Let your soul shine,
It's better than sunshine,
It's better than moonshine,
Damn sure better than rain.
Yeah now people don't mind,
We all get this way sometimes,
Gotta let your soul shine, shine till the break of day.

Sometimes a man can feel this emptiness,
Like a woman has robbed him of his very soul.
A woman too, God knows, she can feel like this.
And when your world seems cold, you got to let your spirit take control.

[Chorus]
Let your soul shine,
It's better than sunshine,
It's better than moonshine,
Damn sure better than rain.
Lord now people don't mind,
We all get this way sometimes,
Gotta let your soul shine, shine till the break of day.

Oh, it's better than sunshine,
It's better than moonshine,
Damn sure better than rain.
Yeah now people don't mind,
We all get this way sometimes,
Gotta let your soul shine, shine till the break of day."}