Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers

My Rabbit Hole

There is something I do when I take in new music. I find a song that sends me down a road that then leads to another and then an album, and then three. I refer to this as my rabbit hole, Alice had hers, I have mine. I heard “Passing Through” two weeks ago, it led me to this rabbit hole. I do that, I hear something intriguing and I go digging with my ears, looking to see if this is a new vein of magic.  Sometimes I am only digging for an hour, sometimes it is weeks. In the case of Joe Hertler and the Rainbow Seekers, I am still digging through their catalog and I am finding so much magic. Honestly, most of the time these rabbit holes yield maybe a smile from a song or two but usually not anything more. I still can’t believe I have never heard these guys before this. But, as I have said, you find it when you need it.

Maybe I’ll lose my shit tomorrow
Give way to all my sorrow
But today is not the day to fall apart

Those lyrics right there kind of sum it up for me and others I see busting their asses every day.  Maybe we will lose our shit tomorrow, but we are going to keep our shit together today. We are just Passing Through ya know… and we can see how close you are to losing yours.

We’re learning how to lose, cause we’re just passing through

This year, we have suffered so many losses, so we really are learning how to lose, all of us are. We are all just trying to pass through this and hoping to get to the other side of it…but we must get through it. I don’t think it matters what stage of life you happen to be in, this has been scary and agonizing. I do however have a bright glimmer of hope in my spirit these last few weeks. In large part due to the Rainbow Seekers range of honest lyrics and incredible musicianship, this group of humans delivers… so well. There is so much magic in this music for me, it walked me through a range of emotions that has been a bit like you would go through if you were grieving. They bring joy and speaking to your own story. I am a better person because of finding this rabbit hole.

Are you feeling kinda lonely
Like everyone else
Is your future looking stormy
Do you need a friend
Are you trying to find where home is
Then please take my hand
But you say you’re feeling lonely
Lonely, like everyone else

This one gets into my soul…this could have been written for today!!! What the hell kind of magic is this? But hear me out, if you’re feeling kind of lonely, like everyone is, then please take my hand, this will get you a little closer to understanding. “Lonely” speaks some real truth to what we need right now. This came out in 2017, but it couldn’t be more relevant today, and the funk… shit.

Am I the only one to see the sign upon the bathroom stall

Think about this as we face the next few months, as the nation who stood for peace and democracy for generations, we were the difference in both world wars. But all that time we have never removed the racial barriers and constructs of racism that lie deep within the fabric of our nation, we must unravel that. We need to understand our scars.

This is your story
These are your scars
Don’t you ever forget who you are
When it gets heavy
When it gets hard
Don’t you ever forget who you are
Don’t you ever forget who you are

Your Story, this did more for me than I can even describe. I feel like they have been on my shoulder for the last few decades and wrote this just for me There isn’t a lyric or note that doesn’t resonate with me, this song made me soar. I am writing my story; I am pulling out my scars so you can see them.

We all have a story, filled with scars. When you see someone in the store or at a traffic light in the car next to you, there is a story and a pile of scars, right there and they all need to be accepted for just that.  Not a single person could have foresaw the gravity of what is 2020, and we still have three months to go. We are locked at the edge of a storm, we are all in this together, for bad or for worse we get to ride this out or die…literally. What exactly are you going to do to survive, will you crawl into a corner and hide until 2021 or will you embrace joy?  Think of it as a puzzle, the pieces are all right there in front of you and we have extraordinarily little time to put them together.

You fueled your own furnace, when you spoke they all heard it
Like lightning at the edge of a storm
Every word was a wave, every thought was a cave
That bore through every mind that came before

I hope you can hear my story; it is fired by years of a furnace that had no pity or grace for my wellbeing, but I survived, and I am not willing to let those scars go unnoticed.  There are giants on whose shoulders I get to ride upon, I am a son of the Beard brothers, my father and his six brothers all served in WWII and Korea and they all came home. We have a way of surviving and I want to never squander the lessons they gave me in the service that they gave. This song, more than anything, gave me the juice to push forward and succeed. You may find it small and insignificant, but it really matters so much to me. I am writing my story every day; I get to choose my attitude and pass along a smile that hopefully throws a little light your way.

Am I the only one to see the sign on the bathroom stall or on your heart?

I have the brilliant privilege to see roughly ten thousand people a week, but what I dug into even deeper this week was the real joy in making someone else smile. I love what I do… When I get that one conversation that I know gave them a warm brilliant smile of joy inside of themselves, then I am good!!! Do not think that your story does not matter, it is yours, and no one else can make a claim to it or alter it for you. It is the fabric that makes up who you are. The scars, the stories, they all add up to you. They matter and you matter… I believe you probably have a chance like me to be a light to someone who needs it and my hope is that you grab that and shine.

The last few weeks have defined us yet again and we will face whatever comes in the next few weeks. I won’t ever forget who we are. Every day we write our story, I started a new chapter a year ago. I found joy, contentment, and some exceptional humans…  I am privileged.

We don’t need a hero; it takes all of us to heal this.

If you haven’t heard this band, stop what you are doing and listen. Their music will move you; this is an incredible group of musicians and I am so glad they found each other so I could get lost in a rabbit hole they inspired. They will astound your ears and then your heart, they exude magic. This is what I do when I am being rational, and a beautiful thing happened… I met Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers.

I have listened to three of their albums thoroughly so far, Terra Incognita, Pluto, and Paper Castle.  There is magic on every one of them. I could have talked about so many of their songs.

This is your story,

These are your scars

I am optimistic about what we could do as a nation if we acted with kindness and an offer of hope. Music gives me hope, it gives me inspiration and when I pay attention it guides me as well. Take some time to go wandering through the rabbit holes that come your way, we are just passing through…

Listening, learning, and growing…