So… I was pondering my current mindset, and I noticed it sounded something like: “Holy flaming shitballs of impending fiery doom!! Is this it? Are these the end-times? And are they just more pea-brained and tedious than Hollywood promised? Please stop the planet. I’d like to get off here.”

A lot has unfolded in just the last six months. The world has become embroiled in a pandemic (And the US is firmly ranked #1, so… MAGA?). Several earthquakes have now been reported in the states surrounding Yellowstone (isn’t that super). Humans have once again proven they will always stand up for equality, and opportunity… despite any antiquated and fear-based structure that stands in their way (who could have imagined?). And bleach is now a health drink (although you’re gonna want a mixer).

It was probably around day twenty seven, hiding under the stairs in the basement, that I had to stop and ask myself, “I wonder if the Sun’s still there, or if it got fed up with our crap, and left.” (Good news folks. It’s still there. It’s also shockingly green and beautiful outside, so the pollution may have actually gotten fed up, and left.)

So for this one, I’m going full Star Trek analogy, because it’s one I’m sure almost everyone will remember… The concept of ’Shields Up’.

Even in the earliest episodes, whether the attack was imminent or hidden, ’Shields Up!’ was always the first command. It’s purely a defensive move, and it’s fascinating to study the cinematically-defined rules created to support that idea. Sure, the ship becomes impervious to attacks. But its landing bays are also closed off from receiving allied resources during that time. Most intriguingly, the shield can only be maintained for so long. It is always draining the ship’s resources. So essentially, the shield is unbiased as to who or what it keeps out, and the ship’s resources drain rapidly with each passing moment. It is a very temporary situation, meant to be used sparingly.

In this analogy, I suspect our egos are the ship (I’ll let you decide if your ego is also the captain), and our fear and anger are our shields. And in similar fashion, nothing good can get in when those shields are up. And they are a constant drain on our energy reserves. Everything about the nature of anger and fear suggests we can’t sustain that level of energy output indefinitely. And yet we insist on keeping those shields up.

Going turbo-nerd now, what if this is the equivalent of the Kobayashi Maru (a no-win scenario). What if we are intended to creatively think our way out of this situation, and the answer doesn’t lie in using fear or anger. What if being open to the negative is as important as being open to the positive. And learning to flow with the negative leads to a more well rounded crew, better capable of handling challenges in the future.

Maybe, just maybe, we are meant to have the shields down right now. Maybe we’re meant to be experiencing the brunt of this, full force; in order to come out the other side that much more capable, and that much more respectful of the experience. Either way, I know when my shields are up, I feel physically drained; and when my shields are down, I can feel myself being rejuvenated. And I really believe something profound is happening there. Just something to geek out over.

I hope you enjoy my latest creation, ‘Shields at 10 Percent’. :)

(Oh, and in other news… this is the last song I needed for my 3rd solo album, so that’s a thing now. Just one more callab album to catch up on… then I begin mastering ‘The Great Divide’.) :D