JOHN KALE

I am a songwriter. Something inside of me just desires to put my thoughts into musical form. I can't explain it, its just something I know to be true. For years I kept a journal in the form of lyrics. It is just how my mind works. Things happen, I write; I hear a quote that I like, I write. This is just the nature of being a songwriter. It can be a lot of fun! There is so much excitement around each new thought or lyric; the hope that it will produce something amazing that will speak to people. Something that people will hear and think, "wow, that's exactly what I was thinking". But more often than not, the lyric fades from memory and the melody is forgotten; and frustration and disappointment set in.

I am really good at starting songs, but I'm not so great a finishing them. I have a theory on why that is. So many times I start to write a song and I focus so much on making it perfect. I struggle to find the perfect word that will make the song go from good to Grammy worthy. The result usually is that I spend so much time trying to write something perfect that I don't write anything at all.

I think in life we all do this to some extent. We get so wrapped up in trying to have the perfect job, the perfect family, the perfect house, the perfect relationships, etc. that we stop living. We miss out on all the wonderful things God has in store for us, because we are trying so hard to make them perfect.

I have a suggestion to all of us who find ourselves in this situation; stop trying to win a Grammy and just write! It is a lot more fun that way; and in the end, it is the only way your song will ever get written!