There are times in life where you want to return to how things were. As you progress through life and learn and experience new things, there are many times where you feel like everything was much more simple "back then" no matter how long ago "then" was. This is just a fact of life, where you will always question your decisions or want to return to a more simple way of life. https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2016/09/20/13/46/radio-1682531_1280.jpg Today, for me, I have been thinking back on how things were so much more simple before and how things were better "back then". I know that there is no way for me to return to my prior experiences or to travel backwards in time to change something in my life. And at this point in my life, I honestly would not want to change a thing. I love my wife, I love my children, I love my family, I value my friendships. I wouldn't change a thing. All of my choices compounded on top of each previous choice have led me to where I am today. Part of those choices were influenced by my relationship with God. And I am thankful for everything that I have done in my life and everyone who is in my life today. While I could go into a long free-write where I discuss my life and history, I'm going to save that for another day. This post is about nostalgia. In my life, music has always had a significant influence on my mood and on how I am able to manage my day-to-day feelings. My faith and my family are my solid ground and music has consistently provided me with the ability to express myself in words that I am rarely able to find on my own. The song that recently pressed the right buttons for me was another Tom MacDonald song. I have posted his song lyrics on here before, and I'm sure I'll share more again, but I stumbled back to his site tonight in search of something new. Instead what I found was a renewed kinship. The song is below... with my own bold/italics added (based on the lyrics that resonated the most tonight). Artist: Tom MacDonald Song: Fake Woke

Lyrics

I think it's crazy I'm the one who they labelled as controversial And Cardi B is the role model for 12-year-old girls There's rappers pushing Xanax at the top of the Billboard But if I mention race in a song, I'm scared I'll get killed for it It's backwards, it's getting exponentially dumb It's more difficult to get a job than purchase a gun Eminem used to gay bash and murder his mom And now he doesn't want fans if they voted for Trump We're ashamed to be American You should probably love it 'Cause you have the right to hate it and not get strung up in public As children, we were taught how to walk and talk But the system wants adults to sit down and shut up Cancel culture runs the world now, the planet went crazy Label everything we say as homophobic or racist If you're white, then you're privileged, guilty by association All our childhood heroes got Me-Too'd or they're rapists They never freed the slaves They realized that they don't need the chains They gave us tiny screens We think we're free 'cause we can't see the cage They knew that race war would be the game they need to play For people to pick teams, they use the media to feed the flame They so, Fake woke Facts don't care 'bout feelings They know, They won't, Tell me what to believe in They so, Fake woke Same old, Safe zones They so, Fake woke Facts don't care 'bout your feelings I think it's crazy all these people screaming facts but they fake woke Hate their neighbor 'cause he wears a mask or he stays home Has a daughter but his favorite artist said he slays hoes Picks her up from school, music slaps on the way home Censorship's an issue 'cause they choose what they erase There's a difference between 'hate speech' and 'speech that you hate' I think 'Black Lives Matter' was the stupidest name When the system's screwing everyone exactly the same I just wanna spend Thanksgiving Day with food and my family Without being accused of celebrating native casualties We got so divided It's black and white and political Republicans are bigots Libtards if you're liberal There's riots in our streets And it's just getting worse Y'all screaming "Defund the police" Y'all are genius for sure They're underfunded already They're way too busy to work Order food and call the cops See what reaches you first Segregation ended, that's a lie in itself That was a strategy to make us think they were trying to help They knew that racism was hot if they designed it to sell We'd buy up every single box and divide us ourselves They so, Fake woke Facts don't care 'bout feelings They know, They won't, Tell me what to believe in They so, Fake woke Same old, Safe zones They so, Fake woke Facts don't care 'bout your feelings We use violence to get peace And wonder why it isn't working That's like sleeping with a football team to try and be a virgin Politicians are for sale And someone always makes the purchase But you and I cannot afford it Our democracy is worthless If a man has mental illness Call him crazy, say it silently When country's going crazy, we accept it as Society Get sick and take a pill When the side effects get you high You get addicted like these rappers dying fighting with sobriety Censoring the facts turns our children into idiots They claim it's for our safety I'll tell you what it really is Removing information that empowers all the citizens The truth doesn't damage points of view that are legitimate They're tryin' to change amen to "a-men and women" How'd we let 'em make praying a microaggression? Instead of asking God for the strength to keep winning We cheat to get ahead And then we ask Him for forgiveness Feminism used to be the most righteous of fights But these days, it feels like they secretly hate guys I don't trust anyone who bleeds for a week and don't die I'm just kidding, but everything else that I said is right They so, Fake woke Facts don't care 'bout feelings They know, They won't, Tell me what to believe in They so, Fake woke Same old, Safe zones They so, Fake woke Facts don't care 'bout your feelings

My nostalgia is about returning to a time where this world was more simple.. The internet was still new. The majority of "adults" were too busy to be bothered by the internet. Pagers were "high tech". You could even send a short 'text' message if you had one of the fancy ones. Cell Phones were something we used "in case of emergency". Do you know how expensive it is per 1 minute of a phone call!?!? .. forget about "roaming" charges!!! Smart Phones were nothing more than something from a Sci-Fi movie. Now 80%+ of the world has the internet in the palm of our hands. You're probably reading this on your handheld device.. Most adults still don't know how to use the internet. Smart Phones have made everyone into zombies - just because the phone is smart doesn't mean that the user is any more intelligent by owning one.. in fact, it may be the opposite case today.. Pagers are essentially gone .. as much as the delay could be stressful between messages, wow, I sure miss these things. (Yes, I know that a handful of medical professionals still have pagers..) There are so many HUMAN VALUES that we have shied away from over the years. Philosophers can argue until the cows come home on the "why" for that one. How can we return to the days of "KISS"? **K**eep **I**t **S**imple **S**......, well, you can probably fill in the blank. ... Have you experienced any nostalgia lately? What's driving you? - Please add your comments below.. Cheers, evolved Life your life to the fullest