The Power Of A Song  

   Inspiration usually strikes me at the most inopportune moments; I've come to believe that is just typical; for me anyway.  It likes to creep up on me most frequently when I'm running, driving, or in bed trying to sleep.  (I could probably just generalize by saying - any moment when paper isn't at hand)  That's not to say those are the only instances in which the big "ta da" moments happen for me, but more often than not, it's then.

   Let me tell you a story.

   It was a regular Monday night.  The evening was chilly, the stars were out, and a group of six sweaty, giggling, victorious 30-somethingish girls had just stumbled out onto the streets of your average small town.  Their volleyball game ended well and there would be a big W in the column next to their name in the league standings the next day.  It was a good night.
   The local watering hole, and I do say HOLE, was just a street over so all six of us, feeling elated from the win, cruised on over.  Going out after the game had been a forgotten tradition and bringing it back to life had everyone energized.  
   The exterior of the building was new and with anticipation of what the inside of the place would be like we swaggered in.  It was startling.  The outside was made to look like a sleek sort of martini bar but the inside remained untouched.
   Bare thread brown and beige carpet from the seventies set the scene and the brown continued.  You get the idea...I could go on and on about the decor, but seriously, what is a disgustingly sweaty, loud, sweat pant clad group of ponytail wearing women going to complain about?  And besides, due to their lack of decor budget, the drinks were cheap!
   We took over the place, as any loud group of athletes would, and conversations flew around the table.  My mind began to drift, (I know it's sad, but my mind was elsewhere, and I had been searching for clarity in my writing for days).
   We were loud, and the TV's were loud, and on top of that there was music.  It was that which drew my attention.  I recognized the voice, I knew I had heard the song, but I couldn't pinpoint or put a name on either, but one line of that specific song in that specific moment flipped a switch in me.
   I felt a stirring in my chest as I listened to the words....then I felt the spark grab hold of my mind and my mouth couldn't hold back the smile.
   I stopped the conversation, I remember it being very dramatic, like waving arms, pounding chests, hammering my fists on the table yelling STOP....LISTEN...DOES ANYBODY KNOW THIS SONG, but in reality it was probably just me bumping shoulders with the girl next to me asking her if she'd heard it before.
   That's where a colossal wave of inspiration hit me, and those beautiful words ran through my mind like a circling banner.

   "...when your heart won't tell your mind to tell your mouth what it should say..."
                                                                                                   zac brown band

   Those words still get me every time, and I will remember the moment I heard them and what they did to me, forever.  They make me smile, they make me want to shuffle my feet, they make me want to hug myself and spin in delighted circles...cheesy, I know.  
   What may be coolest of all in that moment was not how it sparked a story in my heart and had my fingers flying over the keys, but rather how those words changed something in me.
  
   A song can do that.  It can change things; it can help you see things in a different light, from a different perspective, through different eyes; it can change your path completely.  That's the power of a song!