Synchromysticism

" Synchromysticism:
The art of realizing meaningful coincidence in the seemingly mundane with mystical or esoteric significance."

- Jake Kotze

October 4, 2017

Dust in the Wind ... or Just Not in Kansas Anymore?

I was listening to a local radio station (4KQ) last week while washing up my breakfast dishes and a song came on that I can't recall ever hearing before in my life.
It was called 'Dust in the Wind' by a band named Kansas I found out after Google-ing some of the lyrics.
Not in Kansas Anymore?
I also thought it was ironic that when I looked at my digital radio on the bench the time was 9:11am, because at the Wikipedia site for 'Dust in the Wind' it states that, "Following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the song was placed on the list of songs deemed lyrically questionable distributed by Clear Channel."
'Dust in the Wind' is off the Kansas album 'Point of Know Return', released in 1977.
"The title of the song is a Bible reference, paraphrasing Ecclesiastes:
“I reflected on everything that is accomplished by man on earth, and I concluded:
Everything he has accomplished is futile — like chasing the wind!”
"Dust in the Wind" was one of Kansas's first acoustic tracks; its slow melancholy melody and philosophical lyrics differ from their other hits such as "Carry On Wayward Son" and "Point of Know Return".

A meditation on mortality and the inevitability of death, the lyrical theme bears a striking resemblance to the well-known biblical passage Genesis 3:19 ("...for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."), as well as to the famous opening lines of the Japanese war epic The Tale of the Heike ("...the mighty fall at last, and they are as dust before the wind.") and from a book of Native American poetry, which includes the line "for all we are is dust in the wind.""
I like the idea of dust in the wind, so much so that I've told my kids that when I die just to cremate my body (not a DIY job though;-) and scatter my ashes in the sea to the wind.
But after watching the movie 'The Big Lebowski' a few times since my request and reading Tracey Spicer's book where she recounts scattering her mother's ashes out in the bay and wearing them pretty much like the Dude wears Donny's in the movie, I've had to reconsider that option lest I traumatize my sons with my mortal remains
I've looked at other options, 
Ashes to Ashes and Snow-globes?
But none of those are really appealing to me accept maybe the mulch option.
At the end of the day, I don't really care where my corpse ends up, because I won't be there ... in the body I mean.
I'm sure I'll be around in another form, but I couldn't really care what happens to my dead body, as long as my kids don't go into financial debt to dispose of it. 
A coffee can will be just fine (ground?-) for me.
I was lying in bed this morning half asleep and was thinking about those old stupid school exercises where teachers would ask you to write what you would like written on your headstone when you have left this mortal coiland I thought because of my personal belief in reincarnation that something like, "Life is greater than just this one life ..." in an unfinished sentence like I had died leaving the sentence mysteriously unfinished with my dying breath like I had something more to add to it, which I didn't.  
Then I thought maybe a mathematical equation like the one above might be more amusing.
But of course, I don't want to be buried, as I just think it's a waste of space when I can just be dust in the wind flying free ... or showered off somebody after the ceremony and down the drain and out to sea taking the long way home.
Can you tell that I'm a Supertramp fan?-)
KANSAS: Live Version Of 'Carry On Wayward Son' From 'Leftoverture Live & Beyond'
"KANSAS, America's legendary progressive rock band, will release its new live album "Leftoverture Live & Beyond", on November 3.
This is the first live album since 2009 for the band that has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide, and is famous for classic hits such as "Carry On Wayward Son" and "Dust In The Wind", as well as progressive epics like "Miracles Out Of Nowhere".
"Leftoverture Live & Beyond"
, produced by Jeff Glixman, features nineteen songs selected from twelve shows recorded during KANSAS's spring 2017 "Leftoverture 40th Anniversary Tour".
The set list includes classic hits, deep cuts, new songs from 2016's studio album "The Prelude Implicit" and culminates with the band's sextuple-platinum breakthrough album, "Leftoverture", performed in its entirety."
I'll have to get a copy of that album, as I have heard the song "Carry On Wayward Son" before, which could very well be something my deceased father would tell me from the great beyond I think.
Kansas is ready to carry on
You've got to love the Cosmic Joker, as I saw the above article when I was Google-ing "Dust in the Wind+Kansas" about the band resuming their 40th anniversary tour of their 'Leftoverture' album, which featured "Carry On Wayward Son" on the 13th September, 2017, which was the first anniversary of my father's death ... and his body is nothing but dust in the wind now.
Kansas | Thousand Oaks Civic Center
Then I see the above article posted on the 23rd of September (my birthday) about the band playing on the 13th of September (the anniversary of my father's death)
I also ran across this story of a man who feared that he was about to become dust in the wind by running into a lot of dust in the wind.
'This is bananas,' man engulfed in dust cloud
I also stumbled across a very sad news story of a family killed in September this year in a plane crash where 'Dust in the Wind' was sung at the funeral -
'Our hearts are obliterated'
"Jeff's sister Jennifer Makepeace-Yerkovich honored her brother by fulfilling a pact she made with him when they were teenagers: If either one of the two died before the other, the living sibling would have to sing "Dust in the Wind" by the band Kansas at their memorial service.
"Music was huge for us," she said.
Jennifer's father, Charles Hickey, recalled the day twins Benjamin and Addison were born and said he and his wife would cling to the memories of their beloved grandchildren.
"
There is no getting over that heartbreak no matter what you believe about life or death.
Words are of little comfort at times like that and the heartache lasts for life.
But from my own "life" experiences I can tell you that we are all more than just dust in the wind and are bigger than our bodies.

2 comments:

  1. Saw Kansas at lake Tahoe south shore room. Classic rock. Wind in the dust me thinks. 87

    ReplyDelete
  2. I hope Kansas come out to Oz and put on a show for us...ironically enough.
    Oz/Kansas;-)

    ReplyDelete