BRAND NEW COLUMN: Just roll with it; Xolisa Tshomela

As much as we pretend that our stay on planet earth makes sense. We honestly don't know what's going on. The mysteries of the universe defy all the scientific findings man has managed to come up with to date. Our only saving grace is that we are able to observe this rather puzzling event called life. Back on planet earth we have a bunch of people who spend all their time & energy trying to convince you that the world outside of us is reality. Using interesting sales techniques like Race, Government, Money, Church, Sex, TV & now the Internet. Yes all this is the real deal & not our presence within it ?


Then we respond by spending our precious earth hours pondering our next purchase, what our exes are doing, if they still think about us. Why our parents failed us. All this while perfectly sober "well sort of" and alive? A lot of living time is spend lamenting on dead events. Is being alive really so difficult? Is reality that heavy? Why is it so hard to be available to ourselves?


What I've gathered over the years, rather painfully, is that only thing that makes sense in life is our ability to observe it, as none of its contents or events ever last long enough to ever truly satisfy us. Our only link to the real meaning of our existence are our own random & private moments. Moments when you look outside a taxi & witness someone doing something really retarded and you wanna burst out into laughter. It's passing by the homeless guy on your way to the corner store & ignoring his predictable requests. Only to wonder what happened to him the day you stop seeing him. It's finally seeing your parents for who they really are & loving them even more for that or just letting them be. Your observations are your account of reality. Not TV or Twitter or anything involving the “other”. The other only exists with your permission anyway.


So throw away your smart phone & the compulsion to have your favourite celeb retweet you. Your ideas are completely valid as they are. The world that surrounds you needs you more than anything the media controlled universe can ever offer you. The path to your greatness is walked in the shoes you have on right now. Life doesn't make sense, anyone who tells you otherwise and tries to sell you something in the process is more lost than you are. Follow your observations. Ask more questions. Pay homage to your surroundings. Go easy on the anxiety. Just roll with it. Everything is cool.

Xolisa Tshomela is the founding member, Creative Director and CEO of Soul Life Audio Boutique. Right up there with "Cool" herself, SL is redefining South Africa's music landscape in an excitingly forward fashion. Tshomela has been a part of the Love Etched family since inception and we are happy to announce that this is the first of many articles that will form part of his column: Just roll with it...

You can experience some of his art here:

Productions: http://soundcloud.com/soul-life

Podcasts: http://xeesoullife.podomatic.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/SoulLife_Xee and http://www.twitter.com/SoulLife

Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/SoulLifeSA

Until then...

                          Just roll with it...

Aim high, Roam free...