Your first assignment is to show me something that you really love. Show me something that represents you and means something to you. It’s kinda like show & tell!

For me, 2 things matter most: my family and music.

I have a wife and 3 kids who matter most to me. They’re pretty awesome.

What keeps me sane most though, is music. I’ve turned to music all my life as a source of comfort, joy, sanity, hope, and safety. I love it when a song says something that is on my mind better than I can. I find a lot of times that songs make me think about things that are going on in my life that maybe I didn’t even know about.

Here’s an example, and a song that changed my life. I had a great musical awakening in high school. It was then that I heard a band called Rheostatics. They’re very different and challenging, and to be honest, I didn’t get it. It took me a long time to really appreciate the band, but once I did, I became a fan for life. Here’s one of their more accessible songs:

The song is apparently inspired at least in part by a day that the band spent in Winnipeg where they were walking around the Legislative grounds looking for Louis Riel’s grave. You can see references to that, and a lot of other neat Canadian references in the song. There’s also a lot of great imagery. Here are some of my favourite parts:

Check your map.
You’re Louis Riel.
He rode a horse before you were born.
Out in the flatland,
The money’s all spent.
And out in the field,
Your fate has been sealed.

I’m the King of the Past, but still I walk forward.
Won’t close my eyes to the passing of time.
I’m in Fredericton Northern where the rivers make borders,
But planes fly right over them.

Check your map,
‘Cause you’ve lost your watch.
It’s buried under snow; its time does not stop.
Find your way homeward.
The rivers are freezing.
And under the ice,
The borders are changing.

I love the idea of being hooked on the past, but still moving forward. I can really relate to that. All too often I dwell on the past, and need to remind myself that life is really about today and tomorrow.

I also really love the music. I love a song that builds to a big finish, and this one does that in a great way. I love how it’s so simple and quiet in the beginning, and a great big wall of sound at the end. Oh, and that guitar solo! The band’s guitarist is my favourite of all time. I just love the sounds that he makes with his funny looking guitar. This solo is so beautiful and elegant. I feel like it tells a story all on its own.

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So! It’s your turn! What matters to you? Bring it in or show it to us online! Talk about it, write about it, record something about it, create something about it, whatever, just make us understand WHY IT MATTERS to you. Yeah, it’s got a great beat and you can dance to it, but why does that matter so much to you?

You have until Friday at the latest. You do not absolutely have to share with the class, but it would be great if many of you would.