I’m 54 years old, a proud and silly father of a very mature eight year old, and a hippie flower child myself. My daughter just might be more grounded than me, but the jury is out on that one.
I’m here to help usher in the Age of Aquarius, harmony and understanding, one song at a time.
I play guitar and write poetry and wear Birkenstocks. I can also wear a business suit and sing at corporate events, but there I am in disguise, working undercover, careful to not reveal my true identity.
In 1992 while serving raw crunchy cabbage in the parking lot at a Grateful Dead concert, I found my life purpose. It was quite a shock, as up until that point I confused life purpose with my talents and my career.
I had always been meaning to see the Grateful Dead. I’d heard stories about how the parking lots at their concerts became something of a commune, a hippie flea market, complete with psychedelic colors, flowing tie-dye clothes, and all kinds of items, legal or not, for sale. Having been four years old in 1967, I was more than a bit curious to experience a time capsule of the Summer of Love. When the Dead passed through my neck of the woods in 1992 on a rare weekend I was in town, I jumped at the opportunity to go.
I arrived wearing the only tie-dye shirt I possessed, and began to stroll through the parking lot, mesmerized by the sights and scents- the abundance of colorful people, clothes, creative artistic offerings, as well as all kinds of incense and other pungent smells in the air. The mood of celebration was obvious in almost everyone. I enjoyed talking with different people and just making contact. One woman caught me totally by surprise. She looked dreamily into my eyes and then whispered in my ear, “Are you an angel-in-training?” I searched for an honest reply, delicately seeking a balance between humility and self-esteem. “Yes,” I said simply, with a warm smile to back it up. She took my hands and began jumping up and down, beckoning me to do the same. “He’s teaching us!” she exclaimed joyously. “He’s teaching us all!” She bounced away, leaving me startled and delightfully dazed. What a character!
After some time had passed the temperature began to cool down. I made my way to my car and found a warm and cozy sweatshirt, one that had the words Pinecrest School on it. Accepting that I would be slightly out of uniform, I covered over my tie-dye with the establishment look, choosing comfort over adhering to the standard dress code of The Dead.
Right away I noticed a change in the way people were relating to me. They glanced at my shirt and quickly looked away, not wanting to make eye contact. After twenty minutes of this treatment, I felt confused and frustrated. I went over to a cart where a woman was selling food. Her sign, a humorous replica of the book cover of Be Here Now by Ram Dass, said ‘Eat Here Now’. I asked if she knew why people were avoiding me. “You’re dressed like a cop,” she said nonchalantly, as if it should have been obvious to me. “Oh, shit”, I replied. At least the mystery was solved. I asked her for some of the raw cabbage that she was using to stuff falafel sandwiches. She filled a plate with cabbage, charged me two dollars, and I walked away noisily munching and seriously contemplating my predicament. What to do? I didn’t want to appear threatening to people in this festive atmosphere, but I wasn’t willing to brave the cool temperature without my sweatshirt.
I decided to practice emanating loving vibes into my environment, hoping that the intentions of my heart would override the suspicions that my wardrobe aroused. Pretty soon I noticed people were not looking at my clothes as much; their eyes had found something much more attractive to gaze on- my cabbage! Pairs of hungry eyes met my plate of food and more than once I was asked, “Hey, brother, where’d you get that? Can you spare a piece of cabbage?” I decided to extend the plate to anybody who showed an interest. A collection of brothers and sisters joined me in the happy percussion of cabbage munching. After a few minutes the plate was empty. With enthusiasm I made my way back to the Eat Here Now cabbage patch and ordered a re-fill. I went back numerous times over the course of the night., filling up and dispensing the goods, building trust and community around me, and having a grand time of it all.
That evening the people whom I served labeled me a ‘Cabbage Angel’. While I was immersed in my new expression it struck me quite suddenly that I was fully engaged in living my life purpose. It dawned on me that my life purpose had little to do with music, writing, or public speaking, my usual forms of livelihood. I had been confusing form with content, the gift -wrapping with the gift. The gift is the love, the Spirit that is communicated as me and through me while I do my thing. That night I realized that I could put down my guitar, walk the land with my cabbage, and be giving a gift every bit as powerful as the music and inspiration that I share in my present career.
That experience changed me. I knew more deeply that each song or message I offer is like an empty cup. If I am going to reach people on the heart level, I have to pour my heart into that cup. While in the past I was primarily concerned with communicating wise and clever words or being musically on pitch, now I was more interested in infusing the words and music with my soul. I stood before audiences less polished and more intimate, less guarded and more vulnerable, less concerned with being perfect and more concerned with being loving.
What I discovered that evening as an angel-in-training was that career and life purpose are not the same thing. I also discovered that the pain of being judged (or seen as a cop) can be put behind me when I make the decision to be on purpose, giving love.
And I learned that if I ever get tired of my current forms of expression, a lucrative career in cabbage awaits me….
Scott Grace is a Life Coach who also creates custom made songs to honor someone you love. You can find out more at:www.scottsongs.com He also delights in guiding people in the use of the leaves of a tree in Indonesia which is in the coffee family, but is more like coffee that has meditated for twenty years and taken loads of personal growth workshops. It stimulates the pineal gland rather than the adrenals, but still gives energy and uplift. Find out a bit more at: Scott’s Mysterious Plant
