totally music

i just saw one of the best shows i've seen in a while. matisyahu and trey anastasio rocked the lawn at white river state park. the price of admission was well worth it just to see matis, but trey was amazing. i guess i had never realized his talent.

being around that good of music makes me want to write better music. it inspires me to leave from that place and be better than i was when i came there. these musicians strive for excellence, yet so often we settle for less than that in our lives, especially in what we are gifted in.

i find that because i know i can do something, and do it well, i will just do enough to be better than someone else, so i can keep doing said task. i won't really push myself to be excellent, but instead just enough. its actually kind of scary, because i know just how much i need to do to get by.

if i'm leading worship, and i'm responsible for picking out the songs, i'll do it just in time. without prayerfully considering the songs, without really trying to craft a worship environment. instead, i'm getting by. now, just because of my lack of preparation doesn't mean that God won't or can't accept those songs as worship. its the fact i that i know He will. i'm doing just enough.

and its not just related to music. its everything. and i really can't count how many times my mother has tried to get me to understand to strive for excellence. its like a daily reminder. but its in one ear, and out the other.

this is not to say that i never strive for excellence, i do. i just don't strive for it in everything i do. which needs to change. so there's the question, the rub if you will. . . . .

how do you make that change?