Date: 2016-02-28
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Miles today: 0.0

"With music, you don't often have to translate it. It just affects you, and you don't know why."   - David Byrne"Ah, music! A magic beyond all we do here!"   - Albus DumbledoreI have the most eclectic taste in music of anyone I know. Survey the couple of thousand songs in my iTunes library and you'll have a hard time pinning down a particular favorite genre or artist. You'll find everything from George Jones to Van Halen, and from The Commodores to the Electric Light Orchestra. A recent training hike music shuffle took me from Kirk Franklin to Frank Sinatra to Def Leppard. That¢s a little weird, I know. Although I've been inspired and motivated by music during each of my five decades of life, I suppose I like the 80s music of my teenage years the best. In fact, if you're putting together an 80s music trivia team, you¢d be well served to pick me first.While I'll have access to thousands of songs to listen to on the Appalachian Trail, I decided to put together a 15-song playlist to listen to as I begin each morning's hike. (After that, I¢ll listen to birds and talk to other humans.) Each song has a special and unique meaning to me. Together, they will energize me as I take on rain, pain, and elevation gain. Yes, after prayer, coffee, and a bagel covered in peanut butter, it's music that will fuel the first few miles out of the gate each day. Hunter Thompson puts it this way:¢Music has always been a matter of Energy to me, a question of Fuel. Sentimental people call it Inspiration, but what they really mean is Fuel. I have always needed Fuel. I am a serious consumer. On some nights I still believe that a car with the gas needle on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio.¢Here then, are the songs that will fuel my journey as I hit the trail each morning for the next 6 months, and why they made the cut.Revelation Song ¢ This amazingly uplifting song, awarded Worship Song of the Year at the 2010 Dove Awards, was recorded by contemporary Christian group Phillips, Craig and Dean. Band member Randy Phillips explained the group¢s rationale: ¢This song captures the moment of looking up into Heaven, peeling back the curtain of eternity so we can peek in. If you keep your eyes on the Dow Jones or nuclear weapons in North Korea, you¢ll always be nervous. Look to the awesomeness of God instead.¢I can¢t think of a better way to start the day than to look up to the heavens at the awesomeness of God and sing, ¢Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, holy holy is He. Sing a new song, to Him who sits on, heaven¢s mercy seat. Holy, holy, holy¢¦the Lord God Almighty¢¦who was and is and is to come!¢ I get chills every single time I hear this song. It¢ll be even chillier when I hear it on Mount Washington.I Lived ¢ This inspirational song was recorded by American rock band One Republic in 2014. Band member Ryan Tedder, who wrote this song for his 4-year-old son, said ¢The whole idea, to quote the late great Robin Williams from Dead Poets Society, is 'carpe diem'." He said, "It's absolutely universal and applicable to everybody." Regarding the lyric "With every broken bone, I swear I lived," Tedder said, "So for every day that you're on this earth, for every minute that you have, the whole idea is doing nothing less than exactly what you feel you're supposed to do and squeezing every last drop out of life every day, regardless of the difficulties or trials that you face."As great as the song is, the music video is even better. It¢s dedicated to Brian Warnecke, a 15-year-old fan of the band, who suffers from cystic fibrosis.   Just as the song inspires Brian to keep fighting and to live every day to its fullest, it will inspire me to keep hiking and to try to live my life to the fullest as well. To Brian and my fellow thru-hikers, I hope we each can say, ¢I owned every second that this world could give. I saw so many places, the things that I did. With every broken bone, I swear I lived.¢To Be Continued...