In order to stay positive and up-beat, it's sometimes necessary to tune out the bad news. A little bad news goes a long way. So you filter out much of the world.
This is a defense mechanism, and a strategy for happiness. Obviously, there is also a downside to filtering out the news of the world. You miss stuff.
Still you make choices and you end up following your own private obsessions. And then one day you realize you have spent lots of time ruminating over Led Zeppelin and their over-powering alchemy of sound.
And how does this obsession manifest itself? Well, for one I'm totally immersed in this great book by Erik Davis. I've read it a couple times. It is totally enlightening and wise and informative and it's about magic, alchemy, the power of myth and the transformative properties of music!
And also I have become obsessed with this great post-Zeppelin disc by Robert Plant & Jimmy Page: No Quarter! Picked it up at the used cd store for $1.99. For some reason, I was under the mistaken impression that it was a misfire and coasting on old stuff. Not at all. Powerful and unique - a re-imagining of some classic songs combined with new inspiration and input from a host of other great musicians!
My obsessions are not on the clock. Fuck the clock!