It’s official…

This all resonates greatly with me as well. I turned 58 this year. I have been very settled with what I have for about 3 years now. I really see how things that I used to consider "urgent" really isn't urgent. I really let go of a lot of things at 55. I stopped caring about everything being in it home spot and everything being spotless. That was a good thing in my opinion. I let go of a good bit of stress when I stopped caring about those things.

I agree that the world is in a bad place. I too am trying to find ways to isolate myself from it. I stopped using Facebook about a year ago. That was helpful. I have cut toxic people out of my life. That has also been good. I am also trying to be my best person and a good Christian. I used to be someone that over trusted people. I have pulled that back a bit with the way our world is and now I don't give quite as much trust up front but let people earn it. That has kept me from getting into some bad situations.

I used to play in church as well as run the sound board. I alternated between the two. I was very active in that church. We moved to a new state 11 years ago and haven't found a good church in this area. We have found some that are not doing things from the teachings we have had in the past that are guided by scripture. Some of them have been downright scary. We have walked out of some of them in the middle of things.

It is interesting how many of us take similar roads. There are times when I think it is just me but then I read something on a forum and see that it is not. I have shared and had others reply with experiencing the same thing, like this thread. Sometimes it is good to know it is not just you.
Oh, it's not just you Jason. There are many people in our age group who are looking around at the world these days and say in their own way "no thanks, I'll pass." All in all it sounds like you've got yourself pretty well together and that's great! I'm sure when the time comes the Lord will help you find the church you are looking for. So many churches these days are a mile wide and only an inch deep.

I too used to be overly trusting and paid for it dearly. Like you, someone now has to earn my trust. I don't look for the worst in poeple and while I give them the benefit of a doubt, I keep my distance for a while. Perhaps a bit too much these days. But I'm a loner by nature anyway. One lesson that took me years to learn was that the ones with the biggest mouths are the ones who are the most afraid.

Just wanted to pass on a tid bit of information that helped me greatly. It's for anyone who's getting older and isn't sure what it is they are going through. Not saying at all this is a lesson you need but for some reason it popped into my head. When I turned 55 I went through a real mid life crisis. No, I didn't fall prey to stupid things but there were suddenly all this things going on that really got to me. My son got married and became a father. Yup....I'm a grandpa!!! My dad had a stroke and while he bounced back he was never quite the same. At that point in time I had been working nights for 10 years and felt like my life was going nowhere at all. I crashed and didn't know which way to turn. All I was seeing was all of these changes that were happening too fast and came to quick. Changes that showed me how fast it was all going by. Went online and typed in "mid life crisis." Oh boy, some of the stories I read of guys who did fall prey to stupidity was mind boggling. Anyway, I came across an article dealing with mid life crisis (and in getting older) and this quote blew my mind.

"You're at the old age of youth while entering the youth of old age."

WOW!!! Blew my mind and I instantly felt better. That quote spoke volumes to me. For me it said hey, your life isn't over! Okay, you may not be the spring chicken you once were but your life is far from over and you've got a lot of good years left.

I still remind myself of that quote from time to time and it helps.
 
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While I hope you are correct, it is more years on this big rotating rock than either of my parents had. That keeps me pretty grounded. I try to look at every year as one my parents didn't get to experience and give thanks for getting it.
My dad died at a younger age than I am as well. So I completely understand.

I am thankful for every day I don't wake up dead! :)
 
Just doing some really deep thinking about this situation at hand. While walking the dogs I remember this exact same thing happened in my first couple of years of playing. After a succession of 3 teachers that were after my $ and nothing but. I did get really angry at each of them. They were a bunch of losers. Now that I am hopefully better player I know how I need to be taught and it certainly wasn’t there way. One teacher would print a tab out of a song I wanted to learn. We never even went through it properly. Just skimmed the surface. I didn’t worry about it when this I occurred. I stopped playing for about a month or so completely and then everything resumed as normal. I think this is another one of those “times”.

I am not giving this anymore thought. I am not giving up. I am just going to ride the wave and then rebound. I have other pressing issues to think about and deal with now.
 
I keep hearing about the importance of getting direct sunlight into your eyes every morning when you wake up. And I mean direct, not through a window. Get outside, breathe some air and let the sun shine on your face. It's supposed to set your circadian rhythm and trigger the release of endogenous (natural) dopamine, which makes you feel good. I'm going to try that tomorrow.
While I do work indoors for 12 hours straight, I do get out every day after work for 40-60 minutes walking the pup. Sometimes I listen to music, sometimes sports talk radio, sometimes nothing at all. Either way, it’s our time and my time to unwind. Days off sometimes we go twice or maybe a trip to the park.

Lately, I’ve realized I do just need to take a bit more time for myself so I’ve hit up a music store or went to the jam spot. That’s why the music part of my original post was such a bummer. I’ve been wanting and craving the time and energy to do it. So when it was so underwhelming, it was a big letdown.
 
I have realized that getting a walk in with the dogs first thing in the morning is very important. I have music for different moods. I put on my studio monitors and head out. It lets everyone have a nice sociable walk together, just escape and relax before the day gets started.
 
If I feel I've given as much as I could to my art, but still plateau often, I take a long walk in the sunshine and fresh air, as was mentioned previously. Take in the sights, appreciate nature and why it's good to be alive. Recharge the artistic batteries, as it were.

I'm on that plateau again, and although I didn't follow my own advice, I'll be trying something new I've not yet done musically...mapping out major and minor triad shapes the fretboard length in Open D tuning. Then trying to learn how to play in Open D tuning. Then maybe a month or two later, maybe Open G or G min.

Alternate tunings are a great way to break out of a rut because they cause you to think beyond what you're used to and have grown complacent of.

DADGAD is a good place to start for folks who've not tried this yet. Open D is very similar, but has its own flavor...

And yes, appreciating nature can have a connective effect between you, your inner self, and whatever higher power you might believe in. Observing nature helps one appreciate why life is worth living...and not something to be taken for granted...
 
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I am not mapping anything in alternative tuning although I love drop D. I am just mapping triads in all the positions all over the neck. Exploration is fascinating. It’s keeping me going on guitar atm. Go with the flow!
 
I hate to admit this! My knowledge of the frets suck on command. I use octaves to find where I am. Trying to wrap my head around major and minor triads finding them all over the neck. This is like trying to find Where’s Waldo. I just have to take a deep dive into the pool of knowledge. This is a BIG PAIN IN THE A$$ but the freedom it will allow me will be worth the BS.

Minutes later,

I need a break already. Mental gymnastics are not my forte atm.
 
I hate to admit this! My knowledge of the frets suck on command. I use octaves to find where I am. Trying to wrap my head around major and minor triads finding them all over the neck. This is like trying to find Where’s Waldo. I just have to take a deep dive into the pool of knowledge. This is a BIG PAIN IN THE A$$ but the freedom it will allow me will be worth the BS.

Minutes later,

I need a break already. Mental gymnastics are not my forte atm.
Keep at it. There is no shortcut for this. You have to do it until you start seeing the notes in various places. Another way to do this is to learn the scale patterns and where the root notes are in the patterns. That will also tie into the CAGED system. It all fits together like a puzzle. You just have to spend the time to identify the parts and put it together.
 
I have mad hate on for the caged shapes and learning them. It was just one more thing to learn at the time.I still don’t want to learn it. Too confusing. The shapes don’t make sense to me.
 
Starting on Jason Sandercoe’s beginner triad lessons. I am missing a part of the puzzle.
 
I hate to admit this! My knowledge of the frets suck on command. I use octaves to find where I am. Trying to wrap my head around major and minor triads finding them all over the neck. This is like trying to find Where’s Waldo. I just have to take a deep dive into the pool of knowledge. This is a BIG PAIN IN THE A$$ but the freedom it will allow me will be worth the BS.

Minutes later,

I need a break already. Mental gymnastics are not my forte atm.
Keep at it. There is no shortcut for this. You have to do it until you start seeing the notes in various places. Another way to do this is to learn the scale patterns and where the root notes are in the patterns. That will also tie into the CAGED system. It all fits together like a puzzle. You just have to spend the time to identify the parts and put it together.

I figure the Ancient Roman who invented the piano style keyboard was a frustrated guitar player who threw up his hands and said:

"This instrument is for the birds (you see what I did there). I'm gonna come up with an instrument that clearly identifies exactly which note is what. You won't have to contort your body and wrist to play it, your fingers won't need calluses, and you won't need to hold a pick or grow your fingernails long."

This brilliant invention took place in Ancient Rome, we know, because there is substantial mention of organs being played in the Roman world in the historical record.

And we know the Romans had a form of guitar, a seven-string instrument called a Cithara, the word from which our word, 'guitar' was derived.

They had notation using letters, in fact, the same letters we use to name notes, though notation in similar form existed earlier. But I digress.

One day in Ancient Rome...

"Caius, what do you think of my new cithara?"

"Oh, it's nice, but the people in the Forum say that the citharae made by Quintus Bestatestus have better tone. Plus they come in a case instead of a gig bag."

"Oh, I disagree. I've played them. This one has a longer neck tenon. That's the source of its incredible sustain. Also, the tuning pegs are cooler and the top is made from the Cedars of Lebanon. And look at the back and sides - Carthaginian mahogany! His tops are made from the local Pines of Rome. So I mean, mine's better."

"Well, you might be right, Marcus. The inlays on the fretboard are cool; I like the bird motif. But I wouldn't know much about citharae any more. I've switched to keys. You always know where you are. It's so much easier!"

"Yes, but you can't strap it on at crotch height, look cool, or carry it around. Why, you need four or five slaves and an ox cart just to take it to a friend's villa for a jam!"

"True. I see that your band has its own ox cart now. But you can carry your citharae around. What do you need the ox cart for?"

"It's the only way we can get our tympanum player to the gig. He's a follower of Bacchus. Drinks a lot. We have to pick him up or he never shows. And we like having our logo on the sides. See? It says 'The Cantharidas'."

"Beetles? Ewww. That's a terrible name for a band."
 
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I have mad hate on for the caged shapes and learning them. It was just one more thing to learn at the time.I still don’t want to learn it. Too confusing. The shapes don’t make sense to me.
IMHO, it is better to learn the major scale shapes first. Everything relates to those.
 
Can you pls x plain this to me pls. I just watched a video and this guy says they are played on the top 3 strings. Or maybe I am not getting it. Getting confused already!
 
You can play a triad anywhere on the neck the notes are close enough to fret them. So for the A triad you have A, C#, E. As long as you have these three notes, it is an A triad. If you have C# as the lowest tone in the triad, that is the 1st inversion of the triad. Having an E# as the lowest note makes it the 2nd inversion of the triad. As long as you have these three notes, it is still an A triad. The inversions shows as slash "/" chords like A/C# would be the first inversion of the A triad, also chord. Does that makes sense?
 
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