Leaving it in the Hands of the Universe
Today I stopped by at my massage parlour on my way home from the Immigration Office. What makes it mine? Well it's the only shop I've ever gotten a massage in Hatyai. And it has relevance to the music I produce. The story started over a year ago when I decided to break out of my comfort zone one evening.
Actually, let's take it back a few more days before that comfort-breaking evening. At that time I had just finished producing all of the tracks to my Waterfalls of Wellbeing: Wangsaitong album. However I didn't have an album cover art yet. And it was days before my date of upload. I upload all my albums on the first of the month. The two artists I had previously worked with on my album covers were MIA. And I didn't know where to turn to make my next album art. So I turned to the universe.
Being in this situation, all I could do was surrender to it. Enough of the pushing and pulling and exerting extra effort. I just left it in the hands of the infinite universe. I remember saying "OK Universe, this album is just as much yours as it is mine. I don't know what to do about the album cover situation. So I'm leaving this project in your hands completely. You can do as you wish with it. If it means I won't get to upload it for another month or two, then so be it."
Let's go forward a couple of days to that comfort zone expanding evening. That night I remember getting home from work and realizing I hadn't been out in a long time. In fact, I was new to Hatyai and I hadn't explored the downtown area at all. So I wondered what I could do as this feeling of guidance was telling me to go out. I decided to get a massage. I like massages. It would be my first time getting a paid massage in Hatyai. Before this, another friend who was trained in Chinese medicine and massage had treated me to a massage free of charge.
So I went downtown. I started walking around and passing by the massage shops and listening. I listened to how they greeted the potential customers that people passing by present. Some of the massage doctors, as they're literally called in Thai, would say "Hello! Massage!" as I walked by. Some seemed to do it on automation without any expectation and others put more energy and intention into it. One particular shop full of doctors started talking to me in a friendly way and gave me their card. As I kept walking around, I realized they were the only ones that stand out as being friendly. I decided to cross the street and turn back to that same place. But I would walk in front of one or two more massage centres before reaching the friendlies that stood out.
Once I crossed the street, I was a few steps away from another massage centre. I tiptoed by and as I did a western male in the doorway greeted me. We began chatting. I asked him where he was from. He said Russia. He asked me. I said Turkey. Then he changed his answer and said "I"m actually from Tatarstan!" Tatarstan is an autonomous zone in the Russian Federation. They share historical, linguistic, cultural and ethnic ties with the people of Turkey and other Turkic peoples. When Tatars count from 1 to 10 in the Tatar language, it sounds almost exactly the same as Turkish.
He asked me what I was up to and I said that I wanted a massage. He pointed inside and told me that this is the place. But first we went around for a walk. We bought some durian and brought it back, sat outside the shop, and continued chatting. He was experimenting with some entrepreneurial ideas in the city and living in a spare room upstairs of the massage shop. We chatted for a little bit, then I went inside to get a massage and forgot about everything else. I came out after the hour was up feeling comfortably numb and sat back down with Aver, my new friend from Tatarstan.
It was in the next five to ten minutes that he told me that he did design and digital art. I got excited and told him about the cover art I needed. He took it very calmly and said he could help. I told him all about the project. I mentioned how I recorded the audio at a remote waterfall in Satun. This was the second time I recorded a waterfall in Satun but the first time I added dance music to it. I had made meditation music out of the first album Waterfalls of Wellbeing: Ya Roy. Each of the tracks on this one resonate with the central chakras in the light body. The final track was the only one with dance music elements. We spent the next hour or so talking about the project.
I was there so late into the night that there were no more songteows left. So I ended up sleeping there in the massage doctor camp. It wasn't only Aver I befriended that night but some others, including Pi Mon (พี่มน), the owner. I ended up sleeping there two nights in a row because I came back the next day and uploaded all the music right there. Aver had promised to finish the artwork by then. And he showed me the finished version, but I liked another version that he made and gave up on. He didn't like that version, but to me it stood out as the most colourful and contrastful. I gave him some money for it. He had told me to give him however much I thought was appropriate.
I uploaded the album on time. It was a magnificent confirmation in the inner workings of outer reality. The universe has its own plans and it's better to allow them instead of trying to be on top of everything. I like knowing that I'm simply not on top of any of it. The more I leave it to the universe, the more that gets done.
It was closed today as I passed by.
Actually, let's take it back a few more days before that comfort-breaking evening. At that time I had just finished producing all of the tracks to my Waterfalls of Wellbeing: Wangsaitong album. However I didn't have an album cover art yet. And it was days before my date of upload. I upload all my albums on the first of the month. The two artists I had previously worked with on my album covers were MIA. And I didn't know where to turn to make my next album art. So I turned to the universe.
Being in this situation, all I could do was surrender to it. Enough of the pushing and pulling and exerting extra effort. I just left it in the hands of the infinite universe. I remember saying "OK Universe, this album is just as much yours as it is mine. I don't know what to do about the album cover situation. So I'm leaving this project in your hands completely. You can do as you wish with it. If it means I won't get to upload it for another month or two, then so be it."
Let's go forward a couple of days to that comfort zone expanding evening. That night I remember getting home from work and realizing I hadn't been out in a long time. In fact, I was new to Hatyai and I hadn't explored the downtown area at all. So I wondered what I could do as this feeling of guidance was telling me to go out. I decided to get a massage. I like massages. It would be my first time getting a paid massage in Hatyai. Before this, another friend who was trained in Chinese medicine and massage had treated me to a massage free of charge.
So I went downtown. I started walking around and passing by the massage shops and listening. I listened to how they greeted the potential customers that people passing by present. Some of the massage doctors, as they're literally called in Thai, would say "Hello! Massage!" as I walked by. Some seemed to do it on automation without any expectation and others put more energy and intention into it. One particular shop full of doctors started talking to me in a friendly way and gave me their card. As I kept walking around, I realized they were the only ones that stand out as being friendly. I decided to cross the street and turn back to that same place. But I would walk in front of one or two more massage centres before reaching the friendlies that stood out.
Once I crossed the street, I was a few steps away from another massage centre. I tiptoed by and as I did a western male in the doorway greeted me. We began chatting. I asked him where he was from. He said Russia. He asked me. I said Turkey. Then he changed his answer and said "I"m actually from Tatarstan!" Tatarstan is an autonomous zone in the Russian Federation. They share historical, linguistic, cultural and ethnic ties with the people of Turkey and other Turkic peoples. When Tatars count from 1 to 10 in the Tatar language, it sounds almost exactly the same as Turkish.
He asked me what I was up to and I said that I wanted a massage. He pointed inside and told me that this is the place. But first we went around for a walk. We bought some durian and brought it back, sat outside the shop, and continued chatting. He was experimenting with some entrepreneurial ideas in the city and living in a spare room upstairs of the massage shop. We chatted for a little bit, then I went inside to get a massage and forgot about everything else. I came out after the hour was up feeling comfortably numb and sat back down with Aver, my new friend from Tatarstan.
It was in the next five to ten minutes that he told me that he did design and digital art. I got excited and told him about the cover art I needed. He took it very calmly and said he could help. I told him all about the project. I mentioned how I recorded the audio at a remote waterfall in Satun. This was the second time I recorded a waterfall in Satun but the first time I added dance music to it. I had made meditation music out of the first album Waterfalls of Wellbeing: Ya Roy. Each of the tracks on this one resonate with the central chakras in the light body. The final track was the only one with dance music elements. We spent the next hour or so talking about the project.
I was there so late into the night that there were no more songteows left. So I ended up sleeping there in the massage doctor camp. It wasn't only Aver I befriended that night but some others, including Pi Mon (พี่มน), the owner. I ended up sleeping there two nights in a row because I came back the next day and uploaded all the music right there. Aver had promised to finish the artwork by then. And he showed me the finished version, but I liked another version that he made and gave up on. He didn't like that version, but to me it stood out as the most colourful and contrastful. I gave him some money for it. He had told me to give him however much I thought was appropriate.
I uploaded the album on time. It was a magnificent confirmation in the inner workings of outer reality. The universe has its own plans and it's better to allow them instead of trying to be on top of everything. I like knowing that I'm simply not on top of any of it. The more I leave it to the universe, the more that gets done.
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