Robert Gass Om Namaha Shivaya: Tenth Anniversary Deluxe Edition CD

'There are all sorts of highs and lows people hit. Some are chemically induced for pleasure or pain, some form because we internalize (fill in blank) one time too many, and the rest I like to conveniently blame on the way of the world - those situations out of our control where, despite our best efforts, the shit is FUBAR'd and resolution will always be unattainable.

These particular climbs and falls were collectively described to me once over some warm beer and really bland lobster quite simply as a roller coaster. It took awhile, but I came to realize that the ride is not to be taken for granted, because frankly, some people don't even get the chance to get in line, real language.

While I probably don't call upon those words often enough, they do illustrate a point. It tells me that there is always something worth hoping for, and that what goes down is bound to come up. It also tells me that life will be full of disappointment and that, roses, as sweet as they smell and as great as they look, will die. Our dreams often follow a similar pattern, but what's dope about a dream is that it is the one thing we can control. It's ours, and no one else's. It is ours to create, to plan and to actualize. Until our eyes close for the final time, our dreams don't die unless we let them. And so it is at that point where hip hop means the most to me.