Only when one has passed through the fire and struck out towards the light does pain achieve some kind of meaning....
This song was written while visiting a friend who was going through a very rough time during the break up of his marriage. His home was near the sea, and the salt air was very noticeable to me as I was living inland at the time.
I was reflecting on my friend's plight and meditating on the nature of suffering in general. It seemed to me that it was after going through the trials and tribulations of tests and difficulties that most of my growth as a person, and whatever wisdom I'd gained had come to be. That there was a mystery surrounding the process of going through difficulties.
The Players:
Philip Patenaude - Lead Guitar
Bob Ryan - Rythm Guitar & Vocals
Recorded "on the fly" during a jam session in 2006 at Summerland Sounds Recording Studios
(LYRICS)
Words and Music by Bob Ryan (C)1988
On the salt-winds of morning
I will seal my heart with flame
On the salt-winds the morning comes
And I will rise up through these wastes
From this broken place
Only when my mind is flying
Do clear these scragged rocks
Only when my mind soars at home
Do I rise up through these wastes
From this broken place
The only time I find some meaning
Is when I live my thoughts out loud
The only time I see my home
Is when I rise up through these wastes
From this broken place
On the salt-winds of morning
I will leave my precious pain
On the salt-winds echo plaintive cries
As I rise up through these wastes
From this broken place
The Salt Winds of Morning
'The mind and spirit of man advance when he is tried by suffering. The more the ground is ploughed the better the seed will grow, the better the harvest will be. Just as the plough furrows the earth deeply, purifying it of weeds and thistles, so suffering and tribulation free man from the petty affairs of this worldly life until he arrives at a state of complete detachment. His attitude in this world will be that of divine happiness. Man is, so to speak, unripe: the heat of the fire of suffering will mature him. Look back to the times past and you will find that the greatest men have suffered most.' 
(Abdu'l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 177)
(Abdu'l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 177)So the mystery seems to involve going through difficult and challenging times, acquiring insight, learning the meaning of one's choices and actions, and arriving, through this process, in a changed state, an evolved state. The process seems to involve a decision to act, encountering the results of the action, reflecting on the outcome, reassessing the initial choice and action, modifying one's thoughts, feelings and actions as you move forward with the new insights gained. A continuous process of the unfoldment of human potential.
But what if one neglects some of the steps in the process? If one fails to reflect on past actions and results? One might persist in the same mistakes over and over, stuck, growing frustrated and weary of a life where nothing seems to go right. If having reflected, one fails to "get back up on the horse" to try out the new approach that has come to mind - we're again stuck, fearing to find out the "truth" of the new idea.
Or perhaps we are simply attached to our "tried and true" approach to our lives, believing our pain and suffering to be "normal." That this is our lot in life - even forming our very sense of self within its context. It becomes our "home." And the process of our unfolding potential winds down to a crawl, or worse, a stop. Sometimes its about letting go....
To avoid this tragic outcome, one's spirit needs to retain a "learning posture." A humble and truth-seeking spirit retains the flexibility and readiness to continue the creative act of living, of changing, of experiencing and witnessing the unfoldment of our potential. It will come to view all the experiences in our lives - the painful and the joyous - as opportunities for growth and development.
