Why You Need a Theme Song
And how to create it
I have a meditation app that mimics what I’ve experienced during a group meditation: intervals of silence followed by the sound of a chime or gong intended to bring our mindfulness back to the present moment and breathe. It’s so easy to get distracted on one’s life path by unexpected detours, like financial stress, health challenges, relationship dramas, etc. What if we each had a theme song as a reminder of why our soul chose this body, with these circumstances, at this time to help us remember our purpose in life? Like the chime during meditation, a hymnal in a church, a chant in a temple, the theme song brings us back into alignment each time we sing it to ourselves.
We are the creative directors of our own lives. There will always be life events that are beyond our control: natural disasters, death, and other unexpected occurrences. In that context, we are not sole creators; but we are co-creators, for we can’t always control what happens to us but we can choose how we respond and that shapes the narrative of the story. In the production that is our life, we can approach each experience—as either a comedy or a tragedy, an adventure or a horror story, or a mystery or a romance. Some of us may have Morgan Freeman’s voice in our heads narrating our lives. Others may have our own. I imagine the arch of my life as an epic cinematic inspirational story of courage and resilience woven with a million beautiful threads of playfulness, magic, joy, love, and peaceful simple living. Once we know what we want to experience, we can create a highlight reel: a visual set of images of what our lives look like when we are most content. Imagine if our lives were a TV show, with our very own montage of defining life scenes and accompanying theme song that encapsulates what the show is about, that we play in our heads each morning as a way of setting our intentions for the day of what we’d like to experience.
How do we create our own theme song? We start by knowing who we are and what we’d like to experience in life. As an author, activist, and performer, I have an artist statement that guides my daily motivation, which is, “My purpose in life is to infuse empathy, wisdom, integrity, and humor into universal challenges; to be a bridge of understanding; to be a reminder of the power of one, while remembering that we are the one with the power; to inspire and embolden each person to live with authenticity and courage and to enjoy living while doing so.
My artist statement is then paired with the three personal C.A.N. intentions that I set to enjoy living each day:
1. Connect with love
2. Align myself with creative expression
3. Nurture my well-being in nature, my sanctuary
Finally, we have to know our audience. Who are we living for and why? Who is watching our show and sings along to our theme song? For me, it’s my daughter, her generation, and anyone who is ready to break the chains that bind and live with freedom. I combined my artist statement with my personal intentions and sang it to one person, my greatest joy in life, my daughter. May the words find the audience for whom my theme song resonates with most.
When the chaotic circus of life pulls my focus off track, I find that having my very own theme song, brings me back to my purpose with playfulness in just 34 seconds (the length of my theme song). The following is my theme song, with a rough-cut video edited by my daughter (the original video had more clips of the two of us enjoying life together, but she’s chosen to keep her image off the internet to protect her biometric data- wise girl). Please enjoy and share with me your own theme song.
Theme Song Lyrics
“The purpose of life is to love and be loved—to be happy, grateful, and live
To lead (leave) the world a bit better we all have something we can give
Mix humility with confidence
Use sage words and common sense
Dear daughter, my love for you is my heart song”
Sage Justice is achingly sincere. Balancing wisdom and humor she most often writes deeply personal solution based pieces about the enduring virtues that connect us all: love and healing. She is an award-winning playwright and critically acclaimed performing artist who has appeared on stages from Madison Square Garden in New York City, to The Comedy Store in Hollywood, California. Ms. Justice is the author of Sage Words FREEDOM Book One, an activist, a member of the Screen Actors Guild and an alumna Artist-In-Residence of Chateau Orquevaux, France. She is a co-founder of The Unity Project which fuses activism with art, to educate and inspire, with a special emphasis on community engagement to end homelessness. She has a series of short reels about living with the rare genetic disorder, Vascular Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome that you can find in a highlight reel on her Instagram page @SageWords2027
Personal note:
Since April of 2022, I have published over 30 pieces on the human experience creating solutions to universal challenges infused with wisdom, empathy, integrity and humor. My husband and I are both working professionals in the entertainment industry and our income is being directly impacted by the Writers and Actor’s Guild Strikes. Therefore, if you’ve found value in my essays on conflict resolution, relationship dynamics, peaceful parenting, or the seven-piece series I’ve written on PRIDE, the four-part series on how to end mass shootings, the five-part series on protecting children and reproductive freedom, or my pop culture commentaries I thank you in advance for becoming a paid subscriber for yourself and buying a subscription for a friend. A monthly subscription is just $5 a month, a yearly subscription is $45. Writers provide a much-needed service to the community. We gather information and turn it into inspiration, education, entertainment, and understanding to bring people together; and right now, we could use your financial support. Thank you.