They call music “the soundtrack of your life”, and that is a very true statement. The music you choose surrounds you as often as you wish, filling the canvas of your auditory soundscape. Of course, it is not the only soundtrack of your life, just like music is not the only sound that you hear. Sometimes however it can have a deep and profound effect on your surroundings. When you drive, when you work, when you’re falling asleep or just after you wake up, the most pervasive thing which you hear, can be the music you selected. This music then fills the day’s silences by playing quietly at the back of your mind. Sometimes a really annoying song or jingle will embed itself so strongly in your mind, that you cannot stop thinking about it. If you choose carefully, however, your silences will be filled by the treasured notes of your favorite music.

In a similar way to a soundtrack, there is also a videotrack, which consists of everything that you see during your everyday. These sights can also be influenced by yourself in important ways… The decorations of your apartment, the paintings you hang on the walls, the people you choose to meet, the places you decide to visit, the films you watch all determine the optical content of your life. You may not be able to change the way the city you live in looks, but you can choose to take the longer route to anywhere in order to see its nicer parts… These images will then populate your dreams, memories and imaginations. It might be worth collecting the most beautiful ones.

Each of your senses has a separate “track”, or assemblage of experiences which all sum into the adventure, which you call your life.

In addition to the sensual content of your life, there is also a collection of your thoughts, reflections, observations and feelings which arise internally, from your consciousness (or subconsciousness). Many of these you can also influence, change, or simply prune to select for the ones you find most pleasing. We do this in fact all the time, when we choose to think about something, or not to think about something else, not to be concerned with something… The amount of control you have over this part of your existence, can only be appreciated, if you realize, that quite like any other “track”, you can add and subtract things from your mind. There are many things which seem overwhelming, like fears, phobias or prejudices, but in reality, this realm is the one in which we have most opportunity for alteration. Like the unchangeable streets of your town, there may be some things inherent to your personality, but these are few and usually buried in the subconsciousness, almost everything else is amendable. Your every though, your every mood is a creation of your mind and it is you and only you who is able to control it.

Sometimes there are some external influences which make you feel a certain way. These influences cause echoes in your egotrack, like the annoying jingle may embed itself in your internal soundtrack. In such a case there is one thing worth remembering. Like the jingle, almost all external circumstances are temporary, so if you can’t ignore them, you should try to wait them out. Eventually they will fade out and stop being an important influence on your life, replaced by new experiences, which you will select yourself.

One big mistake, which many people make is not to understand, how much of your internal mindscape can be decided by you yourself. These people often struggle to modify the external circumstances into which they were born. This is often a constructive exercise, but it often leads to frustration and disappointment instead of happiness. This is because no s ingle person can make huge differences in the outside world. Small changes can cumulate over the course of your life, but will rarely give you quick solutions and there will always be some things which you have no power over. This means that an internal stewardship over your mind will always be necessary, regardless of how much work you put into the world outside.

Think of your mind as your garden. Try to plant the most wonderful flowers, pull out weeds, protect the garden from droughts and storms. Don’t let yourself however, be controlled by it…