Quite a few years ago, I saw John Mellencamp interviewed on VH1. One of the things the interviewer wanted to know was—why did his music seem to connect so well with "the common man"? The obvious answer would have been that he was born in Seymour, Indiana—a town of 18,000 people. He lived common.
But instead, he said something along the lines of, "Because life is often about just paying the phone bill and being happy about being able to do so and those are the sort of things I write about."
I don't agree with the majority of Mellencamp's politics, but I've never forgotten the premise of what he was saying during that interview. Joy can be found in simply living up to every day responsibilities. And even today, all these years later, I still get a small sense of satisfaction when I pay the phone bill.
