When was life last easy? It seems as if we’ve been caught in a cycle of catastrophes for decades now, from 9/11 and the following wars to the financial collapse and too-slow recovery to the tinpot despot’s mishandling of the COVID-19 crisis to the post-pandemic inflation. Add in the daily dramas many of us endure and it seems like we can’t catch a break for longer than a song. We breathe in, breathe out, let the music sweep through our souls for several minutes—and then, like it or not, are back to facing the unfaceable.
Few songs, at least to my ears, make a better mantra for the quiet moments than “Peace of Mind,” a highlight from Miko Marks’ 2022 album Feel Like Going Home. As I said of it at the time, “It’s one of those soul-stirring songs, a la Allison Moorer’s ‘Heal’ or Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water,’ that sounds like it’s been with us forever and a day.”
This live rendition is, simply put, tremendous.
The press release quotes Marks as saying, “‘Peace of Mind’ is a song that I hold close to my heart as it reminds me to pause for my peace as I navigate my life from day to day. Feelings of worry, fear, anxiety, and stress can really take me to dark places where I feel overwhelmed and sometimes I’m unable to see my way out. This song reminds me to take time to step away, to get a larger perspective. Rain falling down, stars shining down, those are symbols that the Universe keeps doing what it does, beyond the problems and stresses in our world; that I’m a part of the Universe and part of the natural world and I can find that connection. As the world hurries and worries itself along, we’re part of something bigger and more constant than our struggles, our careers, our politics. Right now in particular, we feel so divided and angry as a nation. Regardless of where we fall politically, we all need to find peace of mind in place of rage, blame, and despair. When I sing this song, I am always able to find the serenity and calm that I need and I hope the listeners are able to tap into the same. Of all the songs in my live set, this is the one most likely to draw out some of my tears, and you can hear it in this live version. They’re tears of release and hope and of gratitude for the present and for days to come.”
The Old Grey Cat 