My middle son is a vocalist and musician striving for many years to get into the music industry. Long story short I believe self esteem is not the best as he compares himself to other more successful in the industry than him and becomes very disillusioned and downhearted. On top of that his voice has lost its edge and he cannot find any real reason for it.

What has self esteem got to do with it

21 unchanging

I'm not sure about that answer except to say it is the self esteem that is the truth of his downheartedness.

Liss

21 - To decide

One would like to meet but must accept arbitration.

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He needs recognition from others to gain self-esteem.

Thanks taoscopy. I just wanted to make sure my instinct as a mum was correct.
That's what I said to him and encouraged him to find validation for himself from himself and that looking outside himself is a bottomless pit - wonder if he'll listen to me his mumma!!
Personally it's taken me to now in my own life to have high self esteem in the best way possible so I encouraged him NOT to take as long as me!!

I agree with you Liss, self-esteem is a very important thing.
If you don't believe in yourself, how others can?
I think 21 shows that self-esteem is indeed the obstacle in his mouth, crippling his voice and self-expression.

his voice has lost its edge

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There is movement inside, a surge of energy (lower trigram, Chen) but it must have a clear expression outside (upper trigram, Li).
If he's unsure, lacks a vision of himself going places, then it will affect the 'output'.


Also an interesting idea is to look at the neighboring hexagrams.
20: The sage climbs up the tower. Winds are rising.
21: From the safety of tower he observes: Lightning and thunder, equalizing the charge, reducing the tension between clouds/earth.
22: Thunderstorm has gone, the travelers gather around a campfire at the foot of the mountain. Grace and stability. New clarity has come down to earth.

Wow, a whole story came up

Richmond writes about some inner problem demanding resolve, 'getting out-of-touch' that needs correcting, and following the convention/law/rules can help at these times.

What an appropriate casting. The cangue seizes around the throat. I doubt you son's problem is lack of self-esteem, that is, a lack of confidence. I think he has not found his medium. Whatever the voice, a vocalist can be successful. Americans with rough voices and crude Southern accents have often been at the top of the charts. For example, Janice Joplin's "Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz?" Her rough voice and sarcastic attitude perfectly fit the song. It's a classic. And that's what your son needs -- lyrics and music that fit his personality.

Thanks pocossin I see a big difference between confidence and self esteem. One can be confident in what they do but how they really feel inside is self esteem.
He's been working on his music for years and has his own genre sorted and whilst he tours, records and whatever else musicians need to do he feels he's getting nowhere.

Hi ashteroid, thanks. I think it's been a long journey and he's becoming jaded despite only being 23. He strives and strives 24/7 really when he's not out earning money he's writing, recording, rehearsing etc. but I do believe you just have continue to believe in yourself - it's a very difficult industry to get into and there is a lot of talent out there so I think they higher your esteem the more likely you are to get heard.

Here is a link if anyone's interested in hearing him.

http://www.inventionsband.com/

Maybe he needs his mother on keyboard.

pocossin said:

Maybe he needs his mother on keyboard.

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Haha he may lose his band cred if his mumma was there!! He surpassed me many years ago on the ivories even though yes I was the one to teach him the preliminaries as it was.