If we get still and quiet enough, we can actually hear our hearts beat. Instantly, everything around us becomes insignificant because we become one with ourselves. Immediately the things that we thought were major become irrelevant in comparison to the tempo of our heart.

We realize that what is of importance is not what’s out there but what’s inside of us. It is amazing what one discovers by listening to the heart. At that very moment, we appreciate the life that is dancing inside of us.

In the quietness of that moment, we catch the rhythm of our hearts, as well as, the rhythm of our lives. Our hearts remind us that our lives are based on cadence and we are the drum majors of our lives. Everything in life has rhythm!

Every winter bears check into their hibernation resort and birds get their plane tickets for their southern vacation.

If it rains, the sun is sure to shine.

If it is hot, the cool weather is sure to follow.

If it is night, the morning will soon come.

We live in a rhythmic world. Understanding the world in which we live awakens us to the fact that we were created to be drummers.

There is no such thing of being incapable of keeping rhythm. You either keep tempo well or poorly, but either way, we keep beat!

We were created to drum out our lives. Unfortunately, too many people stand on the sideline and never embrace an opportunity to drum due to fear of failure.

However, the greatest failure is watching everyone else drum while you stand there allowing insecurities and low self esteem to drown out your rhythm.

When we are learning to drum, the simplest thing has the ability to throw us off rhythm. However we must remember that although similar, no two beats are alike.

I am convinced that we will not all drum to the same beat, but instead drum to the rhythm of our own music.

Our role is not to control the rhythm; it is to go with the flow in order to become one with the beat. The life that we live already has rhythm and fellow drummers are waiting for us to contribute to that rhythm.

So, live it up! Become the drum major you were destined to be and remember to embrace every opportunity to drum.

Rep.-elect Darrio Melton will represent Dallas County in the Alabama Legislature.