Today (about 5 min. ago) I had a very deep conversation with my 9yr old cousin about the band being named theVolume(of Love). After first explaining to her the concept of a HOPEmonster (that's a blog topic all by itself), she told me the music made her think of throwing up in a bathroom stall. I thanked her because the honesty and perspective of a child will one day change the world. Anyway, I asked her how loud she thought hatred or anger would be. She said it would be "the maximum volume.� I agreed, but then asked her if she believed love was stronger than hate, and she said yes. So, my next question was if hatred is the maximum volume, how loud is love if it is truly stronger? Her answer proceeded to blow my mind. She said, "love is louder but can still go unheard if you are not listening." WHAT?!? I nearly wrecked the car because I was not prepared to be given a lesson in wisdom by my 9yr old cousin. Now I know how Hester Prynne felt dealing with and talking to Pearl. I had to ask a question in order to understand what she meant, so I did. I asked her, "Are you saying that although love is louder and stronger than hatred, what we hear depends on what we are listening for?" "I guess so," she said. I guess I just had my band's name explained to me by a 9yr old who paints and reads books in her spare time. Wow!!! My final question to her (she has not answered it yet) was, "Which one are you listening for?" I ask you the same. Are you writhing in agony listening to the screaming assault of audio aggression that is hatred, or are you dancing sweetly to the primitive and earth-shaking volume of the love song? Well....?