I find myself really digging Eminem’s music these days. Frankly, that frightens me. To think that I have something in common with this sociopath is sobering and probably realistic. What he’s done is pure genius.

He has said everything that all of us bury inside. He has given his Id free reign to unleash itself. With his latest single “Lose Yourself,” he illustrates that the Id is not all bad. The song deals with the idea of Carpe Diem and seizing that moment in your life that works like a hinge. Grab it and swing and the hinge might be connected to a door that opens onto a new world. Let it hang there waiting and the weight of the door slams itself shut.

This shows considerable growth and control from some of Eminem’s earlier efforts. I don’t think that this maturing is to be unexpected. He is getting older. He does have a family. He runs a large business with people who work for him counting on him. Add to that the fact that his anger has been so easily vented over the past few years and the boy just had to become a man.

Having said that, he hasn’t dulled his sword at all. He still throws barbs at every conceivable object. Only this time, the effect is less revulsion and almost becomes comedy. He is wavering on that fine line of becoming a parody of himself. If he plays it correctly, he has the talent to pull that off.

None of that makes me as interested in Eminem as does the fact that he has acheived full expression of himself. Like all artists, he strives to express the emotions that dwell inside him. It impresses me that he has been able to do so with such success. Many artists languish through painful existences without ever having that release of life that expression can give you. They fight and wallow and become impotent with the lost possibilities of a wasted gift.

Eminem has found his gift and his release and in that I see inspiration and comfort.