It’s hard to believe that Jimi Hendrix’s masterpiece Axis: Bold, as Love is almost 50 years old. Despite its age, this album is one of the most relatable pieces of art ever made. That’s probably why it’s stood the test of time so well. I can guarantee that if you listen to this album closely enough, it will feel like you are looking into a mirror for all 40 minutes.

To listen to this album is to see yourself. Hendrix unabashedly makes all of the ugliness, pain and confusion we all feel into something insanely beautiful. He captures all sides of what it means to be human, what it means to be you:

1. Sometimes we feel like outsiders who can’t help but think ‘why are humans so weird?"

Hendrix explains this perfectly in “Up From the Skies,” one of the first songs on the album.

In the song he has assumed the role of some kind of alien or god who is visiting earth after millions of years and marveling at how much it has changed since his last visit. He realizes that Earth is warmer than usual and the stars in the sky are different. He notices we are mean to each other close ourselves off from one another. He asks us why we have forgotten what it means to be responsible citizens of this planet. Have we forgotten? Or are our minds just ‘vacuums’?

And I don’t know about you guys but I know I’m always questioning why we are the way we are. Why do we consciously pour chemicals and toxins into our atmosphere when we know it’s killing our home? Why do we drop bombs on each other? And why, when our religions and laws and consciences say we should treat each other and this world with respect and love, do we do the complete opposite?

Its just food for thought, and that just covers the first 5 minutes of the album.

2. There’s a heartbreaking rebel in all of us.

Some days we just wake up and think ‘I don’t give a single crap about what anyone thinks about me, I’m just going to worry about me.’ Jimi says embrace that.

In his song ‘If 6 was 9’ Jimi encourages all of us to wave our “freak flags high.” Don’t worry about the haters who are pointing at you, hoping you will shut up or go away or conform. Who cares if everyone else is doing one thing, if you don’t agree, then don’t do it.

The mountains could fall and, the sun could go dark, 6 could be come 9. None of it really matters because sure we are on this earth, but we are not of this earth. Our bodies and this home are temporary, and while we should not take it for granted, we also shouldn’t let the small stuff we can’t help affect who we choose to be. As the common saying goes: “You do you booboo.”

With that being said, through his song “Ain’t No Telling,” Jimi says you don’t need to sacrifice what you want to do to make other people happy. In the song Jimi is basically telling a girl he woke up next to after a night of fun that he’s going home and there’s no telling when (or if) they will see each other again. He is essentially hitting it and quitting it.

I know we have all felt like this. Maybe not romantically, but there is always a moment in someone’s life when they just have to say, “you are not worth my time and frankly I’m just going to continue my life apart from you.” This song solidifies the fact that it’s not selfish to think of yourself and your time as too valuable for some people.

3. There are times when we just have to let life take its course.

Despite our inherent need to want to control the way our lives go, sometimes the things that happen to us cannot be helped. When that happens, no matter how hard it is, we have to yield to what life has in store.

Hendrix talks about this in his song “Castles Made of Sand.” In the song, an abusive husband is finally kicked out of the house, teaching us to appreciate the people we love. In a separate story a warrior spends his entire life training to battle but the night before the fight, he dies in his sleep, teaching us that no matter how much we plan for our future, life always has a different idea.

The last story in the song is probably the most important though. In the end he talks about a woman who is “crippled for life” and whose “heart was a frown.” She hates her life so much that she is going to commit suicide but something, we’re not really sure what, comes into view right as she’s about to go into the ocean. It seems like this thing, whatever was, saved her. So life’s unexpended twists have the power to save us from ourselves.

4. Despite our hard exteriors, all of us are hopeless romantics deep down.

Sure, we all like to think that we can keep ourselves warm at night. Valentines day, flowers and chocolates don’t amount to anything. And in the end, we all die alone so why not just live alone. But we all know there’s a hopeless romantic deep down in there somewhere. We would all be willing to run away with someone, shower someone with love. Even Jimi Hendrix, who, may I say, was a pretty big player, had those moments where he was hopelessly in love.

In his song “You Got Me Floatin’” he is talking about this one person who makes him feel lighter than air. Just this person’s laugh makes his heart soar and the fact that he can kiss them anytime he pleases is the best feeling in the world. I know you’re all thinking of the person in your life that makes you feel this way, don’t deny it.

And when you do find this person, you would literally do anything for them. In his song “Wait Until Tomorrow,” Jimi is at this girl’s window with a ladder in the freezing cold, convincing her to run away with him. But because all of us are also heartbreakers, the girl is rejecting him despite her initial promises.

So face it, love hurts, which is probably why we have hard exteriors to begin with. But we also can’t help but fall in love.

5. All of us need to feel loved.

We all know we can take care of ourselves. We can take on the universe all by ourselves. But there are always times when we need to just be loved, whether its by a parent or a friend or lover. We all need to know that someone loves us enough to care.

Jimi Hendrix lost his mother when he was young, which makes songs like “One Rainy Wish” and “Little Wing” that much more heartbreaking. In both of these songs, Jimi describes this elusive woman in a dreamlike way. She smiles his name and visits him in the night when he is sad, and I can’t help but think he was thinking of his mom when he wrote these songs.

No matter how far you get in life or how well you can take care of yourself, we all need a guardian angel. Someone who, just by looking at them, can make us feel safe and loved.

Most of us may view this is some kind of vulnerability, but companionship and love is a necessity. So if you ever feel weak for depending on your guardian angel just know that Jimi Hendrix, a legend, has felt the exact same way.

6. We are all deserving of love.

I hope you all know this, but, in case you don’t, let Jimi tell you.

“Bold as Love,” is probably the most important song on the album. He lists off all of the parts of us that we usually perceive as weaknesses: fear, jealousy, anger, pride, and tells us that all of these are what make us human. Despite these faults we are all bold and strong and deserving of love.

The fact that us humans are as complex and unique as we are makes us powerful enough to rock this world. We can impact more people and things that we can even imagine. And when we give as much love as we can, that is what is going to shift the axis and change this world.

So don’t be ashamed of your weaknesses, remember you are deserving of love. Know that the person you are, not matter what people tell you, has the power to change the world.