Usually, after I have recorded a bunch of songs, I immediately start making up new ones.
I’ve written a few, and some have been used for other things (like The Harmony Tree and In A Garden of Hope recently choired up by the Family Folk Machine), and some of them are … not quite done, not satisfying in some way, too … something to be ready for primetime. They lack a certain … je nais se quois.
There is one that I’m really happy with, and I need to get it recorded, but jaysus it’s a lot of work to get set up to record, and when it takes longer to set up to record a song than it will probably actually take to record it … well, my gumption does not engage sufficiently to actually get it done.
There are a few songs from the big batch of 28 that I recorded over the summer that I have not yet posted, but none of them are feeling … right at the moment. I don’t dislike them, they just don’t feel like the medicine that’s needed. I’m a Music Medic, don’tcha know (that’s my handle over at Bluesky now, check it out, look me up, it’s where all the sane kids are going), so I am trying to be very sensitive to the vibe and the feel, and right now the choir I usually preach too needs comfort and joy more than it needs another pissed off song about climate change.
A few months ago, I had a very powerful Shamanic journey in which I was given some very clear marching orders from Herself and from my friendly, terrifying local River God, Jahiowa, and I wrote that one song (that I haven’t recorded yet) right afterward, and it’s exactly what they were asking for. So why am I now stuck in writers’ block land?
Well, there was that whole election thing which didn’t go how I’d hoped it would, in the worst possible way, and it is already getting worse minute by minute. But I’m glad Elon’s mom thinks it’s nice that Elon and Donnie are having such fun playdates. Having fun together is a great way to play. Who cares if the world burns?
And my shiny new husband has been 9 hours away caring for his end-of-life parents since June, and I have a nasty case of tendinitis in my right hip that is making it hard for me to function and exhausting me, and my brain can’t cope. But that’s just whining, really. I’m safe, healthy, living indoors, and I can afford good whole organic food (and I’m not afraid to cook it), and I am working out to try to keep my body and brain from turning to pudding and soup, respectively. Things are good, and I want them to stay good. I don’t want to think about what’s going to happen to my step-daughters as they have to navigate a health-care system that is largely going to be turned against them. Okay okay, please don’t get me started, that’s not why you’re here, and I apologize.
I am, possibly much like yourself, looking for meaning and purpose in a world gone utterly bat-bonkers, and looking for the energy to pull myself up out of the pit and keep going. You didn’t come here to listen to me whine. I call myself a Solution Seeker, so … let’s seek some solutions (no, not that kind ffs).
How to Make My Little Piece of the World a Slightly Better Place
- Prioritize self-care. 50% of my job right now is self-care. I have to take care of me so I can take care of you. I can’t do it from an empty cup, and neither can you.
- Make cool things that you enjoy making and can be proud to share with others – and share them, because honest, real, creative work is a source of strength and healing for the maker and the observer/reader/listener alike.
- Commune with like-minds and chosen family (yes, your chosen family can include carefully curated members of your bio-fam), because sharing joy with people multiplies the joy. Also, make it potluck so you can have tasty snacks.
- Do the work you came here to do. I don’t mean your job, I mean the inner work. Heal your mother-wound. Practice self-love. Love your neighbor while you’re at it. Cultivate gentleness. Deal with your imposter syndrome (hint: you’re not an imposter, you’re great and I love every bit of you).
- Turn off the blue-light devices at least an hour before bed, and spend that hour doing something that feeds your heart and your soul. I am currently reading (among other things) The Secret Life of the Universe by Nathalie Cabrol, and it’s exactly the sort of thing to expand my mind into higher places before I slip into slumber. Find something that makes your mind relax and say ahhhhhhh, and enjoy it.
- Cultivate a playlist (if you’re into such things) that uplifts, comforts, and reminds you that we’re all beautiful star-stuff and we’re here to love each other the best we can.
- Knock the pressure off. Do what you love because you love it, not because you want a zillion followers, or because you want a career of it. And no, dear heart, you are most definitely not too old. We desperately need all the perspectives we can get. Golden voices, the Pro-Level Adults who have been at this a while, need to channel their accumulated wisdom into mentoring, comforting, and being a resource for the young. We also need to get the eff out of their way and support them in winning elections because this is their world now, and they need to drive.
That’s a start. I would love to hear from you with your favorite coping strategies (that don’t involve substance abuse or rage eating), so we can offer each other support, comfort, and peace. I’ll get back to the music soon, I promise. Jahiowa was very clear about that (of course, he’s gone to sleep for the winter, so I might have a little time to get it going (snark)). Peace be with you in this least peaceful of seasons in an even less peaceful time. Together, we stand a chance.
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