Quote for today...and probably my life motto

"It takes more courage to reveal insecurities than to hide them, more strength to relate to people than to dominate them, more manhood (or womanhood) to abide by thought-out principles rather than blind reflex. Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles and an immature mind."
- Alex Karras

Muse

Cool window in the abbey in Battle, England

Feeling so grateful that my muse is still keeping me company.

Creativity can't be forced, but it can be nurtured. And I can leave the door (and windows) open for it.





p.s. yes, I am aware of the irony that I included a picture of a window that is barred shut. Just pretend you can open it. Haha!

Ashland

I love the light showing through these petals

Does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care?

They are so cute

Splinters

Early morning clarity

Birch Bay, WA sunset

I am lying here in bed, rolling around in a clarity of thought that only comes in the early unrushed hours of the morning after 8 hours of good sleep.

I worry about so many things, unnecessary things. Most of the time I feel my stress or worry stems from the fact that I'm not perfect and I want to be. It sounds ridiculous, but it's kind of true. And a lot of angst has come from that.

When I woke up this morning, I felt very calm and....'ok.' I am ok. You are ok. Everything will be ok. No matter what is going on, no matter how the future plays out, I can handle it. If I beat myself up mentally every time I fail, that's a downward spiral that's difficult to recover from. All these things in my life I will eventually learn from. It's ok if I don't understand it all now. I am expecting many 'Aha' moments in my future. Maybe I'll write a song about it. ;)

Summer

It's been a month since the show, and I haven't done a lot of music between now and then. But I just started practicing music for other people's shows coming up. I feel much less pressure when playing music I didn't write!

Otherwise, the summer has been filled with swimming (when the sun is actually out...here is where I cast a disapproving glance out the window at the sky), horse training, yard work, trips to the library, babysitting, outings with friends and family, live music, camping, and mountain biking.

Paul

6-17-11

Paul Kincaid on bass

Jeremy Donaldson: guitar/vocals

Paul Johnson on violin (see any family resemblance?)

Preparing for the show

Well, the show is about a week and a half away. Now that I'm done with finals, I feel like I can finally focus. Over the last couple weeks, I spent a lot of time thinking about which songs to perform, and organizing the set list. Most of the songs have never been heard. How strange that feels!

I was having a discussion with a friend last weekend about artists and their passion for the arts. This is how she put it (from the perspective of an artist): "This is what I can do, this is what I am passionate about, this is what I have to offer. Do what you will with it, I am sharing it with you."

"Words are the voice of the heart." - Confucius