Step Out of the Rush

I wrote an entire blog today. Well, I wrote one and a half blogs today, and at the end of this piece of writing it will actually be three, but i had to delete all the work I did on this last and third try because of a faulty I don't know what. So inputting this essay has nearly driven me BONKERS today. There have been swear words and a few tears even. I know, what am I like?? I lost the first try because of a mishap on my website program, and I hope that won't happen again! The second one I wrote over the course of the morning and when I came home from my afternoon hike in the forest, to edit it, I just wasn't feeling the vibe at all. Lately, I've been on about communication and interconnectedness. How people are literally entwined, I mean how many small world stories have you participated in? Where was the craziest place, the most random place you have ever met someone from another part of your life? Perhaps you run into many of these small world scenarios. You might even like to call them coincidences. I Love syncronicity or Déjà vu, even.  It hits home in a way that says I'm in the right place at the right time. 

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How do you stifle stress? Sometimes I get thinking about the  Hubble Telescope and just know that there is SO much more out there, that we are SO small in the grand scheme of things.

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Does fear drive us to be who we are? Fear of what others say, how others might act, what others might think of us. Fear of not living true to ourselves, fear of not living our dreams, fear of not being able to pay the bills. My god, I am starting to ache all over just thinking about it. If I believe in the idea that we are all connected, then I must believe that we all have very similar traits and characteristics and are mostly not alone in all the ups and downs. I Love that about us, but I can't help but wonder what makes one person a naysayer and cynic and another an optimist? Is it in the genes, were we born the way we are or is our behaviour learned from our parents/how we were raised? I am sure there is a science to it, but still I am curious. Of course, I can't spend TOO much time on this stuff, there are so many things to do! Book, play, cook, write, create, live and learn. But oen thing for sure, something that I learned though music, a long time ago you just have to step out of the rush from time to time. Here is one of my favourite Fat Freddy's Drop songs... "ERNIE"... have a listen and let the music move you.

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Until we meet again, I will prepare a few songs for my show in Thun next week, on November 5th at  "Mundwerk." It is this really old cellar under the city and the acoustics are amazing!  Also on the horizon is some new jewelry that I have been working on, crafted from some driftwood I collected in northern B.C this past Summer. It has been SUPER fun creating little pieces of art from nature's art. It is such a relief to break away from the computer/industry side of music, sometimes you just have to craft in other ways. But I DO have a new song in the works. It has been keeping me up in the middle of the night. Maybe once it is finished I will sleep again! Ha... Sorry Mum's out there. NOT complaining about sleep. Not doing that!!!

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Anyway have a great rest of the week!

Hugs,

Lindsay, Crafter and Composer

We Are Warriors

We might not be fighting a war, half naked, wearing pelts to keep us warm, with purple lips, lice filled hair, our bodies caked with mud and blood. We might not be fighting herds of axe carrying humans leaving hoards of the dead in our wake. No, we are living in a much later time, somewhat as barbaric but nowhere near the days when humans believed the Earth was flat. We can, however, still be warriors in our own right.

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Every person is fighting something. I wake up some mornings, groggy, fighting the desire to return to my dreaming. Instead I focus on my breathing and prepare for the day ahead, visualizing what will become of it. Centering myself in light and hoping for a fresh perspective, hoping for the essence of positivity.  Some mornings I am too tired to meditate on this, or too busy/late to think about it. Doubting if any of it works anyway.  Focusing on what is good in life, does not always make me feel good. My inner fight between resistance and doing is constant. Game of Thrones or Guitar? Sweeping or Singing? Hiking or Hiding? There is always a choice and always an opposite. I am always in the "throws." Assuming you are too, what is the secret? To do or not to do.

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Speaking of TWO MINDS... here is a song from my new RECORD featuring JOFO https://soundcloud.com/secretchameleon/two-minds JOFO has also just released an awesome record... Check HIM out HERE

We always get through, don't we? One foot in front of the other. I suppose there are ways to enhance our days, perhaps meditating on the good stuff, incorporating that into our daily lives (like I try to do in the mornings!) Maybe those seemingly small things are what makes it all okay at the end of the day.  I do know that all of it takes hard work. It is true that nothing great comes easy and fast. I was having a conversation with a friend of mine yesterday, about the music industry (a can of worms!) She is just about to release her first album and is feeling defeated. I too feel this on a regular basis, there is nothing quite like comparing ourselves to others!  I am almost ten years in and am working on NOT doing this. Still, we bust our butts and climb that mountain! There is no try, there is only Do or Do Not. (Thanks Yoda) That inner fighting continues "Am I good enough?"  Quieting the negative and holding onto your Warrior. This is what matters....

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There is so much noise out there though! So many people with so many opinions. It is so hard to figure out what to learn from and what to leave. Don't we all get mixed up sometimes? Where to draw the line, what to keep and what to discard. It's funny, someone will mention to me after a concert, how touched they were by my performance. I need those words of encouragement! Sometimes though, 'the not so pretty' stuff sticks and I find myself in the middle of singing a song, thinking about that time someone told me they didn't like the song. That I shouldn't sing it at all. If only we could hold on tight to what matters and let go of what does not. It is a constant struggle though, isn't it? Oh to be a warrior!!

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I can only do what is best for me and hope that in some tiny way I am getting through to someone out there. It is true, not everything I do will resonate in a positive manner, but I will do my best to fight the resistance within, release the harmful thoughts of others and be that warrior!! 

Hugs and Love from a computer somewhere..

Lindsay xo

An Audience of Trees

Some days I hike into the woods and sit in the trees, pondering life, breathing in that life-giving goodness. I try to focus on exactly what is around me, on exactly what I am feeling, what I hear, what I smell... As easy as it sounds, I find it hard not to let my mind wander into what will be. 

I attended a healing ceremony this past weekend. It helped me in many ways. I rested, I dreamed and I learned. One of the practices I learned to bring into my life is to try my best to focus on "the now." Such a cliché. I know. Be in the now, focus on the moment. Haven't we all been told this, haven't we all read this over and over? When does wisdom sink in, finally? Does it take a weekend of meditiation of an ancient kind? Does it take a weekend spent in a sanctuary of sorts? For me, I think it might just be exactly what it took.

But I know this is just the beginning of something. It will take a lifetime of practice  and discipline. It does seem a little quieter and more peaceful, that somehow, maybe I am closer to spirit? I hope this insight stays up front. By "up front" I mean, I hope this new wisdom does not get lost somewhere deep inside again. I must remember that I have this knowledge, that we all have this knowledge, this 'knowing.' The answers are there, we only need to tune in. Finding stillness and really listening, now therein lies the challenge! Quieting all the noise, tuning in, breathing in, taking care of oneself, finding the courage to step away from the ego...

Nothing is black or white. What might be black for one is purple for another, there is no absolute right or wrong. One has to feel it out, does it feel bad, does it feel good? Your senses are intuitive. They know!   We all live here, searching for something to hold onto, searching for value and happiness. When I asked both of my parents, separately, what they thought the purpose of life was, they both said "To have fun, to live a joyous life." Both of them worked really hard and are now retired, living out their own dreams now and I am beginning to see. We just have to look for it and we will see! See?

Life is long (unless it is cut short!) But if I live as long as my grandparents, I sure have a way to go! I can only hope that I will honour myself first and continue to honour you as well. We are all in this together, so let's help each other! Create smiles, create Love! (click on LOVE, you will see the most amazing and short documentary about an old man in Bermuda who shares his Love every day! Old man Johnny Barnes, I thank you!)

Here is another video, a music video, that I think sums up what I have been saying here quite nicely. One of my dear and musical friends from across the ocean, just released it... Click HERE to watch :) And please, inspire, and be inspired!

Love,

Lindsay xo

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Come People

There is a river rushing outside my window. You can hear it and it runs pretty quickly especially after a long rain, which is happening right now. The river here is not one for diving into, as it is mostly shallow, but it is crystal clear and you can bend down to drink it's glorious cold right from your hand.

I also hear the harmony of bells from the sheep and miniature ponies, grazing on the long green grasses in our fields around this old farm house.

I Love to open all the windows and just revel in all the sounds that are flowing in. The days and nights are getting colder though, and this unique soundtrack will be missed. Living here in Switzerland is different from our Canadian life, but similarities balance both. The food may taste a little different, friends and family have different ways and faces and the hills around here may be a little steeper than those in the Gatineau.

Bottom line though, I have learned through travel and massive change, that you will be who you are wherever you live. You will find things that piss you off and you will find ways to bring joy into your life. You live with yourself your entire life and the way to get through it is not running away hoping for a deep, profound change from within. This ideal/new “solution” will last until the newness rubs off, and then it's back to you again. You with all your fear, strength, insecurities, happiness, anger; over all mood swings (that may or may not be a part of your life.)

Some folks look at me with stars and dreams in their eyes when I talk about living between two countries. For the most part, I do not see it that way. I used to, when I first came here forever ago, it was so new and I was given a fresh perspective for awhile, but me and my life will follow me wherever I go, there is no escape! There is only will. Will to keep going, will to better oneself, will to face fear, will to accept fear, will to conquer fear, will to eat better, will to be better, will to make art (in some form) a part of your life (cinema, art exhibits, baking, reading, music, whatever, there is so much choice in artful ways!!)

Finding the will to teach and to learn is also fundamental. Finding that balance between hearing and being heard...There is no simple way to blast through this cosmos, we are all one in this case, and we can all do it. I suppose accepting that there will be days filled with frown and days filled with smile, and sometimes the two shall meet. Wherever we are in this world, one foot in front of the other, trying to find our way through this beautiful and sad place, knowing we are not alone in the battle but rather we are one. Now HERE is a profound and beautiful heart lifting song that might just hammer that last nail in about what I am going on about... Music speaks louder after all! Introducing Xavier Rudd's COME PEOPLE.