A few days ago I was talking to my mom about my blog. In the course of talking, it came up how I don’t generally write much about music on these posts. I thought about this for a moment, and then I said, “I spent years trying so hard in my music career. Sometimes it was very unsatisfying, as well as stressful and draining. With this blog I have absolutely no ulterior motive whatsoever. I’m not trying to get somewhere with it. It is so nice!”
What I mean is, the process of writing this each day is self-fulfilling. It inherently accomplishes the goal. I feel no pressure to have to attain a result (such as number of readers, number of subscribers, number of products sold, etc). Instead, the process is the product!
I pick topics I am curious about, things I’m already thinking about. I write for the sake of exploring ideas, constructing satisfying sentences, and learning how I think about things. I also write for the sake of expression, which is inherently satisfying.
Overall, I find this blogging process to be stimulating, enjoyable, rewarding, and satisfying. It is a 180 degree change from how I stressed out about writing essays in high and college. And as I said, it is equally different from how I used to write promotional materials for my music career. Believe me, as soon as I can feel stimulated, joyful, excited, and satisfied about promoting my music career, I am sure I will do that too! In the meantime, I’m just enjoying myself by doing what is working. I am choosing to go where the water is flowing, and not worry about where it is not.
After years of trying so hard to get ahead in my music career, it is really fun not to have to.
Who knew I would have so much fun being the musician not writing about music? 🙂
(Side note: I actually started writing this post on Thursday, May 23rd, even though this post is being published on Sunday, May 26th. That is because I am currently on a back-packing trip with my brother. Ergo, a little pre-writing had to happen!)
Chris’ music career has led to a situation that has drawn me (his dad) into a partnership with Chris that has yielded amazing benefits: an ongoing and very close father/son involvement in music. I have given vent to my ardent and prolific (if extremely unconventional) composer. Chris has functioned as an effective and cherished first sounding board for what has become a collection of a few hundred rather idiosyncratic compositions. He is an invaluable resource for me. He shares his vast musical understanding in apprising each one of these electronic works and has served as a cherished guide for me on that path. Kudos to you, Chris. Love, Dad