I mentioned in a previous blog, “Momentum,” that I started composing every day. Here is an update on that endeavor. As of April 1, 2023 I am on day fifty of daily composing. This small bit of creativity is a priority. I wish I could say I jump in each day with joy and vigor. Well, I am joyful on some level, but it also brings hesitations, questions, and insecurities. During the week when I work at my day job, I have little energy left. Sometimes it is not physical, but rather I feel that I have used up my brain power—my ability to think clearly or creatively. One idea that has come to the forefront in my daily composing is the idea that our limitations might be our strengths.

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I can be who I am and be miserable or I can be who I am and try and find the good in it.

— Steve Glew, The Pez Outlaw (2022 Documentary)

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Of course, we strive to learn, do better, and push ourselves toward excellence. I get it. However, there may be a limit to what we can do. That does not mean we give up. There are other solutions or other ways to work. I was watching an interview with bassist Leland Sklar the other day. He mentioned some of his physical challenges with his hands. The interviewer said, “Your weaknesses produced your strengths.” Indeed, at age 75, Leland has played on thousands of tracks since the sixties. These include tracks with James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Phil Collins, Toto, and Lyle Lovett to name only a few. He is still active as a studio musician and currently tours with Lyle Lovett.

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We can allow our limitations to define us—or we can find solutions.

— Jason Blume, American songwriter, author, and teacher

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Over these past fifty days, I have finished a few small pieces. When I am too tired or uninspired, I pull out a new sheet of manuscript paper and start writing something else. It could just be a melody. I find that I am full of melodies, but sometimes the ability to structure a composition requires more thought or energy than I have. Yes, I have done it. I often look back at those pieces and marvel and think, “Wow, I did that?” That is one reason why songwriting is so appealing to me compositionally—the structure is simpler.

Several days ago my husband and I watched the documentary, The Pez Outlaw. It chronicles the story of Steve Glew who made millions of dollars smuggling rare PEZ candy dispensers from Eastern Europe to the United States. He mentions his struggle with mental health issues and I wondered through most of the documentary how he could accomplish all this. Toward the end of the documentary he says:

“The story of PEZ outlaw is an act out of my mental issues—learning to cope with anxiety, depression, and the voices in your head so to speak. And in some cases, some of the things that you have are actually tools and are not burdens.”

Those words stood out as he said them, “some of the things that you have are actually tools and are not burdens.” Sometimes I think our lives are all about learning to reframe what we think about who we are. By that I mean, just because we aren’t as smart, beautiful, cleaver (or inject any other adjective here) . . . does not mean we aren’t capable and worthy.

I know, for me, I can feel insignificant or wonder if anything I create is important or even matters. Doing this for fifty days now, I know it matters to me. I have this quote on my desk.

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The writer must believe that what he is doing is the most important thing in the world. And he must hold to this illusion even when he knows it is not true.

—John Steinbeck (1902-1968) American writer

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The act of creativity forces us to look directly into the eye of who we are and share our humanity. Our love for creating music, poetry, paintings, or any other medium encourages us to find ways to communicate through our art. And—we could discover that our limitations might be our strengths