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.
Maintaining interest and momentum in artistic endeavors can be a challenge. Life gets busy. Interruptions happen. Regular daily chores take longer than expected. I find my forward progress when working on a blog, a music composition, or any other creative project is easily sidetracked or even stopped.
I am fascinated with words. Words can inspire, encourage, entertain, inform, heal, or hurt. Perhaps it is the idealist in me that believes words can change the world. Sadly, sometimes words are used to mislead—witness the use of words in political rhetoric. One faction may use words to paint another group as “other” through name-calling and divisive, inflammatory rhetoric. Never mind that the words are untrue—by being spoken or written, someone will believe them. That is the power of words.
Is imperfection a gift? Imperfection hardly seems like a gift. In fact, it seems undesirable. Something must be flawed if it is not perfect. But is that true?
To survive we need food, water, air, and shelter. While art may not be vital to fulfill our basic needs, it makes life better. Having art in your life brings joy and keeps you in touch with creation. Art is everywhere and often costs nothing to enjoy.
I feel driven to create every day. However, I do not always have the ideas, energy, or momentum to follow through with a creative project on a daily basis. I often tell myself I don’t have time or that other things are more important. My inner voice tells me that if I don’t have hours to devote to creativity then I may as well not be creative at all.
Along with the song camps that I attended during 2007 and 2008, I took part in songwriting workshops sponsored by my local and other NSAI chapters. Our Birmingham chapter held monthly meetings with opportunities to play our songs and have song critiques. They sponsored several concerts at local music venues where we could showcase our songs as singer-songwriters. Sometimes there were special events where professional songwriters from Nashville presented workshops.
NSAI Song Camp 301 was held October 21-23, 2007. This song camp was the last in the series and I was very excited about going. I also ordered tickets to the Bluebird Café for the late show on Tuesday night.
Make something that did not exist before you created it. Make some art: compose music, write a poem, draw, or, live as only you can. You are the only one living right now, in this moment, with your experiences, with your dreams, with your abilities, and with your unique perspectives. The world needs your art. You need your art.
I wrote this anthem in January of 2018. The text by Frederick William Faber is one of mercy, inclusion, and love. This image he uses of God’s mercy being like the wideness of the sea is the seminal idea for the anthem. And, it is also the foundation for the tone painting throughout the anthem.
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