Alas It Goes On.....Are You Exhausted Yet?

Yep, this is still happening. I know, I'm disappointed too, hence in a bid to be less horrified by simply every.single.thing that's going on I've taken to keeping myself busy making movie recommendations and plumping up my youtube account. I don't really have any advice for you musicians out there, or artists that can't engage in your craft as effectively, except to remember your community. Your arts community will lift you up in ways you can't even conceive of just by talking to them, working with them (remotely) and dreaming with them. Capitalism does a whole schtick where it likes to convince people that every man is an island but I'm pretty sure Covid has shat all over that notion, repeatedly. We are a community, whether we like it or not and we work best as humans when we embrace that where we can and where necessary.

I think for most people right now the best way to survive this miserable situation is to first connect to your community and secondly (and most importantly) grab on to whatever thing that thrills you and hold onto it. Notice I said whatever "thing" because that is something within your control, people are not your escape and it's an unfair burden to place on them to expect them to be. A community (like your friends, musicians, artists community) is there for mutual support and encouragement and to remind you that you're not the only one feeling this way, even though it may truly feel that way. This is different from shoving all your hopes and dreams into one person and expecting them to provide all of that for you. Don't hide in somebody in this pandemic, try to be brave enough to find yourself and find what makes you you, that's a gift that we can all try to give a little to ourselves during this terrible situation. Getting to know and appreciate yourself is the most important task you have in this life.

Lockdown is a good time to explore yourself and what makes YOU truly happy, the little things intrinsic to you that bring you joy (pardon the pun) and that can't be a person because people come and go and if your happiness is entirely incumbent on someone else then your misery sure will be too. I'm telling you to find something that thrills you and hop to it as best you can with limited resources. For me right now (because I can't go to the studio or play live and I don't have any songs brewing) it's making these little film suggestions with the extensive viewing history I have being a cinephile at a young age, so that's what I'm going to share until it bores me and I need something else to do. My point is let's just get through this, in whichever way we can (sans excessive use of substances and people). If you find something that gives you some tiny amount of pleasure in this absolute shitshow, embrace it, embrace it and envelop it like the gift it is. Don't worry about other people's thoughts on what gives you pleasure whether they're "friends" or "family" or whatnot, so long as you're not hurting anyone,(caveat:claiming your own time and space, doesn't qualify as hurting someone) just do what works for you, get through it, live through it, until you find you're no longer surviving but thriving instead. The day will come for those of us with heart. The sun will shine on us again. Keep on truckin' until then (and don't forget the rest stops along the way)....

 

Joy

 

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