He put a hand-drawn label on a spray bottle, filled it with green-tinted water and warned me not to spray anything I genuinely love.
He knows me really well. He knows that "stuff" has always been a challenge for me. (I've written several songs about it, too.) Sometimes I'm afraid to let go of what I don't love--even if it causes actual problems for me. Gradually I am getting better at making choices, letting go, appreciating more and accumulating less. As songwriters, sometimes we notice an accumulation of "song stuff": lyric fragments, half-finished songs, musical motifs and titles. Meanwhile, we might wonder why we haven't been able to finish many songs. We might feel simultaneously overwhelmed and empty...and troubled by feelings of guilt because we haven't "done anything" with our song stuff.
If this rings true for you, this is a great time to start anew.
Rip an ancient notebook into tiny shreds. Throw away CDs or cassette tapes (yes, some of us still have those lying around!) with unfinished musical work on them. Better yet, have an old fashioned bonfire fueled by unfinished songs.
After you've burned those old almost-lyrics, sit in front of a blank white sheet of paper for several minutes. Don't write anything.
Just appreciate the peace--and the promise--of that blank page.
Happy New Year!
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