Structure and Porpoise…you’ll see.
Published May 13, 2020
I realized today that I need a new metaphor.
If I had a dime for every time in the last 2 months that I’ve used the phrase “emotional roller coaster,” I would be able to fund the prosperous return of the Lion King to Broadway. And you might disagree with me about whether that’s the best way to spend those funds, but you probably wouldn’t argue that I could use a new image for describing the ups and downs of my own emotional state from day to day, hour to hour.
So what helps?
Structure, for one thing.
Let’s be honest: I myself wouldn’t be able to navigate the high seas of these times without knowing that at certain times every week, I’m going to show up to my songwriting classes and share with them some songs I’ve made and lead us all in making some new songs together.
I realized today that I need a new metaphor.
If I had a dime for every time in the last 2 months that I’ve used the phrase “emotional roller coaster,” I would be able to fund the prosperous return of the Lion King to Broadway. And you might disagree with me about whether that’s the best way to spend those funds, but you probably wouldn’t argue that I could use a new image for describing the ups and downs of my own emotional state from day to day, hour to hour.
So what helps?
Structure, for one thing.
Let’s be honest: I myself wouldn’t be able to navigate the high seas of these times without knowing that at certain times every week, I’m going to show up to my songwriting classes and share with them some songs I’ve made and lead us all in making some new songs together.
Dolphin-like, we cut the crests and troughs of the waves deftly because there was a moment in the past where we decided to create a structure for ourselves.
These fluid times in which we live are so taxing on our energy. Part of that energy-drain is due to the fact that we are making new sets of decisions every day in order to navigate the current state of normal. Decision fatigue is real. And structure is the architecture of a solution.
So, let’s say you decided at some point that you were going to learn to bake, learn Portuguese, and eat a macrobiotic diet. If your goal was easy or short enough, you probably found it doable and gratifying. But if your goal required sustained effort, if it affected someone else in your household, or if it required doing something that held some fear for you, you likely started strong and then let it drop.
Because every day you were deciding again and again if you were going to really show up for it today.
In the same way, if you signed up to get a Master’s degree at a major university, congratulations, because the odds are that you now have a Master’s degree. Because you had a structure that only required you to make that decision once. And then a structure and the people associated with that structure held you and guided you through the whole process, even when it got hard.
This is why I offer the Compose Yourself 8-week songwriting course LIVE online. The class starts next week, so if you’ve been wanting more purpose and structure to your time these days, especially around music and creativity, then I’m inviting you to sign up now.
It’s so simple. We sign up. We show up. And we allow the structure to bring us to new levels of creativity. And new songs that we never thought possible.
And I want to say in no uncertain terms that if you feel that you are a good fit for this course, but you cannot afford its modest price for whatever reason, then please write to me and let’s see what we can work out. You pursuing your musical passion with us in this course is the most important thing to me.
What did you think of that dolphin metaphor? Better than the roller coaster? I’ll go with it today. Better that than to be without porpoise. Ouch. Yeah, that happened.
With love in the time of corona,
Gary
For golden lotus studio
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