I have been more intentional about writing recently. I have felt drawn to write and I have been creating the necessary boundaries and attention for it.

To put oneself towards a creative project requires a certain amount of focus and openness. Even while I am working to create something I must make room for the making. The work is collaborative within myself and normally requires a measure of collaboration from outside of myself at some point. I have invested a lot of money and time throughout my life to projects for nothing more than the sake of the creative discovery, seeing it come alive, the pleasure of the experience, and the wonder of who I may become. The best investment is obviously you, too.

I know we generally do not hear very well without a large enough context. Truth may be right in front of us but we often don’t recognize it without some kind of story to play ourselves into (for one large example look at religion). The first big context is that of our lives. As we get to “know thyself” our idea of me seemingly expands.

I think to some degree I am a teacher. I am just considering this for the first time. This is a realization of the way I have lived and offered myself over the last twenty years.

As I have been considering what I may write (as a larger project), I have been jotting down the inspired words without critique or investigation. This is not much different than making music. This is a testament to the “who I am” that I think us artists must constantly inquire into. Why? 1. Because we’re always changing. 2. Because then we understand how to say what we need to say.

It was roughly ten years ago when a mentor said “Maybe you are collecting”, when I shared with her about how I felt that I would one day want to write a book.

A book/books is great, but I have not been aiming for this. I have been documenting my own growth and finding more of my voice through sharing it. I still don’t understand what the next project may be, yet I am laying down what I have right now. My own relationship with books and everything has changed over the years. This has changed because I am not seeking as I used to. I am more at work and living. Seeking leads us here and now. This is what we are here for. If we are not stewards of what is in our hands already we’ll never know what authentic (real) growth is like.

Truth is an interweaving and living thing. Proof is a result of our own experience with it. We need inspiration. I think we forget this. This is why I think people are drawn to all kinds of art for their own sake (whether certain clothes, people, buildings, music, books, foods). Our preferences for things are a reflection of who we believe we are at any moment. We bring people and things into our lives because to some degree (often unconsciously) we believe these things reflect something of ourselves. We are at our best when we are not selfish. At our worst we see some trying to control/manipulate/drain/consume people to protect an image of themselves , and/or to use them on the chessboard of their little fearful lives. There may be some people very close to us and far from us that are quite comfortable trying to squeeze us into their agendas.

It seems ever more pressing that we do not disregard the infringement upon our boundaries, and the potential of a degrading of the natural processes of being and becoming human. Artificial Intelligence is being used to invade our privacy and contribute to a greater flooding of our lives. The value of a real voice and touch carries potential that a controlled device cannot. This opens up a far wider conversation about something that has always been important. Are we thinking for ourselves? Are we at all like controlled devices? Do we recognize ourselves (and what is our answer for who ourself is?).

We are already so distracted, and my concerns with AI are that it is exacerbating the unaddressed reality that our personal lives are already infringed upon. It seems our phones listen in to our lives. Our search history informs our apps of what to show us. Email providers are integrating AI to review our emails. We know our government has been broadly surveying and gathering our private information for possibly decades. Our supposed highest levels of supposed justice are spying on our elected leaders and participating in the grossest levels of corruption at the cost of lives. Our highest officials are sitting side-by-side with a few of the wealthiest tech leaders while throwing unbelievable assets to the acceleration of artificial intelligence. Power is out of balance.

Our times are proof that when we are distracted we do not stand up for ourselves. Thankfully, some of us are showing up in the capacities we can.

When we do not know who we are we look to something or someone else for identity/meaning, or at minimum a sense of security we don’t know how to personally cultivate ourselves. We can break free, however.

If something is going to better our lives it won’t ask us to give up something of ourselves.

We need to be artists now more than ever because art is not just something, it is a way. We become brave and fluid and malleable. We practice honesty and showing up. We show individuality and that is powerful. Authenticity is individuality and this is true power. When we know true power we have come to know who we are. This is (I think) a kind of salvation our world needs.