Thanks, Mark! I've greatly enjoyed and truly benefited from your writing as well. It's always good to know you're not alone and that our experiences are relatable to fellow travelers on this pilgrimage called Life, whatever it means and wherever the journey leads.
Mark, this article made me a bit teary. As a writer, musician, singer-songwriter, and creator in general, my life's journey is often uncharted. Many times I have found myself lost or "stuck" and wondering how I will "get home," so to speak. Perhaps my emotion arose by reading this piece from a memory I recalled last night.
One evening, while I was still living (car-less) in Southern California, I took the bus to a music club to meet with some friends, none of whom was interested in giving me a ride home after the show ("too far out of the way"). So, I walked to the bus station. Standing there after midnight, alone, I felt a couple of rain drops and I knew this was not going to a fun night. El Niño had begun.
I struggled to read the bus schedule, but it kind of looked like there would be one more bus coming shortly. I waited, and waited, and waited. The rain was extremely heavy, I was shivering and trying to breathe and stay warm. After nearly two hours, a taxi drove by and I literally jumped out into the street to wave it down (there had not been even one vehicle the entire time until this one). He stopped and asked where I was going. "Venice," I told him, "but I only have seven dollars." He was gracious and agreed. A normally 10-minute drive with no traffic took half an hour due to the incomprehensible amount of unrelenting, unrepentant rain.
Once safely inside my little guest house, I cranked up the heat and took a very long, very hot shower. I poured myself a glass of red wine, and snuggled with my Persian cat, Jazz.
Within two days, I became very sick with a respiratory illness. I couldn't work. I couldn't exercise or make music. I had no appetite, and I wasn't sleeping well at all despite being in bed almost constantly. I thought I was going to die. After a week, I called my former boyfriend (who soon after became my boyfriend again, and who is now my husband) and croaked out my story. I told him that I was worried about Jazz in case I lost consciousness. He drove through rush-hour traffic — in the rain — to check in on me and Jazz.
It took me three weeks to recover fully on the physical level. On the spiritual front, it made me appreciate Life on a whole new level and, despite El Niño going on for several more months, I jogged nearly every day, cut out a few unhealthy foods from my diet (not the wine, haha), and was cranking out a new song every week or two. No surprise, a lot of them were about rain and/or reverence for Life: "Raining on My Pillow," "Black Cloud," "Second Chance," and "Medicate My Soul." This is just a demo:
Yes, I did get your *amazing* comment, and I just had a moment to reply!
I recently got four new clients for my little plant-based food business so I've been "shopping & chopping" a bit more than normal. And one of my graphic design clients just asked me to update ten of their vinegar labels and then print nearly 100 hand-fed sheets of labels. Also, it was crunch-time for doing post-production on a new video podcast my husband and I do (I just finished uploading it on YT).
All this after taking two days to camp at a local lake and escape the Halloween madness that descends upon our neighborhood, haha. Hey, I needed that nano-vacation, man!
Thanks, Mark! I've greatly enjoyed and truly benefited from your writing as well. It's always good to know you're not alone and that our experiences are relatable to fellow travelers on this pilgrimage called Life, whatever it means and wherever the journey leads.
No problem, brother. Thank you for writing it.
Mark, this article made me a bit teary. As a writer, musician, singer-songwriter, and creator in general, my life's journey is often uncharted. Many times I have found myself lost or "stuck" and wondering how I will "get home," so to speak. Perhaps my emotion arose by reading this piece from a memory I recalled last night.
One evening, while I was still living (car-less) in Southern California, I took the bus to a music club to meet with some friends, none of whom was interested in giving me a ride home after the show ("too far out of the way"). So, I walked to the bus station. Standing there after midnight, alone, I felt a couple of rain drops and I knew this was not going to a fun night. El Niño had begun.
I struggled to read the bus schedule, but it kind of looked like there would be one more bus coming shortly. I waited, and waited, and waited. The rain was extremely heavy, I was shivering and trying to breathe and stay warm. After nearly two hours, a taxi drove by and I literally jumped out into the street to wave it down (there had not been even one vehicle the entire time until this one). He stopped and asked where I was going. "Venice," I told him, "but I only have seven dollars." He was gracious and agreed. A normally 10-minute drive with no traffic took half an hour due to the incomprehensible amount of unrelenting, unrepentant rain.
Once safely inside my little guest house, I cranked up the heat and took a very long, very hot shower. I poured myself a glass of red wine, and snuggled with my Persian cat, Jazz.
Within two days, I became very sick with a respiratory illness. I couldn't work. I couldn't exercise or make music. I had no appetite, and I wasn't sleeping well at all despite being in bed almost constantly. I thought I was going to die. After a week, I called my former boyfriend (who soon after became my boyfriend again, and who is now my husband) and croaked out my story. I told him that I was worried about Jazz in case I lost consciousness. He drove through rush-hour traffic — in the rain — to check in on me and Jazz.
It took me three weeks to recover fully on the physical level. On the spiritual front, it made me appreciate Life on a whole new level and, despite El Niño going on for several more months, I jogged nearly every day, cut out a few unhealthy foods from my diet (not the wine, haha), and was cranking out a new song every week or two. No surprise, a lot of them were about rain and/or reverence for Life: "Raining on My Pillow," "Black Cloud," "Second Chance," and "Medicate My Soul." This is just a demo:
https://soundcloud.com/sharine-borslien/raining-on-my-pillow-demo?si=43f10499063a45bcb5cb5dd9f0d925b3&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
Thanks for your writing!
Did you get my comment on the long form version of this on your stack? I will expand on it as soon as I get the chance.
Yes, I did get your *amazing* comment, and I just had a moment to reply!
I recently got four new clients for my little plant-based food business so I've been "shopping & chopping" a bit more than normal. And one of my graphic design clients just asked me to update ten of their vinegar labels and then print nearly 100 hand-fed sheets of labels. Also, it was crunch-time for doing post-production on a new video podcast my husband and I do (I just finished uploading it on YT).
All this after taking two days to camp at a local lake and escape the Halloween madness that descends upon our neighborhood, haha. Hey, I needed that nano-vacation, man!
This system can not be not redundant. This system can not be novel.
Watch.
睡觉
删除程序?