R.D. King

This brand new song required extra FOCUS, and that sparked a whole train of thought about the mind's ephemeral ability to concentrate. It is remarkable to me how at certain times, I can lock onto a specific musical passage or task with laser-like precision, and other times my mind seems to flit between momentary fixations in a whirlwind.

Ultimately, of course, this mental capacity can be practiced and expanded. The art of meditation is paradoxically a strengthening and relaxing of this ability -- really, the ideal state would be one in which we could focus our full energy, and yet maintain the awareness to reassign our attention at will. And it is interesting to note how the spiritual disciplines so often link focus with consciousness.

Any other night owls out there? I've tried to become a morning person, but the nighttime is when I feel the most creative and alive. When I have to get up at sunrise, though, this is the kind of music I want to play to gently shake myself awake. The Hope and Despair of the Morning 🌅

Dance with the Darkness ✨️ This week's 1-Minute Wednesday came quickly, as I picked up the guitar and had the opening melody in minutes. Ultimately I think of these brief writing sessions as exercises in going with the flow, of leaning into the moment and not holding on to anything, and part of that requires letting whatever mood or creative impulse arise without judgment.

Today was no different. I felt rather calm and serene, but when I picked up the guitar, I felt a surge of energy with a little bit of edge. So instead of trying to morph that into something that suited me better, I explored the sound as it was... dark and brooding though it may be.