Renewal
It seems that I’m not very consistent at blogging.
I have many thoughts that I would like to share about music, performance, the arts, humanity, cultures, and the interconnectedness of all things. Yet when it comes time to sit down at a computer screen to write it all down, my mind shifts gears and I begin to compose with the immediate intent of structuring my thoughts into some instantly cohesive and persuasive monologue, with more thought going into How I am speaking rather than What I am saying. That – and my desire to remedy it – is perhaps why my last blog was three months ago.
Creating this website made me feel the need to enter into the world of Twitter, Facebook and blogging, which is already so densely inhabited by other digital-age performers. I still believe it is important, but as I am learning to identify my strengths, I am also learning the areas to which I need to pay more attention.
Since arriving in Minneapolis in late 2009, I’ve worked to be more honest and diligent about discovering who I am as a person and as a performer. My work over the past 5 years has been very fruitful, and I have many things to show for it: a wonderful home, an expanding career, increased confidence, and a clearer understanding of myself and my desires. Thankfully, I’ve had help from other people who continue to inspire me daily. (I have already introduced many of them in my blogs – my wife, my teacher, the Minnesota Opera staff, and a slew of other individuals – and I continue to be supremely grateful for them.) Yet there is always room to grow, and I am beginning to see new areas of possibilities.
While considering my path for this year, I dubbed it the “Year of Renewal”. With that goal in mind and to help open myself up to additional potentialities, I began working with a very talented life coach, Allison Ballou. Through just the first few sessions, she has helped me to identify my personal values and to begin applying them to everything I do. By doing that, I have strengthened my trust and belief in myself.
Just three months into this year and already it has shown itself to be what I had hoped for when naming it. New repertoire brings excitement and a better representation of me as a performer. New possibilities extend my current work as a performer, teacher, mentor, and advocate for the arts. New discoveries imbue me with a greater sense of trust in all my work. Throughout it all, I delved into my vocal, linguistic, and humanistic studies with renewed vigor as I continue to prepare myself for the opportunities that will come.
With that sense of purpose and direction, I can now confidently and comfortably look at how I am making my progress and growth in all areas of my life apparent in my online presence. I also can now honestly address what may need work in this website and in my approach to social media. I do not need to be as prolific as others, but I must determine how I need to do it and in what way these tools will best represent me.
So, along with everything else, I will continue to refine my social media presence, and meanwhile value this blog as a periodic chronicle of my journeys. I have decided not worry about it being anything more than that. It is a bookmark; the moment to stop and see where I am. Once I have shared it with the world, I can get back to singing.