Standing on Mountains, Catching Stars

Even some of the best writers and musicians need a good editor or a great producer from time. Truth is, there are many of us in the world that are good at creating but not so great at editing. Usually because we are too close to see what needs to change to make it better. For my books or my record that are in the works, all I need is a good editor, someone to help me find the right textures or voices to use. I know that I have something interesting to say. Whether or not anyone else wants to listen is out of my control. But, if I can get it down in an approachable context and make it available I believe that there are people out there who will read/listen.

If we take a look at what society considers great musicians, and they are in many ways, classical musicians: highly educated, well practiced, and able to conquer the most difficult pieces of music. Most of them spend their whole lives playing someone else’s creation. They have become the greatest musical technicians. I applaud and highly regard that level of determination to get to that level of playing and success in life. I am not at that level of performance, near perfection, but I choose to focus my time equally on performing as well as creating. I have an immense desire to live forever through the music that I create. Immortality is at my fingertips; I need just to write something profound or breathe-taking.

This is where a great producer and/or editor come in. The ideas are flowing through the universe like shooting stars and I’m lucky enough to be able to catch a few here and there. The problem is that my star-catching net is too big. I need someone who I can trust to help me sift through the ideas and pick out the gems to focus on.

I’ve been on a path of observe and report for so long that I need to dive in head-first and spend some quality time engulfed in one idea long enough to find a finish to it. But then again, when is a creation complete? At what point does a symphony come to a resolution, when is the last chapter of the book complete, where does a record end? I’ve been so focused on enjoying the path of creation that now I must learn the art of completion.

So much as taken away from my creation lately: finishing school, finding work, moving across the country. But soon there will be no more excuses, no more delays. From this point on I will focus not only on my process but incorporate self-defined deadlines and goals of completion. On top of feeling better about completing projects, wrapping things up will open more doors of opportunity: publishing, further exploration of different ideas, and an aching need to refocus on performing. There’s no better therapy than laying into some drums for 8-10 hours a day.

There are always mountains to overcome but it seems that for every mountain I climb, no matter how tall, the next one is exponentially more massive. As I update my resume and reflect, I see the peaks that I’ve conquered and it reminds to push even harder to pursue my dreams. If I can climb the peaks I’ve passed, I can conquer what is yet to come.