I have had 8 straight days of feeling fine. It's been almost 2 years since that has happened and so I'm feeling like the luckiest woman in the world right about now.
One reason might be I'm so obsessed with songwriting that there's no time to obsess over symptoms. I'm doing this thing called February Album Writing Month (FAWM.org) where I am attempted to write 14 songs in 28 days. I've completed 3 songs so far: a pop-rock tune, a pretty folk-country number, and a spacey velvety esoteric song about The Wheel. You can hear demos of songs and read lyrics at my FAWM page.
I forgot how much I love writing songs, but even more than that I love being caught up in something. My brain is at a smorgasbord of sounds, images, words, ideas. Challenging myself to push past my self-perception as a "slow songwriter" has been the perfect way to brighten up perhaps the most depressing month of the year (in Pittsburgh anyway). Not every song needs to be a hit which is a relief, if not a revelation. AND, I can now see how the hit songwriting factories of yesterday happened -- you just get on a roll and then it rolls you along. Finally, being able to write alone but having a community of people doing the same thing is a perfect set-up.
If you're creative at all -- and I believe everyone is creative at something -- then it's worth it to get the environment right. We have to get the details right so that we can fall into who we are. If you know that you can't paint unless the dishes are done or off the counter, buy a dishwasher. If you can't invent without good light, find the right room. Stuff like that.
8 days of awesome is making me a cheerleader. I have a short while before getting my next test to see how I'm moving out the heavy metals. I have to remember that even though I'd rather write a song, I must resolve to stay a little aware of the details of purification, too. I've been relaxing a bit, but it's worth the extra push for 3 more weeks. Anything to stretch these 8 beautiful days into 8 years and beyond!
