Have you ever dared to start over, to begin anew, click the refresh button for your soul?
It can be something that brings out an immense amount of excitement from deep within you, but can also have you trembling your ass off. It doesn't always happen overnight, it can take time for you to notice the winds calling. For me, there are voices in my head, the good kind, that yell at me over and over until finally I gather up enough courage to listen and take action.
This September marked the one year anniversary of us moving to Nashville. It has been one of the best choices I have ever made, one of the best examples I can think about in my own life of gathering that courage, listening to those voices, and jumping off the cliff. I'm lucky, I didn't have to do it alone. I have the love of my life here to experience all of the ups and downs a year of transition can bring (a year of life can bring). I have supportive parents, a brother who is cheering me on, not to mention all the old friends from New York (and beyond), and all the new friends from Nashville (and beyond).
It can be really hard (and scary) to start all over, especially being a musician in a place like this. One year in, moving to Nashville has already given me so many blessings that I would have missed out on if I lacked the wisdom to listen to those voices in my head. Thinking back on the week I've had, I've gotten to hang with a grammy award winning producer that I really respect and like, I've been reunited with an old tour friend, and gotten to meet some of the cool people he knows here in town, I've co-written two songs with two great songwriters, I had a great rehearsal with a band that I get to play guitar in, and I am going to top it off by recording and producing an EP for a great songwriter and friend this weekend, where I get to flex some new gear that I recently purchased for my studio. Oh, and I bought a new piano! This week is a direct result of the previous fifty one weeks that came before it, and all the aforementioned support that I've been lucky enough to have. And it makes me really excited, because if this is what fifty one weeks of hard work brings with it, then I can't wait to see what one hundred and four weeks bring! The courage it takes to dive untethered into new territory, is no small amount. But when we demand the most for ourselves and out of this one life we are given, the new roads we are called towards give us more in return than we thought possible.
There are no guarantees in life, but i'm constantly amazed at the gifts each new turn in the road can bestow for anyone daring enough to drive blind around a corner.
You can do it.
