I love music. I listen to it for hours religiously every day. I love playing guitar and piano and singing. I love to write songs.
Years ago now, I was the singer/songwriter of a band and did that whole thing. We recorded an album and an EP, with two different lineups. We played a handful of shows.
It wasn’t very successful in the traditional sense, or maybe in any sense. And as I moved to Bellingham, my career progressed, and I started a family, my time and energy for creating music waned. I always listen to music. I always noodle around on the guitar. But I lost that spark for writing my own music and sharing it with others.
As I’ve looked back at the music I created way back then, I’ve at times felt pretty intense cringe about it. My voice sounds so strained and forced. The songwriting is awkward. And I don’t actually have much to say. At least that’s what I tell myself.
But over the last year or so, my passion and confidence in songwriting have come back to life, largely through my work with plant medicines. I hired a songwriting coach and now have several songs meant primarily for healing and ceremony spaces that I feel good about. This has been fun, fulfilling, and liberating. And it has felt like a helpful, maybe even necessary, part of my coaching path. If I am going to encourage and support my clients in pursuing their passions, taking risks, and embracing the cringe, then maybe I should seek out opportunities to do so myself.
So I’ve recorded a song for you. It’s called “Thank you, Fear.”
Love,
Peter
