Feed Your Soul, Feed The World

posted 5th June 2011    Written by: Juliana    CATEGORY: All Posts, Creativity, Job/Career/Work, Juliana, Season 4

So far this year, I’ve written twice as many songs as I wrote in the two entire years preceding this. Aside from that, I’m enjoying playing and writing much more than I used to. What’s different?  Well, it turns out feeding my spirit has a positive effect on my productivity.

I write every day. I used to try to do this, but often would have trouble squeezing it in between other responsibilities.  Now, writing is my chief responsibility, first thing in the morning, and my routine is built around it.

I play every week and love it. I was playing a lot of shows before, but I was exhausted. Most of the time I was having to go straight from work to a venue, change clothes and put makeup on in a bathroom, and try to get up the energy to perform until midnight. Then, I’d head home, hopefully with a couple of CD sales or a check in my pocket, and get up at 5 a.m. to do it all again. There wasn’t much room to love what I was doing because I barely had the capacity to know what was going on – I was too tired to be fully present. Now, the day of a show, I take it easy on my schedule. I get the essentials done, make sure my stuff is together, and get to a venue with plenty of time to spare. Well-rested, I can play a show that I feel proud of and enjoy connecting with my audience.

I go to shows. For a long time, the musicians I got to see were ones I was playing with or opening for. Just as I feel a great writer needs to be a great reader, I think that a good musician and songwriter needs to listen to a wide spectrum of artists. There’s also so much to be learned about performing by watching performers live. (A hairbrush in front of the mirror can only get you so far.) These days, I see at least three bands or solo artists per month, often much more than that.

More than the professional perks of these new & improved routines, all of the stuff I mentioned above nurtures my soul. I feel fulfilled, energized, and excited by it. I have so much more to give to the world because I’ve created time for these priorities. I recognize now that they’re a very important part of taking care of myself, and of my ability to be of service in the world.  I’ve decided to make these the more important tasks, and let the dishes get “squeezed in” every once in awhile.

What’s really important to you that might not be a priority right now?  How would your life change if you flipped its position, and make the stuff you feel like you “have to” do work around the thing your soul wants?

[photo credit: Lauren Vogelbaum]

Bookmark and Share
Comments (7)

7 Responses to “Feed Your Soul, Feed The World”

  • erinmakesitwork Says:
    June 5th, 2011 at 2:59 pm

    Isn't this exactly what Molly has been trying to get us to figure out? I mean, she wants us all to figure out what we really want and need out of life and just go for it full force. When we do that, we have so much more to give…thank you for showing us, its totally worth it in the end.

  • parisianfeline Says:
    June 6th, 2011 at 6:24 am

    I'm excited to hear that you've made writing music a priority! What sorts of instruments do you play?

    A priority I have that I wish I would make more important is writing. Not just creative fiction – which I totally need to do more of – but blogging and learning more ways to expand my writing portfolio. In my mind, I think about it and fantasize about what it would be like to have those skills and be a successful blogger yet I don't make it a priority to guest blog or craft posts ahead of time for my own blog.

    Maybe my life would change because I'd be paying a lot more attention to what makes me happy versus being miserable about not having the other things in life that I want.

  • Carla Says:
    June 6th, 2011 at 11:46 am

    Amazing how your writing exudes the happiness you describe! It's funny how we can fill so much time with being busy, but when you truly find something that aligns with your passion you don't only work but you enjoy being….

    Thanks for this great post!

  • Stephanie Says:
    June 6th, 2011 at 6:57 pm

    Great post! I'm with parisianfeline. I also want to make more time for writing in my life and would love to start my own blog. I've talked about it for years, but I've never made the leap, partially because I'm concerned about the time commitment that would be involved. But as you said, if I switched my priorities, then I would have more time to focus on the things I love.

    I am making progress these days with creating more time in my life for creative activities. Every day I ask myself if I'm doing something that fills me creatively – at least one thing per day, even if it's 30 minutes of journal time.

    Thanks for continuing to be an inspiration!

  • Juliana Says:
    June 14th, 2011 at 10:16 am

    I play guitar & sing. You can take a listen if you like at http://julianafinch.com. :)

    And as far as writing goes, it takes less time than you think – by which I mean, five minutes at a time is a totally reasonable goal to start with!

  • Juliana Says:
    June 14th, 2011 at 10:17 am

    Thank you Carla! :)

  • Juliana Says:
    June 14th, 2011 at 10:17 am

    Thanks Stephanie. One thing I had to get really honest about was how much time I was spending on social media sites & watching TV. We killed the TV and suddenly LOTS of "free time" opened up. ;)

Leave a Reply

name*


email* (will not be published)


website


comments