Work...

It's funny. My partner and I actually have a strong work ethic. We seem to have both inherited it from our families. We both come from long lines of working stiffs. We come from families who survived paycheck to paycheck. No inherited wealth, just an inherited idea that "no one ever promised you a rose garden." We had to work for a living, work to keep alive, work to keep a roof over our heads, work to keep food on the table.

That work ethic has been revealed to us during the last pandemic year. Every day is programmed with work to do. Even when we have been stranded at home, left to our own devices, we fill our days up with activities. So yes, there is the job. We both have had multiple jobs, sometimes unemployed too.  But even in those times of unemployment, we have worked.

We program our days:

Long walks on the lakefront. This a daily ritual. Almost a religious thing. Lately slogging thru the snow has been difficult, exhausting. But we are driven to keep moving. 

Working on new songs. We have a songwriting ritual: set up in the kitchen, sip some Kombucha and work on new songs. We both come up with lyrics, I come up with guitar riffs and chord progressions. Lately this is our most important time. It has been super-productive. Lots of new songs. The creativity has been flowing.

Close listening to music. This is one of my favorite activities. I work at it. Armed with my Walkman, a set of headphones, I run thru our vast catalog music (on CD) and listen with a Music Producer's sensibility. Closely listening to the mixes, the layers of instrumentation, the reverb. Researching the music and the musicians, noting the recording techniques and locations. It's so rewarding, enlightening. One of my great joys. So inspiring. Soul-fulfilling.

Read books. Stream shows. We do this religiously. Always searching for new narratives. Feeding our imaginations. You might think this is "goofing off," but it isn't. This is a super-important activity. Onto new ideas, new narratives, new imaginative spaces. It's a healing, a clearing. Opens your head and heart.

Conversation. This is on-going. We range across all the issues. It can be exhausting. But often surprising too. This is an ever-evolving thing. Taking in new information, latest events, logging the information from all corners of the globe. This is essential work too. Being alive in the moment. Taking in and processing reality. Staying real. Staying engaged. Challenging ourselves to see and hear and feel how other people on the planet are living.

Anyway, maybe all this expands the idea and definition of work. There is work. And then there is work. Then there is the good work.  Living. Good living. You have to work at it every day.