Oh....my.....goodness....Some advice -- never, EVER, get married and try to write/record a song in the same week. This has been absolutely crazy. My song for this week, "Love in the Mirror," is raw, raw, raw. As in, I finished it this afternoon, raw. Writing the lyrics was one thing, but recording it almost led to a nervous breakdown (just kidding...pretty much...). We have family visiting from back east, the kids are on Spring Break, the dogs thought it would be fun to bark, and there have been giant trucks rumbling up and down the road beside my house for the entire day. Now that it's recorded in its entirely, I can almost laugh about the fact that, during one particularly enjoyable hour, every time I got to the second verse of recording, one of these trucks would thunder on by...nearly without fail. The backing-up beeps were a special bonus. It may have helped me in the end, adding the necessary angst and weariness to augment the lyrics...Locking myself in the closet also helped accomplish this superhuman feat, as it muffled the noise and kept the cats at bay. Let me just say...I am immensely proud of myself for getting this done, if not particularly proud of the song. I want to let it sit for a while and come back to it with fresh, unstressed ears.
That said, we had a lovely wedding on Saturday and I'm very happy with how all the planning came to fruition on the day. Watching different friend groups and family happily intermingle for the first time was awesome. We are surrounded by beautiful souls who bring so much positivity into our lives, and for that I am so grateful. ♥
So, our challenge for this week was to tap into our subconscious through free writing each day for at least 10 minutes and then to mine that for song ideas. This is actually one of my preferred techniques, although I think it worked against me this week because my brain was so cluttered with wedding plans. A lot of those made it into my writing, but I did manage to find glimmers of different ideas and then ran with one of them. The song I came up with is about how some people search and search for happiness through so many different avenues, exhausting themselves in the process, when really (I think) it boils down to accepting yourself, loving yourself, and allowing yourself to follow your passions fully, without doubt and negative talk. As a friend of mine says, "People are their own worst enemies." It's like there is a little demon of doubt that resides inside each of us, trying to thwart us when we begin to open up to our potential. I know several people, including myself, who struggle with this. It's a process of daily affirmation to overcome this negativity -- looking yourself in the mirror and recognizing you are worthy of happiness and success. Oh my, I just remembered an old Saturday Night Live sketch (below). Now I've gone and satirized my own song. Ah well. This is what happens when I'm exhausted.
Some of the other "ideas" that surfaced in my stream of consciousness writing this week included:
~ *surprise* Getting Married (without illusions, knowing that hard times will come, as surely as the good times, and it's your bond that will see you through)
~ talk vs. action
~ toxic people and how you need to free yourself from them
~ Over-analysis vs. living in the moment
That said, we had a lovely wedding on Saturday and I'm very happy with how all the planning came to fruition on the day. Watching different friend groups and family happily intermingle for the first time was awesome. We are surrounded by beautiful souls who bring so much positivity into our lives, and for that I am so grateful. ♥
So, our challenge for this week was to tap into our subconscious through free writing each day for at least 10 minutes and then to mine that for song ideas. This is actually one of my preferred techniques, although I think it worked against me this week because my brain was so cluttered with wedding plans. A lot of those made it into my writing, but I did manage to find glimmers of different ideas and then ran with one of them. The song I came up with is about how some people search and search for happiness through so many different avenues, exhausting themselves in the process, when really (I think) it boils down to accepting yourself, loving yourself, and allowing yourself to follow your passions fully, without doubt and negative talk. As a friend of mine says, "People are their own worst enemies." It's like there is a little demon of doubt that resides inside each of us, trying to thwart us when we begin to open up to our potential. I know several people, including myself, who struggle with this. It's a process of daily affirmation to overcome this negativity -- looking yourself in the mirror and recognizing you are worthy of happiness and success. Oh my, I just remembered an old Saturday Night Live sketch (below). Now I've gone and satirized my own song. Ah well. This is what happens when I'm exhausted.
Some of the other "ideas" that surfaced in my stream of consciousness writing this week included:
~ *surprise* Getting Married (without illusions, knowing that hard times will come, as surely as the good times, and it's your bond that will see you through)
~ talk vs. action
~ toxic people and how you need to free yourself from them
~ Over-analysis vs. living in the moment
LOVE IN THE MIRROR
© Kelly McQuillan 2014
Lately she’s been thinking about leaving
Following the pull of her restless heart
Leave this all behind and make an easy start
But there’s something holding on
Searching round in circles till she falls
Hasn’t brought her any closer to her call
The spring in her step has crumbled to a crawl
Cause there’s something holding on
Stop running, my friend
The darkness can’t catch you when you let the light shine in
And there’ll be nothing to fear
When you find your love in the mirror
She’s read about all that she can take
Cried until she’s ready to break
Pulled her dreams apart strand by strand
Trying to find what’s holding on
Wandering the wilds for a sign
Not following her own design
Pulling up her roots before her branches get to climb
Trying to shake what’s holding on
Stop running, my friend
The darkness can’t catch you when you let the light shine in
And there’ll be nothing to fear
When you find your love in the mirror
I wish that you could see through my eyes
See the soul that glows like a fresh sunrise
If you could break the fingers of the doubt you hold inside
And let yourself become
Stop running, my friend
The darkness can’t catch you when you let the light shine in
And there’ll be nothing to fear
When you find your love in the mirror
Cause you’re shining so clear
© Kelly McQuillan 2014
Lately she’s been thinking about leaving
Following the pull of her restless heart
Leave this all behind and make an easy start
But there’s something holding on
Searching round in circles till she falls
Hasn’t brought her any closer to her call
The spring in her step has crumbled to a crawl
Cause there’s something holding on
Stop running, my friend
The darkness can’t catch you when you let the light shine in
And there’ll be nothing to fear
When you find your love in the mirror
She’s read about all that she can take
Cried until she’s ready to break
Pulled her dreams apart strand by strand
Trying to find what’s holding on
Wandering the wilds for a sign
Not following her own design
Pulling up her roots before her branches get to climb
Trying to shake what’s holding on
Stop running, my friend
The darkness can’t catch you when you let the light shine in
And there’ll be nothing to fear
When you find your love in the mirror
I wish that you could see through my eyes
See the soul that glows like a fresh sunrise
If you could break the fingers of the doubt you hold inside
And let yourself become
Stop running, my friend
The darkness can’t catch you when you let the light shine in
And there’ll be nothing to fear
When you find your love in the mirror
Cause you’re shining so clear
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