sunsets, nostalgia, and the promise of a new day
- Rod Rushing
- Jul 22, 2020
- 3 min read
“Learning to let go should be learned before learning to get. Life should be touched, not strangled. You’ve got to relax, let it happen at times, and at others move forward with it.” ― Ray Bradbury
as a result of my recent resignation from the workplace, an ask of direction as well as intention seems a good next step. one could wonder if perhaps i might have benefitted from taking the time to do this seriously prior to stepping through the next appearing doorway. but that particular hindsight may have no influence here.
this blog falls under the purview of this next step. started blogging during my 3rd year of recovery about 2006. it was fun then taking on a new hobby. it felt clunky and i didn’t have a road map. there were online communities and instructions, but that is not how i have ever learned a skill (this trait still holds true). i remember when i got my first comment on my blog from a fellow blogger from idaho who was struggling with some similar issues as well as struggling with his life choices. it is an instant recall to muster the excitement and validation i felt when some unknown soul from outside my own personal universe connected with my journey. i was hooked and soon i had fashioned a support network of seekers from around the globe which was less demanding and intimate than my friends in real life. it extended my outreach and influence, while at the same time i stunted my emotional growth experience.
but as my recovery journey emanated beyond the blog-o-sphere and co-mingled with my career path my inspiration and artistic freedom shrank. although blogging remains a vital spiritual practice for me, the profile of this practice has diminished these 8 years. the output is restricted to internal struggles, the organically embedded love of music woven through me, and reposted images and graphics. many times, i find myself sitting in front of the keyboard engaging in a sort of improvisational blogging, drawing inspiration from a found jpg or png, or a swirling few tidbits of a newly discovered or recently remembered melody or lyric. it is mostly rote and completely routine providing more reassurance to me than release. i am more connected with the process than i am with the content. it has become more objectively introspective than externally exploration and provides the sustenance of a snack now than the meal it served up at the start of it all. i now possess a sense of ownership rather than the inspiration i once knew.
i long for a rekindling of my spiritual connectedness to this process. i continue to resonate with a life built upon shame based trauma. it is a reflection of my own story, but i don’t seem to have gained insight by a continued stream of internal review.
just as it became appropriate to transition from journalling about addiction, treatment, hiv, meth, and rogue sexual ideology to the more reflective topic of long-term recovery, it now seems time to channel a new muse.
i am unsure if i am too weathered to begin all over. i long to use personally generated graphics and images at least as a philosophy and a cornerstone of my product. it seems imperative to extend my view outward and process my experience from an evolved vantage point.
<ol> <li><a href='https://afterthepop.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/01-memphis-in-june.m4a'>01 Memphis In June</a></li><li><a href='https://afterthepop.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/02-georgia-on-my-mind.m4a'>02 Georgia On My Mind</a></li><li><a href='https://afterthepop.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/03-i-put-a-spell-on-you.m4a'>03 I Put a Spell On You</a></li><li><a href='https://afterthepop.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/04-summertime.m4a'>04 Summertime</a></li><li><a href='https://afterthepop.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/05-i-cover-the-waterfront.m4a'>05 I Cover the Waterfront</a></li><li><a href='https://afterthepop.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/06-strange-fruit.m4a'>06 Strange Fruit</a></li><li><a href='https://afterthepop.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/07-god-bless-the-child.m4a'>07 God Bless the Child</a></li><li><a href='https://afterthepop.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/08-you-belong-to-me.m4a'>08 You Belong To Me</a></li><li><a href='https://afterthepop.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/09-september-in-the-rain.m4a'>09 September In the Rain</a></li><li><a href='https://afterthepop.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/10-i-can-dream-can_t-i_.m4a'>10 I Can Dream, Can_t I_</a></li><li><a href='https://afterthepop.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/11-the-nearness-of-you.m4a'>11 The Nearness of You</a></li><li><a href='https://afterthepop.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/12-mood-indigo.m4a'>12 Mood Indigo</a></li> </ol>
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