Last year on my birthday I published 360 degrees: another birthday wish on The Serenade Files and today I read the article again. I’m glad that I documented what my younger self was feeling and thinking at the time, and in hindsight I am enriched by the risks I have taken.
A year ago my heart’s compass was pointing in a direction altogether different to where my life was going, and I had to take action. There have been many highlights that I will likely reflect on closer to new year’s eve. I’m grateful to my 2017 self for trusting that this was the right path to take at this point in my life.
As extraordinary as the rhapsody of 2018 has been, it hasn’t been all high notes. My beautiful Lola passed away in the middle of September and that challenged me emotionally.
As life often imitates art, I was entrusted by The Gemini Collective to compose music for A Thousand Cranes, the story of Sadako Sasaki, within which lies a homage to her deceased grandmother. Composing music for this project has been both rewarding and heartbreaking. Nevertheless, I have spent the past twelve months trying to use as many of my creative skills as possible and this has led me to meet and work with some truly inspiring people.
Bookings for 2019 are setting my soul on fire and I’m excited that I have so many creative projects to immerse myself in. I’m out of my comfort zone a lot but learning so much.
This morning I was walking barefoot on the beach looking out towards the horizon beneath an overcast sky. I imagined what I could achieve in the next twelve months and I have set even bigger goals for myself. The best part is that these goals benefit you, my readers, as well as my clients, friends, family, and everyone who I have the pleasure of sharing this life with.
I walked past a sandcastle built by a toddler and it got me thinking about how vivid and unlimited the childlike imagination is. I never want to lose the ability to build castles out of sand.
Nearby, the shell of a crab floated in the shallow seawater. It was poetic. This hard shell was once home to a creature who had since outgrown its old skin; this process is called molting. This reminded me of my favourite Olafur Arnald’s song “Old Skin”. Arnald’s lyrics paint such an intricate picture of humanity’s fragility and beauty. The song was exclusively composed for the kizunaworld.org project founded by Ryuichi Sakamoto (Composer/Musician) and Tomoyasu Hirano (Media Creator).
Old Skin © Olafur Arnalds
[Verse 1]
Where the woods would wear
the wafting sounds of sea
Roves an oath,
in search for something more to be
Still hard for me
[Verse 2]
Treading lightly, tightly shedding its old skin
Leaving trails of night for light to bring chagrin
While air grows thin
[Verse 3]
Wailing winds, alarm,
in feathers it have dressed
Surrounding
what’s left inside its chest
We too shall rest
[Verse 4]
Roaring lungs,
as oath becomes through flight past trees
Only the rhythm of love escapes the harmonies
Leaving us a beat
“In these hands I’ll hide, in these hands I’ll hide
While this world collides, this world collides
It’s not enough for me, it’s not enough for me”
~ Olafur Arnalds
Another layer of this life has been shed as I enter a new phase. I am not fearful of what others may think of my choices nor do I seek their approval. Rather, I design the life I wish to live and write about what I’ve learned as much as possible so that others may benefit.
