Hello all you friends! You made it through a 4 day week (Labor Day)….how was it?

Today I’m thinking a lot about gardening. And song writing. And how they’re similar- at least we can draw parallels between them.

It may have had something to do with shredding 6 huge zucchini’s and preserving 100 tomatoes while listening to a creativity podcast! Our garden has been so generous this year and it has been an honest delight. In case you’ve never thought about it (or have and want to walk with my thought process!), here are some ways that they’re similar!

IDEA 1-GARDEN:

I have been going out to my garden early in the morning to discover the raspberries that have ripened overnight. What a miracle! What used to be green stalks with some leaves now are giving me big, juicy, deep red raspberries? Are you kidding me? (Are you salivating yet?!). No, ripe beautiful raspberries don’t pop up through the weeds just for funsies without any effort on my part (although I suppose that’s huckleberries for you, but I have more to say about those yummy berries another day…). They required planting in a place where they would get a lot of sunshine, and watering, and weeding, and picking them, and if there a lot of them, preserving them to enjoy for a longer period of time (or sharing them!). But as I put in effort that was possible for me to do, then these ripe berries ripened one after another and it felt like a miracle. And really it was.

IDEA1-SONGWRITING

Songwriting feels much the same to me. I go up to my songwriting space early in the morning. Some ideas have ripened overnight- and they feel easy to “pick.” Some projects need some areas addressed. Some problems I can solve, others aren’t solveable yet- at least not that I can tell. I can tell that some of the work I do, and often a lot of it, is made possible because of the preparation that has gone into developing my songwriting process and skills over several years. The berries I pick now are getting bigger, jucier, better. Not every single day, but much of the time.

IDEA2-GARDEN:

When I pick a bunch of tomatoes and put them on my counter (like I did yesterday), I have a wonderful satisfying feeling. I grew these! Wow! Don’t they look beautiful! At any moment I could slice one and put it on a salad or in a sandwich! But they don’t last forever. I can stick them in my fridge to buy me a little time. But if I don’t use them or preserve them in the next several days, mold will begin to grow. That which came from the ground will go back into the compost pile to return to the soil and nourish it for next year. A process for preserving allows the produce to benefit me and others for much longer than a week or a day.

IDEA2-SONGWRITIING

Sometimes, right before I go to sleep, a melody drifts through my mind. “Wow, that’s a neat one!” I’ll think. It’s tempting to leave it at that (on my counter, right?)….but if I fall asleep, I can almost guarantee that it will be gone by the next morning. Reluctantly, I often use my phone to light the notepad by my bed. I jot down a few notes and then go to sleep. (This is similar to buying me a few days in the fridge!). If that’s where I leave it, it has quite a short shelf life. After a few days or weeks, that chicken scratch will be hard to make sense of and it will likely end up in the garbage eventually. It requires a process to take a small idea and preserve it into a song. That takes time, dedication and effort, but what a beautiful result when it is preserved into a song that can be shared.

IDEA3-GARDEN:

Walking in my garden almost always makes me think about my Creator. I am amazed at what will grow with a little water, soil and sunshine. It’s clear that I did the thing (plant, water, weed) but I didn’t do all the things (make these things grow). It reminds me of being pregnant. Our efforts are so small compared to the development of the lungs and brain and nerves and all the things inside this little being in our belly. We did a thing, but we sure didn’t do all the things! My Creator is generous- how much He offers with comparatively little effort! My Creator is loving- I feel like he gets so much joy out of delighting us! What a kind thing for Him to do. And I feel a connection with Him as I work with him, side by side, in this experience of creation. Something is now physically present (tomatoes, zucchini, raspberries, etc) that didn’t exist before. Wow. I’m so grateful to learn from Him.

IDEA3-SONGWRITING

Writing music makes me think about my Creator. With efforts in learning chords, and lyrics and song form, something can come together and have meaning and movement that was not there before. I can do a thing- but I’m not doing all the things. Ideas come to my mind and heart that I didn’t ask for or think of all on my own. Solutions sometimes feel offered when I feel stuck, getting me to the next step. I feel nudges to try this or that, develop in a new area, or seek out new connections. With His touch, my reach is bigger than my circle of influence. Sometimes a song comes alive and can touch hearts, even change lives. As I create, I ask for assistance from my Creator. I need his help to navigate the path of creation. As I listen to both my own desires and His Guidance, I develop, play, delight and grow. With my preseved “fruit,” I share and lift and strengthen. What a gift to get to create alongside my Creator. I am so grateful for this way to learn from Him!

Now back to preserving these tomatoes….

Love,

Laura