Behind the Guitar

Oh Blog!! It's been far too long!

So much has been going on lately, but that's no excuse! So I do apologize people!

So I just got back from Queensland learning about culture for Uni and It was an amazing experience to be apart of! The only downside is that I lost my voice completely, that was nearly 1 week and a half ago, and I am still getting it back now! I have never lost my voice like that, I couldn't talk, I couldn't sing, I couldn't even hum without sounding like a dying bloated cow! Was very distressing! However it made me think. Do I take my voice, my musical talent for granted? I didn't particularly need my voice except one night up there, but I felt as though I had lost the biggest thing I had going for me. I remember lying in my bed one night trying to work out why I was so distressed at not being able to sing. I didn't need to, yet I felt as though I was missing a huge part of me. After many long hours of pondering it became apparent that perhaps in the midst of all this cultural diversity we where experiencing my music, my voice was part of my identity. I was in a completely different culture, and the one thing I felt I could appropriately give to this beautiful people to show my identity was my music, and with no voice that was stripped away. This idea of showing who I was, was never verbally spoken or never asked of me, however in my head it was expected that I would have to reveal to these people who I was, but not only that, reveal a huge chunk of my life. My songs talk about me as a person, my faith, and my journey so far.

This was an eye opening experience. Yes my music is a huge part of my identity, but I have other things that make up me. As I chatted with the friends we were staying with, I was able to dive into so much more about me, not just surface stuff. I was able to actually talk with people about my faith, and have a discussion around why it is so important to me, rather than just playing them a song that means the same thing. I am not saying that I have been fake in anyway by sharing these songs with people, because I still believe they hold great insight into me and my journey, but what I am saying is I came to realize that I am not defined by my vocal chords or my guitar playing skills, that the message behind the songs I write is what I need to be talking about and discussing with people.

I am encouraging you all today to not be defined by your skills, but open up to whats behind those skills and grab someone you trust and talk to them about it. If you are like me, it is easy to hide behind your guitar, but when you put it down, conversations happen, and that's golden.

Grace and Peace Everyone!