In the weeks following the roll-out of shelter-in-place mandates toward flattening the curve against COVID-19, the practice of self-care has become an increasingly important tool for creatives in combating stress and strengthening immunity against the virus—as they continue to retool their platforms to virtually engage with audiences. The state-mandated social-distancing and self-isolation protective measures have also presented an unexpected opportunity for introspection and

Most artists aspire to achieve a portfolio of evergreen work that, per the legendary Nina Simone, “reflects the times”, while remaining culturally relevant throughout the decades, across demographic divides. This can be a difficult bar to set and meet for creatives working within the seasonal constraints of entertainment and commercial industries that revolve around trends and discourage against the artistic freedom and exploration that engineers the synchronicity of talent,

Romantic love can become complex and weighted, when diluted with fear, dysfunction and self-serving motives--causing a considerable amount of pain for each party in the relationship. In consideration of the relationship with self and the practice of self-love, it becomes even more crucial to distill the relationship with self in transparency for the release of anger, depression or addictive behaviors that can hamper positive momentum towards the fulfillment of creative goals

Inevitably, as the first week of January passes, it becomes evident that vision boards and inspirational mantras will only go so far in maintaining momentum towards the realization of New Year resolutions made. In the walking out of short-term and long-term strategies towards the achievement of creative, career and life goals, hope, endurance and optimism are instrumental in maintaining progress throughout the upcoming year—but of all the virtues that prove essential towards

Saxophonist Wayne Shorter once stated: “Your humanity is your instrument.” For artists, that metaphor can be extended to the care of the body, with regard to the practice of self-care, as the body is in essence the instrument case to our humanity and talents. With the arrival of the holidays there is generally an encouragement and expectation to throw caution to the wind and indulge the senses, followed by a January run of detox and dieting to regain balance. There are those

I have always loved the concept of the Festivus holiday for its candid catharsis and bizarrely comedic properties. The holiday, as featured on the sitcom Seinfeld, is a fictionalized account of an annual holiday celebrated by the family of one of the show’s writers, which has now evolved into an alternate answer to the commercialism of the holiday season. During the holiday, as depicted on the episode “The Strike”, George Costanza is forced to relive the torture of previous F

I was thinking this morning about what to blog about and the topic of depression came to mind. It is something I've struggled with and looking back it reminded me of some of the decisions I've made that in hindsight I can see were heavily influenced by my perspective on life at the time. When you first trip into that mudhole, it can easily turn to quicksand when compounded by the effects of a bad decision made under an altered state of mind. Dealing with depression is similar

Some days you just need someone to listen without judgment. In some instances, a good sermon can be just as helpful, when you're overwhelmed. I was on my walk today, listening to one of my old-school Joyce Meyer cassettes... A few years ago, I found myself YouTube'ing her "Life In The Word" sermons from back in the day, listening to four or five of her broadcasts daily--they kept me from going under, when I was neck deep, wading out of personal trauma, and was afraid to talk