Why I Quit Music 😱

So I just had another birthday…🎂

Yay! Every year is a gift! 💝

And I don’t know about you, but I always get a bit introspective around this time - which is partly why you haven’t heard much, if anything, from me on social media lately. 😉

I like to reflect on the biggest events of my year - see what I learned, how I grew, what’s working for me, what’s not, what I need to change, let go of, make happen, etc…

So thought I’d share some of that with you.

...and it feels kind of scary and vulnerable doing this… but what the heck - we’re friends, right? 😜

Hopefully there will be some take-aways for you as well.

So here we go…

My 3 biggies last year were:

• BOTH my youngins flew the coop  - one, all the way across the ocean (it’s that “gypsy” blood)

• I got my first grey hair (finally a wisegal!)

• I quit music (don’t freak out, keep reading…)

Yep, last year I decided to take a year off from performing live, which was quite a big deal for me mostly because I worked very hard to get to the point where I could make a living from it!

But after doing that full-time for about 2 ½ years following the release of my first album, I was beginning to feel burned out - like I was just spinning my wheels.

It’s not that I didn’t LIKE sharing my music and meeting so many wonderful people every week - that part’s AWESOME - but all of a sudden I realized that I hadn’t CREATED any new music in a long time and that was really bugging me.

Now I know there are artists who only dream of getting that far “making a living through playing music” - but I don’t want to just make a living! I want to make MUSIC.

That’s when it dawned on me… 

Shoot! I’m not a musician.

I’m a music ARTIST.

Yes, I have music talent - I sing, play guitar, write songs...but the LAST thing I wanna do after a long days work (in this case: playing music) is bring work home (play more music). Musicians who are REAL musicians - ALL they wanna do is play music! They’ll do it all day long on a train, on a plane, with a goat, on a boat...green eggs and all and in their SLEEP. 

Not me.

For me, there has to be a REASON to pick up my guitar. A REASON to sing a song.

That reason is when I feel a song coming on that I know will add value to my world and perhaps yours if you’re a kindred spirit.

That reason is a well crafted story with lyrics to match the emotion in the melody...then being able to effectively communicate the experience!

But that wasn’t my reality.

Most of the places I was performing at were venues that had other activities at the core: dining, wine tasting, a party... music was definitely PART of the experience, but not the main focus.

As a result, I was feeling overwhelmed and pressured to add songs to my repertoire that, for the most part, I felt absolutely no connection with just because they fit the “ambience” - kinda like successfully making small talk with everyone at a party but never really having a conversation, ya know? It felt very “professional” and, well…empty. I even started to dread it. NO BUENO.

And that’s when I realized that I was making a living at the expense of my creativity.

I knew I HAD to make a change or the artist in me would die.

You see, I don’t want to HAVE to create music to live. I want to live to create. - To create from a place of overflow and experience. Because that’s where the best songs come from anyways!

So if you don’t see or hear much of me these days, just know I’m on a mission to create the kind of lifestyle that will support my long-term goals - that OF COURSE also include making more epic, inspiring, uplifting, and empowering music that I can share with YOU.

What are you looking to create in your life? I’d love to hear 🙂

Love ‘N Music,

~ EDEN :)

P.S. Just a quick you a heads up: my >> ONLINE SHOP << is closing until further notice August 1st. So if you’ve been wanting to get a CD from me, this could very well be your last call! Just enter SUMMER10 at checkout and I’ll take 10% off for you 😉 You’re welcome 🙂