This is a cello I bought years ago and it was in very rough condition...

Watch the videos below to see some of its history!

"Keeping up with the Joneses"...

For anyone who has lived in a subdivision where there is some unwritten expectation to have your house look exactly like the one next door, you will know that phrase all too well.

Everyone has their reason for visiting the local hardware store or garden center on a Saturday, but many people feel pressured to have what their neighbors have.

When I go on my walks in the mornings, I hear what seems to be 1000 birds. I love listening to the various songs partly because I am a musician but mostly because I like to experience the world in a really rough form as I find it resets me.

I have no desire to trap one of those birds or purchase one and put it into a cage. As enamoured as I am with their song, just because I love it doesn't mean I get to own it.

I feel the same way about taking the fur off of an animal and wearing it. It is horrible to think that somebody might track me down and cut my hair off and sell it at a local market.

The world tends to procure the things we need based on wanting something that we don't have. I have so much respect for farmers who grow and provide these things. However, as a culture we have learned how to get things for the purpose of having a gluttonous and lavish lifestyle.

In one of my favorite movies called 'Instinct', Anthony Hopkins describes these people as the takers.

I have heard the argument that people do what they have to do to survive. 

I really don't believe we are doing what we have to to survive as much as we are doing what we can to attain a status like our neighbour.

I have had many opportunities and deals placed at my feet and I said no to them because the method and journey I would have to take to obtain this so-called "success" would not and did not sit within the confines of what my character would allow.

Just like saying no to being a stripper, I also believe we have the power to say no to being a taker. 

I opted to be poor and keep my integrity and I am really proud of that. 

The levels of takers in our world vary quite a bit but they tend to come from the same premise of jealousy.

When a person or child is sold into slavery, it is because someone in their twisted mind would like to experience with that other person has. In essence, "they want what you got".

When a person purchases fur from an animal, they are seeking to adorn themselves with something that is more beautiful than them.

I have managed to feed myself without ever firing a gun because I don't want something that someone else has.

We think of the word gluttony when it comes to food. It also applies to the thousands of dollars that we spend on things in our homes which are pointless except to be lavish.

The sad part of jealousy and wanting what someone else has, is that it is indicative of an unfulfilled spirit.

We have been taught that by putting copious amounts of food, drugs or alcohol into our system that we will feel better and be more fulfilled.

We have been taught that going to the mall will make us feel better.

Ultimately we have become a very empty race despite the amount of items in our home.

Those birds that I hear on my walk every day do not sing to give us pleasure but they sing because they have a song.

It is my hope that you will become inspired to sing your own song, carve out your own path, write your own book and be the authentic you that you were meant to be.

If we all start taking less and observing more, I believe that we can get to know ourselves again. 

There is more room in our spirits for happiness if we can learn to live with less.

May you find great joy today in the stillness!

ROCK ON!

Karen
"As iron is eaten away by rust, so the envious are consumed by their own passion." ~Antisthenes

During my depression, I burned through big blocks of time staring out the window. While not as much, I still stare out windows like the answer is not in here, but out there somewhere. Why do we do this? What clarity or miracle are we looking for anyways?

Could the same answers come by staring at a spot on the ceiling or looking at the dust accumulating on our furniture? The art of staring isn’t learned over night but with lots of extra time and experience.

I think we look outside because it isn’t the same crap we are dealing with inside. It is just something else to look at.

Have you ever had someone say, “The answer is inside you” OR “wherever you go, you go too”? These one-sentence snappy pieces of advice are absolutely right, they just aren’t helpful.

I am getting to the point where I have done enough thinking and it’s time to do more doing. Whenever I have done lots of this “doing”, I feel like I have earned my sleep and I don’t overthink things (which being both Canadian and a woman, I have the odds stacked against me there) ;)

Much of my staring time was wishful thinking. I was hoping things would change and would hope for brighter days. It isn’t really very productive. Mark often rolls with, “Just start it” and he seems to get lots done.

Releasing ‘Idiot Savant’ was done to get the deep thoughts out and to heal. Having a ‘project’ whether art, music, writing, crafts, furniture-building or household repair allows us to keep moving which is healthy. What we shouldn’t be doing is stirring the same pot of stew in our heads until the food dries out and is no longer good to consume. Sometimes, you just have to dive in. Placing a toe in the cold water can just make us say no to jumping in.

I feel really good when I am creating. I still don’t have the BIG answer I am looking for, but maybe the answer isn’t ready to speak to me. Perhaps, I can live without some answers. Maybe we don’t have to have it all figured out. Maybe the answer we want isn’t the one we are going to get anyways. Maybe answers change with the weather.

For Ian, the 9 year old Savant in the story, he spends very little time staring out the window but uses it to plot. With very little resources, he manages to progress forward. For Mark and our home, we attempt to live our life that way. Frank Gryner, my co-producer and amazing animator, also functions that way. We have all had some really heavy things happen in our lives. We could have all just stared out windows looking for answers to come to us. We have artistic plans and goals, but for the most part, we are all really much better moving and creating and allowing the universe to tell us things as we go.

Sometimes, what we perceive as our immediate needs aren’t what we need at all. Sometimes trusting in the power of movement can surprise us.

I am very happy to share the product of our creativity (and collective sadness) with you. I hope you watch this video and feel inspired to take whatever is bothering you and transform it into energy. You may not know how deep the water is or how strong your water-treading abilities are…but staring at the water hoping to get across is killing your spirit.

We didn’t know what was going to happen with the BIG answers (and still don’t). We just started moving.

Much love on you,
Karen :)

“Each wicked heavy step will end today I swear…we’re not going to die here…” ~ BLACKGUARD, ‘Idiot Savant’

Do you ever notice that when you're going through something really raunchy, there are million opinions and solutions that are thrown at you?
I think most of us like to take the solutions from the people who love us the most because we think that their motivation is better.
That can be a dangerous place because misery quite often loves company. Your friends, while they love you, may enjoy commiserating with you and under it all, they may prefer you to be in the same sad state that they are.
Sometimes, the people who don't really care and just have a super logical view in life may have better advice for us because it is given in a really unapologetic way. They aren't skewed by the emotions that get wrapped up in a situation.

Animals however, offer up no opinion but the lessons I am taught by them still seem to come with honesty and logic.

My dog does this a lot when he drops the toy in front of me when I am sad. Mind you, he's just looking for somebody to play with. The great part of his selfishness is that there is no harm in it. It just so happens that the very thing that he would like in his life, I actually REQUIRE in my life.
Playtime is something that we associate with children.  The word 'play' is never in a cool, badass font, it is always in children's lettering or on play blocks.
What if we made our adult playtime super badass? Why does it have to be that children have all this fun?(which by the way always results in a great big smile on their face and a nice belly laugh)
Halloween is a super fun time of year. For those of us who love it, we tend to live it all year round.
But, what is it that you are missing in your every day playtime that could make the difference in you having that great big smile or crying yourself to sleep at night? Are you playing your musical instrument? Are you using the paints and paintbrushes that are in your house to do something fun? Are you gardening? Are you cranking loud music and dancing in the house?
Perhaps you are too tired and you just need to sit with the remote control in front of the TV. If that is the only energy you feel like mustering up in your day, what are you actually watching on that TV? Are the people on it making you feel worse about yourself? Is the topic matter just utterly depressing?

When my dog throws a toy at my feet, I am reminded every single time that I can press pause on the insanity and learn a lesson from a little guy who has a whole pile of logic and no ill intent.

Ah, the simple life!

I'm digging for ways
To heal my days
My world will be fine
If I make room for playtime

PLAY ON!
Karen :)
"The Imperial Concerto was written by a deafened virtuoso...PLAY ON!" ~ Virtuoso from 'Idiot Savant'