Hello, and welcome to Volume 40 of the Underground Binder Clip Society.
This year was the hardest year of my life. I struggled to pay rent. I was tired a lot, sad a lot and had lots of relationship problems. But I was chasing my dreams. I played more shows than ever. Cooked more and ate more. Got some new hobbies. Acquired some new skills. Flirted with some new ways of being. Took two steps forward and three steps back, and saw doors open for me when I least expected it.
I kept my head down and my heart open.
I did experiments. I let go of my programming, piece by piece, and noted my findings. I trusted my judgement, then didn’t trust it, and then trusted it again. I learned to slow down and let the story develop.
I’ve been sorting through the rules. Deciding what to keep and what to throw out. I think I threw out a little too much this year. Walked a little too close to the edge. But now I know.
I’ve walked a foreign land. I’ve liked what I have seen. Yet, I have no maps. No guide. Nor the tools necessary for this kind of Journey. But I will not lose heart. Little by little, I will march on, with what tools I have, and what wisdom I have earned. Holding fast to my notes and my poorly drawn maps, I proclaim “today, is yet another day, to live well, into the questions.”
. . .
Yours Truly,
Jake Smith
Thanks for being around for my first full year on Substack.
Drop me a line and let me know what your favorite things are that I’ve talked about this year and what you want to see me do more of. Demos of songs? Videos of me talking to the camera? Longform articles? Music related things? More personal things? DIY music things? Craft things? Production? Handyman and car stuff?
Anyways, Peace. Thanks for being here, and Happy New Year!
Here are this week’s “Quick Clips”:
* Listen here to a new private collection of songs I made this month called “One Night In December.” It’s all unreleased material, recorded live with just myself and an acoustic guitar.
* Community Dinner This Month on January 18th! Sign up and RSVP HERE. And sign up for the Happy Medium Community Dinner email list HERE to stay in the loop.
* T-shirts and stickers are available NOW at happymediumtn.com.
Support me and this newsletter by becoming a paid subscriber, buying merch, or streaming my music!
As always, shoot me an email if you want to work on music, remote or in-person, here in Nashville, TN.
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