Own Yourself
A lot happened this weekend. I found myself going from a person that was exhausted with life and the daily routine to being a person that embraced the world around him. I started writing a book 2 years ago but stopped because, well, life happened. It sat in a folder on my computer for 2 years while time went on. Four years ago I started a YouTube channel called Guitar Practice with Nate. The whole point was simple — just pick it up and practice. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Just play. Then life happened and I put that down too. On Saturday I was feeling a lot of emotions and I decided to put those thoughts and feelings into words. Then I did it again on Monday. I then picked that “dusty” book back up and started working on it again.
We are living in an exhausting time. The political divide, the noise, the weight of it all can drain a person in ways that are hard to explain. When everything around you feels heavy it is easy to put down the things that make you feel light. The guitar goes unplayed. The book sits in the folder. The paintbrush dries out. The passion that makes you whole gets buried under the weight of just getting through the day.
I think many people have a passion for something they find important or that makes them whole and they never finish it. They never own who they truly are. It’s the guy that plays the guitar but says he isn’t a guitar player, he’s just messing around. The girl that paints and says it’s just a hobby, I’m not really a painter.
This is a call for people to own who they are. You are a guitar player. You are a painter. Own that, lean into that, become that. Find what makes you happy and go with it.
I never would have called myself a writer 3 days ago, but I am a writer. I love to write. I haven’t sold any works, no money has been made from it, but that doesn’t make it any less important. I may not be a writer by profession, but I am a writer because I write. You don’t have to be famous. Rich. Powerful. You just need to start and place one brush stroke on the canvas at a time.
That little girl in the photo behind me didn’t care if I played every note perfectly. She just loved that I was playing. That’s all any of us need — someone who celebrates us just for showing up and doing the thing we love.
So, keep doing what you love. In a time that already asks so much of us, strum that guitar, paint the picture, and take time for yourself. You matter.
If you want to watch my daughter bang on my shoulders while I play the guitar, check the video Sometimes a drummer needs to drum on YouTube.
