"Belonging to Yourself", an open letter by Emily Rowed
I started the journey of belonging to myself today. It took having a song that came out right, unfiltered from the middle of me to start protecting my creativity. I could finally see how precious, maybe even sacred, inspiration, a voice, and a story can be. I wonder why it took me so long and how many times Iʼll have to remember again.
How can we live with ourselves and not hear ourselves? I mean truly listen to the purest beacon calling. I donʼt have answers just the high of hearing it once or twice.
To every artist starting out, or beginning again or feeling the tug of self-reliance and ownership on your sleeve, Iʼm screaming to you. Touch every morsel of your art / life (theyʼre the same thing) enjoy the menial tasks, remove the barrier of teams and goals and bucket lists to hear the story thatʼs laying in your lap, sitting in / lump in your throat or spilling from your guts. Walk the path that excites you the most - before /anyone else has an opinion. The stories, sounds, pictures that make your body vibrate are your gifts and theyʼre what we want to see and hear the most because the deeper you go, the more universal it gets.
When the buzz hits, keep it as close as you can to that moment, the source, and then, PROTECT IT. Iʼve been on both sides of the coin now and I know the slow, water-leak type damage of living / life to please other people and what giving up ownership can do.
Iʼm not a master of any of this, but I would like to be. Iʼm starting by owning my voice, my stories, and my songs.
What area of your life can you fill with more of you today?
Iʼm celebrating Shipwreck, the song that came from the middle of my guts and demanded I take better care of my gifts. It was released today and so was I.
Iʼm dancing somewhere in Nashville, Tennessee!
-Emily