Album Update #4

Honoring the Cold

It’s about to get cold and I’m making an intentional and strict pact with myself:

I am NOT going to complain about the cold AT ALL this Winter.

Full stop.

I am going to bundle up and allow myself to look like the Michelin Man all season. I am going to drink hot teas and slurp hot soups. I am going to pack blankets in my car. In fact, I’ll pack entire cold-kits (which I should just have,) including extra layers, hats, mittens, maybe even snow pants, and a few packs of hand warmers. I am going to make movement a top priority, lest my mind turn into an icy bog of hopelessness and depression (which has happened.)

What does this have to do with the EP?

I’ve been feeling very in-flow lately and very synergistic, which is resulting in new lyrics blossoming, general ease in the daily-mundanes, and a greater sense of peace all around. This is interesting to me because we’re in the autumn season of ‘letting go.’ Themes abound of death, decay, turning inward, hibernating, laying low to freeze while what’s under the surface can emerge come Spring. Ironically, I feel the exact opposite. The leaves are exploding with life-giving vibrancy. The ground is hardening with a foundation on which to build imagination and play. So, on one hand - yes - I feel the pull to turn inward. But on the other hand, instead of shuddering from this impending cold, I want to embrace it for exactly what it is by bundling up, opening my heart, and leaning right into it.

Because let’s face it, you absolutely cannot pretend to be a dragon - just by breathing big and exhaling plumes of ‘smoke’ - in the summertime.

Also, (and I’m guilty of this too,) we berate the cold for being exactly what it is, and in the same breath we cry how awful it is that the ice caps are melting. We cannot solve the climate crisis by talking shit about winter being wintery. I truly believe Mama Earth hears us, and sadly thinks, Ok sweety, I will melt quicker for you, because I love you so much.

So, I want this in-flow feeling to last as long as possible. And I believe that in order to keep that an option, I must remain open. It’s natural to fold ourselves in to stave off the cold, but with the right equipment, we can continue standing tall in cooperation with the cold. We can breathe dragon air. We can breathe.

I’ll be heading to the studio this Thursday and Friday to keep on keeping on. The voice lessons are an incredible tool to support my voice and bolster my confidence. Chris is making us dinner as I type this (thank you, my love,) and Peeka is still absolutely the best.

I think of you all daily, and hope your lives are filled with an abundance of grace, ease, and light.

With heart,

Allison

“There's no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing.”

―Alfred Wainwright, A Coast to Coast Walk