I have been living in Yankalilla for over 12 months now and in that time a lot of things have happened, some things have been good and some haven’t but all in all, my quest for living a slower, steadier, simpler and more silent life down in the Fleurieu has been a successful one so far.
I’ve managed to continue running my web design/online marketing business ZenWeb Systems from home as well as diving head first into the world of live performance again but this time taking advantage of the plethora of gigs that are available down this way.
I’m also building SongMachine, a commercially viable recording studio out the back of my house. This is about 70% done and with every day that passes my excitement for this new phase of my music career grows.
In addition to all of this, I haven’t watched the news/commercial TV since I got here and my life has been less stressful because of it.
My motto is… If there is news that I need to know, I’ll know about it via social media and friends. If there’s news that has nothing to do with me then I don’t need to know.
Even though I had always considered myself a “city-slicker” I really don’t miss Adelaide at all and look for opportunities to NOT go over the hill into town.
I’ve noticed of late that as I drive into the city I can feel the collective stress of Adelaide begin to course through me but when I leave I can feel that collective stress disappear as I pass Sellicks Beach and head towards the hills for home.
There was a huge speed bump in my progress though as halfway through 2023 I felt the effects of intense loneliness and depression which was a result of finally being able to come to terms with my grief and breaking through the fear of what a post-Mara life would look like for myself.
Right now, I am now in the best place I can be
Another part of that speed bump is that my health needs to get back on track again. I have let things go a bit as I have attempted to just allow things to happen in the pursuit of slowing down my life and letting things “be” for the time being.
No health goals, no exercise, just aimlessly floating. This needs to change.
The end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024 was also difficult because of the bookmarks that I needed to get through such as Mara’s birthday, anniversary of her passing and our wedding anniversary just to name a few. Christmas is never fun as well.
From going through those bookmarks I was surprised that even though it was a very hard experience to bear, I am having a better relationship with my emerging post-Mara life.
I am now feeling more “awake” to what is happening after everything that I have been through and I feel that 2024 is the year for me to start getting my life back in order again after allowing myself to aimlessly float in a holding pattern for a while. I am ready to really come back to the land of the living.
Just to recap, I have so much to look forward to…
- I am happy where I am at
- The gigs are building up
- I am gainfully and autonomously employed
- The recording studio (SongMachine) dream is almost a reality
This excites me.
I have a long way to go in attaining the slow, steady, simple and silent life I want but I’m glad to say that I am a long way down the path then where I was 12 months ago.
Peace,
Corey 🙂