2023

Now that today is the first day of 2023, I thought I’d start off the year on a positive note and list five things in 2022 that I’m thankful for.

I’m sure that if I thought about it a bit more I’d come up with a bigger list than the five things below but, I reckon it’s a good start.

The Great Move Of 2022

Every day I am thankful for the fact that I had the courage to sell up and move down to the Fleurieu eventually ending up at Yankalilla.

It would’ve been easy to have the thoughts of moving but not act on them but thankfully I didn’t listen to my fear.

I also had Mara’s voice in my head egging me on and for anyone who knew Mara, she was a very persuasive individual and for that alone, I am thankful.

My Family

I wouldn’t be where I am now if I wasn’t able to stay with Mum and Dad for all that time I was looking for a house.

It gave me an opportunity to not worry about the rental transition between one house to another and it gave my dog Charlie a lot of room to move around as our old place had no real yard to speak of.

My sister and her tribe plus my extended family have all made sure that I know they have my back with everything that has happened to me plus the choices I have made over the last 3 years or so.

For their unconditional love and support, I am truly thankful.

Charlie The Groodle

Speaking about Charlie, I am so thankful that I have him around to remind me that life is not all about the self, it’s also about looking after others.

Being a fur-parent has taught me a lot of lessons about responsibility and mindfulness that I would otherwise have missed out on as I don’t have children of my own.

For that I’m also thankful.

He makes me laugh and at the same time frustrates the hell out of me. He is the perfect way for me to learn more about myself.

My Friends

As well as my family, my friends are the people that makes life worth living and are one of the reasons that I get out of bed in the morning.

As a songwriter and musician, most of my friends are in the music industry but there are other friends who aren’t musicians and they really give me well rounded perspective on the world through the lives that they lead and the conversations that we have.

I am thankful for each and every one of my friends (you all know who you are).

My Music

Where would I be without music? I ask myself this question from time to time and I can’t really come up with an answer.

Or, maybe I don’t want to come with an answer at all. It’s just too scary to think about as music is what I am, not what I do.

Very soon I’ll be treading the boards again either as a solo artist or in a duo and this time around I will not be taking the opportunities presented to me or the audiences that I’ll find myself playing in front of for granted.

I am thankful that I have the ability to either work from home either in a recording or web development capacity or work as a professional gigging musician performing my own music or a hybrid between my songs and covers.

2023 is the year that I truly back myself and my abilities to ensure that I create the life that I want to live by doing the things that are necessary for this creative life to happen.

What things have happened to you in 2022 that you are thankful for? Let me know, I’d love to have a chat about it with you.

Peace,

Corey 🙂

Historically for me, the month of December has always been a time where I would take stock of what’s happened during the year and map out what will be happening in the next year.

I find this mix of the learning of lessons and the discovery of possibilities very exciting indeed.

Over the last couple of Decembers however, I’ve not really been in the right mind to do this exercise properly but this December has been different and it’s great to be back.

So with all that being said and with the end of 2022 fast approaching, it’s time for me to finalise (but not set in concrete) my list of professional and personal resolutions for 2023.

I’ve decided that this non exhaustive list will be a series of activities that I will do more of. How that will transpire throughout 2023 will be determined on a day to day basis.

With my core goal for 2023 being to live a slower, steadier, simpler and more silent life, I present to you what I want to doing more of in 2023…

Write:

For someone like myself who is a songwriter and a blogger it seems pretty obvious doesn’t it?

I will be making the time to write more songs, blog posts, short stories, poems, journal entries, anything that can get what is in my mind and heart out into the world

Re-establishing a daily writing routine will be good for my musical output as well as my (mental) health in general.

Practise:

This can be interpreted in a number of ways.

On the music side, this means that I’ll find the time to write more songs and spend more time learning the guitar, bass, piano and the recording studio.

This would also mean that I’ll be playing more as a result of this practise and for me, practise and play are the cornerstones of creativity plus, these are all the things needed for me to master the craft of being a songwriter, musician and producer.

From doing this I will also be able to record more music, finish more music by revising my archive, release more music and collaborate/network with other songwriters and musicians locally and globally.

On the personal side, this means that I’ll find the time to do all of the things that are non-work related but still essential in ensuring that my core goal is realised such as meditation, writing, exercise, gardening, cooking and so on.

All of these activities seem small and insignificant by themselves but when put together in a daily, weekly or monthly routine it really makes a difference.

Read:

I fully admit… I don’t read enough.

I always felt that reading was more of a functional activity, a means to get to a destination rather than something you do for pleasure.

In the past, when I made attempts to read a book for the sake of it, I would immediately feel guilty and start thinking of all the other things that I could’ve be doing with my time.

It’s time to change that mindset.

In 2023 I will find the time to read more and slow my life down as a result. Immersing myself in words will help me to become a better lyricist and engage in my imagination a lot more.

Relax:

Moving away from the city and living in the country has helped a lot in enabling me to slow down and relax but I still have a lot to learn about effectively stopping the world so I can get off of it.

One of the things I will be doing in 2023 is to stop multi-tasking and just concentrate my focus on one thing at a time.

Instead of trying to do many activities at the same time and not completing anything I’ll be experimenting with setting aside chunks of time dedicated to specific tasks or activities during the course of my work day or, for doing nothing at all.

When I work, I work and when I relax, I relax. Seems simple enough doesn’t it?

Exercise:

This is a no brainer really. Plain and simply, I need to move more, walk more and do more on a physical level. I know that nothing will get my creative juices flowing more than feeling good about myself and the world around me.

I have let myself go a little bit (more on this in a future post) but 2023 will be the year that I reclaim my overall health.

I know what it felt like when I was on top of my health therefore I know that I can get there again. By doing this I’ll be more productive but most importantly, I’ll a much better person for myself and everyone else.

I know what to do, I’ve just got to go and do it. Healthy body, healthy mind, healthy life.

This list is going to be constantly changing, morphing and being redefined. Therefore, I need to be flexible in my approach to all of this (which has been something that I haven’t been in the past).

Considering what has happened to me over the past couple of years and where I am at right now I reckon I’ve got this.

What are some of the goals and resolutions that you want to achieve in 2023. Let me know and perhaps we can all help each other but in the meantime, I want to wish everyone a safe and creatively prosperous 2023. May it be everything that you want it to be and more.