Wednesday, September 30, 2009

You Might Outlast

Here's an excerpt from the current CSM collection of songs:

They try to bully you towards panic
They try to bury you listless
To unravel the fabric
They try to make you forget this enemy:

But the can't ..........................keep you down
See your face............bowed to the ground
There's no trace.....of the sound
Of your accusers placing blame on you now

You won't take this
You won't leave without a fight
You will break this cycle of lies
You will cry out
You will change the things you can
You just might outlast them if you stand
You will change the things you can
You just might outlast them if you try
We just might outlast them
Love will surely outlast them

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Delusion Part I:

Two recent conversations have me thinking about delusion:

1. Some friends, my wife and I have an ongoing discussion about delusion: is it delusional to want to be an artist or musician? It it delusional to try to make it big and influence a lot of people with your art? What's the difference of delusion and legitimate dreams?

2. I just talked to a friend and ex-bandmember I haven't seen for a while. He suggested that selling songs to established artists might be a better fit for me than fronting a band and touring. This encouraged and frustrated me at the same time. I'm not investing much time, energy or planning into a band or touring at this point, but there's still a dream there -- it feels bad to think of that not being part of my life.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Friday, September 18, 2009

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

New songs posted

I just posted new songs to my Community Supported Music site. I'm pretty excited about this download -- I'm starting to do more rewriting and editing of lyrics, and taking my time recording, even though they are very simple recordings.

The songs on this delivery are West High Street, Conflagration version IV, You May Outlast Them and Destination. People who saw my recent concert with Annie Yoder in Charlottesville heard the first two tunes.

For those who don't know: my Community Supported Music (CSM) group is made up of people who make an annual donation and receive new music downloads four times a year. If you're interested visit, http//www.jonathanreuel.com/CSM/

Monday, September 14, 2009

Imaginary Mantra FAQs

I wonder how many Frequently Asked Questions are asked frequently. I imagine right now that in donut shops, pubs and sunday schools the world over people are asking -- frequently -- the following questions about that mantra* that went viral.

FAQ
What if I might need this stuff later?

What if I can't let go?

What if I give away too much and get stuck?

Why should I do this?

One determining factor for quality of life is how much extra space you have, and the quality of stuff you fill your space, time, mind, and life with. The price a person pays to get rid of the bad or mediocre is often more than compensated by the space created and the increased quality of what remains.

How?

Admit you need help. Find a higher power. Etc.


* Review:
The evolving mantra: More than you need. Space for others.
How: Give away/pitch stuff. Keep only the best. Plan for others.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Mantra unpacked

Have more than you need. Make space for others.

How?
1. Give away or throw away stuff until you have more space than you need for your stuff.
2. Keep only what is beautiful, useful and meaningful.
3. Make a space for everything including room for others and future stuff.
4. Don't have more than you can care about and take care of. Otherwise give it away.

This may apply to:
1. physical or virtual space (your house, car, desk, desktop, email)
2. relational space
3. spiritual space
4. emotional space
5. time

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

A Mantra

Been trying to clean my room. I have a minimalist vision and a bunch of crap. Feels like the problem may cut across into other areas (relational, vocational, spiritual, emotional, etc.

Guy Kawasaki says Don't come up with a vision and mission statement, come up with a mantra. I thought I'd try it. First draft.


Have more than you need, including space for others and the yet-unthought-of.

It's still too long. I picture a room with very little in it. Everything in it is beautiful, meaningful or useful, including an empty container that visitors can put their stuff in when they crash overnight.

Friday, September 4, 2009


Remember that sketch from the brainstorming session for my sister's (http://kristinaglickshank.com) show? Well, besides sketching ideas of how the show could look, I did some sketches that imagine the concepts and processes as machines. Ok, it's strange, but fun, and you'll probably see more of this kind of thing later.

What do you think? It's not literal, but different parts of the machine relate to different parts of the ideas behind the show and the processes those ideas (and art objects) go through from conception until the actual show blooms.