Hope • Reset // Music of the Week / WS 21-Mar-21

It’s hard for me to talk about the last two weeks from a musical perspective because so much has happened in my life outside of music. I’ve alluded to the personal and professional changes in my life, so I won’t go into the tacticals there. I will, however, take this time to reflect on what those changes have meant for me emotionally and psychologically. 

If I were to allow the grey wolf in me to define my prevailing emotions, I would define them as being primarily those of anxiety. I’m scared, I’d say. The events of the last year or so have left me, like millions (billions?) of others, circumspect. Can good things happen? It’s common to say that within each challenge lies an opportunity, but when viewed through the lens of fear, the opposite is just as true. Within each opportunity lies a challenge.

I know this is an unhealthy view of the world, and I don’t for a second recommend it. I also believe this is very likely a fleeting emotion, a consequence of all the events I’ve experienced: the pandemic, living alone again, a new professional assignment. It’s natural to feel a little worried. 

But if I were to feed the white wolf for a minute, here’s what he’d likely say. It’s a great opportunity for me to rebuild my life on my own terms. New professional avenues. A fresh start, personally untethered from a (to put it mildly) challenging relationship. Stranger Fiction. It’s all happening. The best way for me to title last week’s playlist, therefore is Hope • Reset. It’s an attempt to feed the white wolf.