At first, maybe unimpressive. Just some guy singing part of some unknown song in front of a Joshua Tree. A few mistakes, some hesitant vocals, and the sound of birds and wind in the microphone at the end. So what’s the big deal?

This is a snapshot of change.

Something happened out there in the desert. I took that long, slow trip across the Mojave with no agenda but to eventually arrive in the mountains. Guitar in trunk, and having no idea how it would sound and look, I sang just to see what it would feel like. And it felt great.

Wishing I’d put more into it, I kept the video and started a fun new hobby: playing live music on the internet. Within weeks, this eclectic exercise in performance art showed me things about living that I would never let go. And I’m still learning.

But the big secret of this all, the one that would take me months to share with anyone, is that I knew I was facing the greatest challenge of my life. The physical pain and other effects of an accident nearly three years earlier was growing heavier and harder to bear. This was the day I started to understand the strength within myself just wouldn’t be enough.

And I started to see differently the many others who are lost and forgotten by the wayside.

I learned something new about what that felt like.

We can’t get through this alone.

We all need others.

#Others