A Much-Needed Absence...and, a New Look

I wonder if anyone noticed my recent absence from this blog or if I just write into the void, but I took about a week off from writing anything for several reasons - some personal, some professional, and some completely irrational reasons. That's the way life is - sometimes you know what you want to say, and sometimes you just have nothing to say. The last nine days have been a good break as I thought about things happening and figuring out what I am wanting to have happen in my life as a music therapist.

Now, just so you know, things are okay here. While I have had some emotional brain takeovers and some days when I have been just uninterested in thinking in the early morning hours, things are pretty much the way I like them to be in my comfortable days. The weather has changed daily and is now getting more the way I like it - cold and dark. We have not had any snow yet, and that is a good thing for me. 

I have been spending lots of time with and in my brain lately.

I tend to do this after significant emotional swings like what I experienced on 10/31. I get a bit overwhelmed by what I can do and what I want to change in my life, and then I just think more than do during these recovery periods of time. I feel like I am getting to a place where I need to be doing more now, so I am.

I changed my blog format again. If these types of changes bother you, please know that's never my intention. I just get dissatisfied with how things look and then seek novelty. I am getting ready to do a massive overhaul of my website, and it is easier to fiddle around with my blog than it is to re-do the website. So, small steps.

I have been using my bullet journal as my brainstorming tool lately. I would really like to coordinate my logo and color schemes and formats across all of my social media platforms - something I've been striving to do for a very long time with varying levels of success. I have started a presentation journal - just to do things like outline my upcoming presentations and to help me keep those ideas contained where I want them. I am starting to get my quests evaluated for this year and to establish next year's quests so I can start my new year off on the 1st day!

I am thinking lots about what I want to do with this space, with my website, and with all of my professional social media accounts.

The first thing that I want to do is to let people know about music therapy.

The second thing is that I want music therapists (and this includes students and interns) about what types of things I have already figured out that might help others do this job. With (almost) 30 years as a music therapy professional, I have struggled through it all - not having much money, needing materials, wanting to have nice materials for little cost, a community of music therapists to talk to, lots of different things.

The third thing is that I want to be part of a beneficial and thriving music therapy community. I often feel very isolated in my identity as a music therapist. It is a wonderful thing to connect with other music therapists. I would like to help facilitate these types of connections for other music therapists as well.

My mission statement "is to provide quality products, continuing education, and opportunities for music therapists, music therapy students and interns, and others interested in the use of music as a therapeutic medium." I want to make my social media presence focused on this mission in ways that are meaningful both to me and to other music therapists.

As I sit here, on this Friday afternoon, thinking more and more about this topic, I feel that I have so much more work to do in order to get to my vision of what I want to happen both here on this blog and on my website. There is so much to do that the thought of starting is pretty daunting. Today, though, I found a new color scheme and format for my blog. Next step?? Getting into a routine with my social media again. I have fallen away from regular posts, so it's time to get started up again. While I am doing that, I can keep working on my website updates.

One step at a time. Baby stepping to the vision that I have decided to pursue.

Thanks for reading, all...