Finding The Floor - A Life of Width & A Life of Depth - w/audio version

Thanksgiving Supporting Subscriber Full Concert

As we round the corner of the year, I want to express my gratitude to all the free and supporting subscribers here at The Gathering of Spirits.

This month I am offering 2 very special In Gratitude Supporting Subscriber Events & a Supporting Subscriber discount through November.

• On November 24, 2023 I’ll be posting a new full concert on Vimeo, A Great Wild Mercy Live Release Concert - Carrie Newcomer with Gary Walters, Allie Summers & String Quartet. Join us for this beautiful string quartet presentation of new and favorite songs, filmed at the Buskirk Chumley Theater in front of a live audience. I so enjoyed this concert, showcasing string arrangments by Gary Walters. It was an evening of gratitude and it felt appropriate to premere it on A Gathering Of Spirits on Thanksgiving Day! If you miss the showing on Thanksgiving Day the link will be archived through February 28th so you can watch the full concert any time.

I’ll be sending the private access VIMEO link to all supporting subscribers on Nov. 23rd

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Finding The Floor - A Life of Width & A Life of Depth

A friend of mine showed up at my house the other day. Chloe is a wonderful young songwriter you can find on Spotify under the name Dandelioness or her early work under Chloe Grace. Chloe and I co-wrote the song “The Beautiful Not Yet” from my album of the same name. She’s been visiting Bloomington for the past month and we decided to do a little co-writing again. We had planned to get together before she started a month long tour, to sit on my front porch and put the finishing touches on new song. I made us green jasmine tea— two teaspoons in a pot, water (warmed but not boiled), then set to steep for 2 minutes. After the tea was poured we held our mugs in our cupped hands, breathing in the rich aroma of flower scented leaves. As I followed her out to the porch, I noticed there were bits of leaves and dried grass in her beautiful blond hair. I just loved seeing it there and I loved that she seemed totally unaware that she was crowned with these wonderful dangling bits of forest. She began telling me how she had spent the whole morning laying on her back in a wooded area near an artist retreat, The Hundredth Hill, where she had been staying. She told me about the experience in soft, almost hushed tones, describing how she felt deeply connected to the earth, the light and the trees. The moment had been transcendent and I felt humbled and grateful to hear the experience described by such a young gifted poet.

I have a similar practice of quite literally grounding myself on the forest floor. Whenever the world begins to feel too hard and overwhelming, I’ll go out behind my house and lay down in the woods beneath the trees. Sometimes I will go to a particular grove of beech trees and lean my back against the largest one, the one that has markings on it’s trunk in the shape of a woman’s eyes, the tree that I’ve whispered prayers and poems and secrets, and many times wrapped in my arms and rested the side of my face.

I’ll be honest, the past few months have been exciting and life-giving for me, but also a bit of a whirlwind. It is the classic artist dilemma. We love our work and we’ll dive headlong into projects (sometimes many projects at once). We live and create passionately, and ok…a little obsessively at times. But lately, maybe because it’s late October (which is hands down the most gracious, the most poetic, the most poignant and ephemeral of months) that I’ve been noticing a gentle tug from the universe, a subtle nudging to my soul saying, “Put down what doesn’t matter, and go gather up a bouquet of leaves” “Go sit in the beech grove and lay down on the autumn forest floor” “Take comfort, and do not forget what keeps the world whole in these broken times”.

I was grateful for the tea, grateful for the song we finished, grateful for the bits of straw in her hair and the light on the autumn garden. Grateful she reminded me to listen to the call and pay attention to the nudges. Thankful that there are old songs and new tunes, a friend who speaks in poetry and for the sharing of stories that are shining and momentary, forever and true.

Thanks Chloe….

I just finished a book called “Laziness Does Not Exist” by Devon Price. Devon is a Ph.D in Psychology and the book takes a clear but compassionate look at our culture of over work, overextension and the cultural myths that support never ever stopping - and how often women, minority communities and other marginalized groups get a double dose of that myth. Often when a person says aloud, “I’m so overwhelmed and over committed. I’m stress and anxious and my days are utterly packed” the response is supposed to be “Good for you, what a go-getter you are!” The underlying message is essentially that the person is good, virtuous, worthy, successful and anything but lazy with they are overwhelmed and overbooked. But when I hear someone say they are so busy they can’t breathe I respond with, “Are you ok? Will you get some breathing time soon?” We are inundated with messages on social media, at work, school and from the general culture to be more, do more, learn more, work more and never ever ever be what might be misinterpreted as lazy. Most social media is quite literally designed to shame us, enrage us, addict us and pit us against one another in large and small ways. That is why I began this Substack community, so that I can focus my online time in a much more life-giving way. I miss some baby photos, but I also miss the offensive targeted ads for “women of a certain age” and flaming arguments where neither party is actually listening.

As I mentioned earlier, I’m a passionate artist, who grew up with a pretty hefty dose of Midwestern work ethic. I believe in living an active vibrant life but I also believe in the importance of contemplative time, as well as the benefits of disconnecting for rest, reflection and recharge. I teach songwriting workshops, and we often talk about the importance of having a practice of presence and how lucky we are as writers, because we get to live twice. We live it, then we get to write about it. But, you can’t write about an experience if you weren’t there because you were so involved in what needs to be done in the future, or what was said or unsaid in the past. Writing has called me to be here and no where else, and that the first job of the poet is to stop and look out the window.

And so honestly, at this point, I still have not totally figured out true work and rest balance. But what I have been noticing is a shift…a shift that is as subtle as autumn light. Something glowing and nudging me toward a deep knowing that more is not always better, and that creating open space to breathe is essential for all of our well being. I check in with the news, but I don’t have to be schooled constantly in every detail. I’ve stopped reading the news at night before I go to bed. I’ve been leaning into my morning practice which starts with a cup of coffee or tea, reading poetry or spiritual text, meditation and then writing. Even if I meditate for only 5 minutes it shifts the pace and pitch of my day, which is completely different than if I start by opening my e-mail or the news.

So this encounter with my friend Chloe was such a wonderful reminder for the need to balance my passion for art, music, community, activism with time to lay down in the woods and to stand in the golden glow of late October.

There is a difference between a life of width and a life of depth. I want to live deeply, presently and truly. I want to dive down and really look around and not just power ski across the surface of my life.

There is a difference between a life of width and a life of depth.

There are times when I will lean into a more busy schedule for specific reasons. It is a choice I make for a season. But to be busy just to be busy is not a truly satisfying goal. It is good to know that sometimes my best contribution to the world (and to myself) may be to rest a bit in the arms of the universe, to lean into my favorite beech tree, to ruffle the ears of my dogs and sit by the pond for a bit. I don’t have to be “engaged” with every cause I care about every single moment, in fact sustainable activism requires time to recharge, regroup, find personal sanctuary - even to take time to grieve what concerns us so deeply. It has become an important practice to know that constant worry will not sustain my most effective activism. My most powerful contributions will most likely arise out of the things I love. My most sustainable contributions will include finding where my feet meet the floor, and mindfully refilling the well of my spirit, mind and body.

my favorite beech tree in the middle of autumn…I love the eye and nose.

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Practice & Question

This Week’s Practice: Go someplace where you can make with contact to the natural world. This could be your own backyard, a local park, a nearby beach or lakeshore. Find a place to sit (or lay down). Rest there doing nothing for at least 10 minutes. Notice the light, the smells and sounds. Feel where your feet or body connect to the Earth. Gaze for awhile at the sky, notice the color and the cloud formations, the way the light feels at that particular time of the day.

When (and if) it feels right, journal a little about what you experienced, particularly what you might have missed if you hadn’t taken the time.

Question: Is it possible to give yourself compassion and know that you are not being “lazy” if you take a bit of time to rest and recharge? What is one way you might nurture yourself during a busy time?

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An INVITATION TO SHARE

A GREAT WILD MERCY is Here! I hope you listen, add it to playlists and to share. Sharing is the best way to get the word out about this new collection of songs.

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SECOND SPECIAL EVENT - In December

• Sunday, December 3, 2023 6PM CT (7PM ET, 5PM MT, 4PM PT) I’ll be co-hosting an hour long live conversation with Phyllis Cole-Dai (author, poet and host of The Raft “Living From Our Yes: A Conversation About Creativity, Gratitude & Community” Join Phyllis Cole-Dai and Carrie Newcomer for a live Zoom event about “living from our yes”. Together we will muse on the process of translating lived experience into a creative medium and embracing the entirety of life as a creative practice. By leaning into our lives with affirmation, gratitude and wonder, we build connections within ourselves.

All supporting subscribers will be sent an email with a direct link for the experience before Dec 2nd!