Lessons Taught By 2020
2020 was to be my biggest year yet, with the launch of two additional songwriter festivals in Italy and Ireland.
Then Covid struck, and every project fell in slow succession like socially distant dominos… March 15-21 Tuscany Retreat & Festival CANCELLED. June 3-10 Idyllwild Retreat & Festival CANCELLED. August 24-30 Copenhagen Retreat & Festival: CANCELLED. October 18-25 Ireland Retreat & Festival: CANCELLED, followed by a cycle of emotions like a ball of yarn slowly unraveling: resilience, hope, concern, fear, resignation, emotional and economic fatigue and finally: Acceptance that there was no ‘going back’ and no way forward that was yet clear: Only being in the present moment; the only place we can ever truly be.
I read over thirty books, consumed movies, documentaries and online series, spent hours sitting quietly outside watching and listening to the birds amidst the otherworldly quiet of a normally bustling city, spent more time with my daughter and working from home partner, and gained ten ‘pandemic pounds’ from comfort eating before losing them again thanks to a renewed walking and bicycling regime.
Then it happened: The turning point. The day I realized or convinced myself (two sides of the same psychological coin), that this enforced break was, in fact, the very sabbatical for which I’d been longing so many years…and that’s when deep gratitude and grace set in, coupled with renewed enthusiasm and energy.
Since then, I’ve steeped myself in the technical aspects of online workshops, consulting and performance, with a first fully online Listening Room Retreat scheduled for January 8-10 and guest masterclass booked for Sir Paul McCartney’s prestigious L.I.P.A. (Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts), am back in the studio wrapping up The Pawnshop Preachers follow up to our 2017 Grammy nominated debut, just released the Corona Christmas single with all download profits going to the World Health Organization Covid Response Fund and, most importantly, have got my mojo back – this time accompanied by a mask. 🙂
Brett Perkins
www.brettperkins.com
California-born, Copenhagen based Grammy nominee Brett Perkins has traveled to 39 countries so far since his debut on the L.A. club scene in 1980.
In an attempt to keep us connected as we continue to find our way through these often stressful times, some in our extended community have been sharing their experiences, lessons learned and hope as they’ve dealt with Covid, lockdown, boredom, lack of inspiration, etc. We are all looking for ways to make lemonade out of the many lemons! This column will continue on a weekly basis and postings will be released at 10 AM Pacific every Monday, so watch for them! For guidelines and submission details, please contact Julie Zipperer at juliez@far-west.org or Marlynn Block at marlynn@far-west.org. Submissions will be posted based on approval from the Lockdown Lemonade Committee.
