I’m feeling more grateful than ever for the wilderness all around us. Without question it is imperiled, yet it remains so vital. It stirs me like nothing else. In fact, I am coming to understand that all the music I write arises directly out of this region and its unfathomable splendor.

I'm less afraid of repeating myself these days. I'm less afraid of repeating myself these days. (Sorry, I had to do it.) Maybe when you find the thing you can do again and again without getting bored, that's how you know you’re onto something. For me, without question, that is playing music.

Once again, I'm learning about the importance of adaptability. I envision a project, a trip, an experience, a future, and set about to create it. Reality intrudes. If I am too rigidly stuck to my initial vision, I can miss the wonderful alternatives that come along. I'm trying to remember that, while nothing happens exactly as we expect it to, what happens instead can often be as good or better—if only we allow it to be.

I'm trying to be more patient. I'm trying to know less about where I'm headed. I'm trying to think less about my image, to compare myself less with others, and instead to trust in the music and its power to connect people. I'm trying to stay aware of my own tendencies to stray from the path of authenticity, and to keep asking myself questions like, Is this really what I want to be doing? Or is my inner compass pointing in some other direction?