Sometimes it’s tough. Sometimes is it plain tough to keep going. You set your eyes on the prize and you’re chugging away but in truth, it is tough keeping the momentum going; especially if you aren’t getting any feedback. Most of us can keep it up with either positive or negative feedback. Positive feedback is encouraging. Negative feedback just makes us want to work harder. No feedback is like working in a void where you can’t get any traction.

I have days like that. There are days when I haven’t heard from anyone in a while as to whether I am reaching anyone with my music or writing or anything else. There are days when I just want to shake someone and ask them if they have had time to listen to that last track I gave them or if they happened to read the last blog. But I don’t.

Because, you see, the problem is with me. When I started writing music it was a cathartic release for me. I really had no intention of ever making any money from it. It just gave me a way to express what I was feeling and thinking and then I was able to share that with others. Unfortunately, I don’t have an orchestra that I can drag around with me, so I pretty much have to give people digital music. Every once in a while a little light goes off and someone gets excited about what I am writing and that alone is enough to keep me chugging along.

In truth, God sent me down this path and I know that this is what He is wanting me to accomplish. Just at the moments I think about giving up, someone will pop up and say “I read that and it meant something special to me”, or “I listened to that last piece of music that you posted and it really moved me.” That is really all I need to stay motivated. God knows this and that is why He provides me with that encouragement.

Maybe you need a little encouragement as well. Well, I am here to tell you that you should feel encouraged. God has a perfect plan for what He needs you to accomplish and He will find ways to encourage you along the way, even when you feel it is helpless. Just listen for the whispers.

I missed doing my blog last week. I started it several times and actually came close to something that I was almost satisfied with, but it lacked depth. I could make all kinds of excuses but the absolute truth that I have to accept is that it didn’t have as high of a priority of some other things I was trying to accomplish last week. I simply am not going to publish a blog just to publish something. It should make you think, possibly respond. It should say something to you that will lift you up through the week and not drag you down. It should move you to action and simply get you to invest in yourself and God. It can never be just words on a page.

Having said that, I want to talk a little bit about garbage moments. There are really two types of priorities; those that feed you and those that drain you. We all have to do things on a regular basis that require us to put a priority on them just so they can be accomplished in a timely manner. Did you ever forget to take out the garbage on time and then miss the garbage man? There’s a real down side to that. At some point you have to make taking out the garbage a priority so that it will happen in a timely manner and you won’t have to suffer the consequences of not getting it done in time. In the comic Rose is Rose, Roses husband is often pictured having a garbage moment. It’s kind of a unique perspective because his garbage moment feeds him. He takes out the garbage at night so that he can spend time alone gazing at the stars. It’s a positive experience. When I take out the garbage, I get to see the sunrise. It take the drudgery of the moment away and it becomes somewhat of an inspiring moment. Most of us look at our garbage moments as a drudge simply because we have let our own perspectives take us there. You have to find the positive in those moments or they will bring you down. They will devour you. If you have too many garbage moments in your life that provide you with no positive feedback, you will most assuredly be depressed and feel put upon.

Okay, we are all human and we are simply not going to look at every garbage moment with a positive attitude. I find it real hard to be in a positive mood when cleaning the bathroom. Still, what you have to do it make sure that you have more positive garbage moments in your life that negative ones. You have to be able to feed more than you are being fed upon.

What has that got to do with music? Writing music is hard work. Those who say it is really not difficult, haven’t written much or don’t stretch themselves to write things that are outside their normal scope. Writing music is putting all the notes down, adjusting tones and harmonies, adjusting tempo, adding instruments, taking away instruments, adding and adjusting dynamics and sometimes it means throwing out the garbage and starting again. It really is hard work. Often it is painful. I don’t know about you but I can tell you that writing music, as difficult and time consuming as it is, feeds me. It is one of God’s gifts to me to bring renewel. It always gives me back more than it takes.

That is one of the main reasons that I continue to write music. I have come to the conclusion that I have got to have more positive garbage moments in my life where I can stare into the soul of the universe and see the face of God than moments when I am cleaning the bathroom and just want to stay focused and get it done. I think I would go crazy if I didn’t have my music. I know I would be depressed.

How about you? Do you look for those garbage moments that feed you? I encourage you to find a balance that is a little off center, where your garbage moments are feeding you more than they are taking away. These are little Easter eggs from God, totally unexpected full of joy and wonderment. Embrace them for what they are and let God feed you. It will give you the energy to get past those moments that pull you down.

I’ve read so very many posts and blogs about where inspiration comes from. I’ve written a few myself. Sometimes it’s just a feeling that I feel needs expressing. Other times, it’s a mood, and yes, there is a difference. Sometimes the inspiration comes from something someone has said to me or done for me or even done to me. But sometimes, it’s just being in the presence of an external force that makes me reflect on the nature of my being and my surroundings. That can be a truly awesome inspiration and motivator.

Have you ever listened to the rain on a tin roof? Or outside your window on stormy night? Awesome, isn’t it? How about when you are lying in bed late at night and can’t sleep and you hear the mournful horn of a train in the distance? It tickles a thought in your brain and maybe sends a chill up your spine. It’s inspiring. I know I lay there thinking, there has to be a tune in there somewhere. It’s just too awesome to be ignored.

Many years ago, I was visiting a friend’s family in McAlister, Oklahoma. I took some time for myself in the early afternoon because the scenery was gorgeous and I just wanted to spend some time with my Lord. I sat on the top of a hill and looked out over the valley below me. It was stunning. The sun was high with lots of clouds. There was a thunderstorm in the distance coming towards me and I could see the lightning and hear the low rumble thunder. The wind was cool and refreshing and just being there experiencing the moment was breath taking. I found myself thinking back to the place in Exodus where Moses realizes he can’t enter the promised land and God reveals His presence to him by passing his hand over him while he is looking into Canaan. Up on that hill, looking into that valley with the wind rushing by I felt I could just glimpse the wonder of what Moses must have felt. I couldn’t go down in the valley just as Moses couldn’t go into Canaan but I didn’t have to. I could experience the presence of God right where I was at that very moment and it is a moment in time I will never forget.

And yes. There was a song that came out of it. One of my very favorites. I did not go out that day to write a song. I certainly wasn’t expecting the inspiration I received, but none of that makes me any the less grateful for it.

Take time to listen to the world around you. You don’t necessarily have to go out seeking inspiration. Sometimes it comes to you when you least expect it. The cry of a baby. The smell of a hot dog. The feeling of grass brushing against your leg. The sound of a hawk or a dog in the distance. The feel of a cold, hot, icy or warm breeze. The call of an old friend or loved one. Embrace those moments. Embrace them and pull the close and use them to drive your music. These are the strings on the instrument that is your soul.