It’s February 2021, and so many things have changed in the past year.

We’ve seen many ups and many downs, the pandemic has hit many of us and our families in ways we couldn’t have dreamed.

In February of 2020, I was seeing my schedule filled, music tours were booming, I had a calendar full of events I’d planned to attend or hoped to work, my drumming was improving, and my ambitious goals for 2020 were looking possible.

Well, the “apocalypse” happened. The pandemic took the world by surprise and changed everyone’s plans. In early March, I temporarily closed Therapeutic Arts: Massage Therapy & Arts. I shutdown, not because of the mandate, but, because it was the right thing to do.

My plans changed. For a while, I had no plans, I had no direction, and everything was in limbo.

Without answers to my unending questions, I was unable to even think about the future of my massage career. Things started out in a bit of a downward spiral. I am purpose driven and I had no purpose. Less than a week into isolation, I saw the chaos and had to regain purpose.

I was still unable to even think about what was to come for Therapeutic Arts and the massage world or the music industry. So, I began projects. Building, creating, and fabricating new purpose. I began building ziplines in the woods, I built “mud lockers”, raised garden beds, I built loft beds for the kids’ desk spaces, and so many more projects. Once I had a bit of an idea of safety precautions, I prepared and reopened Therapeutic Arts on June 30th.

Now that we have more facts and more knowledge, I am more able to wrap my head around the future. Almost a year later, I am focusing on my networking for backstage massage, I am working on marketing Therapeutic Arts, and I am finally seeing an upward trajectory and a renewed passion for my ambitions and goals.

Society and life will not be the same as they were, but, there are so many opportunities for creativity, change, success, and my goals.

A few take-aways from this mess of the pandemic.
-Don’t take your loved ones for granted.
-It’s ok to not be ok.
-Strengthen your body and mind.
-Do what you love.
-Find what drives you forward and make use of it.