Greetings after a months-long pause in blogging!
I hope you remain healthy as winter inches towards spring (at least in New England…)
I also fervently hope that you have not experienced any climate-related catastrophes in recent weeks — or war-related catastrophes — or ANY catastrophic circumstances at all.
Each and every day I remain grateful for healthy food to eat, a warm place to sleep, a functional bicycle, gainful (if very modestly-paying) employment, and clean water.
Deep breath in.
Deep breath out.
I also remain very grateful for all the folks who visit my blog — anywhere from four to eighteen each day during the past ten weeks — even though I have not published a new post since the end of December.
THANK YOU!
Right at the end of 2023 — having relied upon showers for the past few decades to keep myself clean — I re-discovered the delicious experience of taking a bath (after a long and chilly day of travel to visit relatives in upstate New York).
Wow.
Soaking in even a few inches of hot water is such a different experience from taking a shower.
One can slow down and lose track of time…
I also feel as though the heat from the bath water soaks deeper into my body and stays with me longer than the heat from water in a shower.
Or maybe I am imagining that…
And one final bonus is that I have a compelling reason to scrub my bath tub on a regular basis (which, when I was just taking showers, I could easily overlook for weeks on end…)
Hurrah!
Another deep breath in.
And deep breath out.
My latest song release — an Ode To Water — celebrates all forms of water here on planet earth.
And its release coincides with another round of extreme rainfall and flooding here in the not-so-United States.
I continue to be flummoxed by how most of our political leaders — despite the increasingly destructive weather events occurring on a increasing basis all around our amazing planet — remain largely in denial about how closely we are inching towards some significant environmental tipping points — from which it will be very difficult if not impossible to recover.
Maybe it’s because they are human beings and — like most of us — tend to function in a state of denial until a catastrophe enters the inner circle of our lives.
To me, climate change/catastrophe underpins every other issue — huge imbalances of wealth/power, all sorts of civil rights challenges, the rising trend towards fascism in many countries including our own, women’s ability to make decisions about their own health/bodies, the industrial agri-chemical contamination of the web of life, etc. etc. etc. — which we are facing as human beings here on planet earth.
Here in Massachusetts our liberal Democratic governor is waffling about the proposed expansion of an airport used by private planes/jets called Hanscom Field, which is located eleven miles from where I live.
Making it easier for more rich people to fly in private jets is a perverse example of us NOT making the difficult changes in our human behavior/expectations that our climate change/catastrophe is calling for.
But I am guessing that Governor Healey is at least partially beholden/indebted to wealthy donors who have contributed to her successful political campaigns and may be inclined to help make their lives easier — even though it is well documented that air travel is one of the worst offenders regarding our fossil fuel over-consumption (and private jets are even worse than commercial flights!)
Yet another deep breath in.
And deep breath out.
Two states away from me in Maine, a friend has co-owned a tiny, one-room (former) fishing shack for decades with her extended family near Kennebunkport which serves as a very humble summer refuge for a large web of siblings, cousins and friends.
I have felt very fortunate to visit (and even perform) there a few times!
During a recent storm, this tiny cottage (which is boarded up during the winter months) experienced higher flooding than anyone can ever remember happening… and lost its front porch.
Another, larger shack (on tall stilts) which had been damaged last year and thoroughly repaired was entirely WASHED AWAY.
It had withstood nor’easters for over a hundred years… and now is gone!
The time to make difficult choices and change longstanding habits is NOW regarding how we human beings (especially those of us in developed countries) consume fossil fuels.
To top it all off, I recently read an article in The Guardian about how we human beings are very close to experiencing a major tipping point in how water circulates in the Atlantic ocean.
Yikes!
Due to my recent embrace of baths, I have a keen awareness about how water behaves in my tub.
Colder water sinks to the bottom, and warmer water stays near the surface.
In the Atlantic ocean there is something similar called the “Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) — a vast system of ocean currents” that helps to regulate our planet’s climate.
“AMOC, which encompasses part of the Gulf Stream and other powerful currents, is a marine conveyer belt that carries heat, carbon and nutrients from the tropics towards the Arctic Circle, where it cools and sinks into the deep ocean. This churning helps to distribute energy around the Earth and modulates the impact of human-caused global heating.”
But AMOC “is being eroded by the faster-than-expected melt-off of Greenland’s glaciers and Arctic ice sheets, which pours (very cold) freshwater into the sea and obstructs the sinking of saltier, warmer water from the south.”
And new analysis by scientists has determined that “AMOC is…on track towards an abrupt shift, which has not happened for more than 10,000 years and would have dire implications for large parts of the world.”
Another huge YIKES!!!
Followed by one final deep breath in.
And deep breath out.
This is why I ride my bike and/or walk and/or take public transportation.
This is why I eat less meat.
This is why I choose not to fly in order to visit friends and/or family in faraway places.\
And this is why I remain deeply grateful for all of the miraculous basics in my current life — including clean, fresh water to drink and to cook with and to clean with and to bathe in plus a non-leaky roof over my head.
Here is a link to my “Ode To Water“ in case you might like to stream (music flows in bits of electronic data these days these days…) it.
And as I have explained before, if you “like” one of my songs or add it to one of your playlists, that will improve the algorithmic sharing of my music.
Furthermore, if you listen to it via Spotify, I would be particularly grateful because Spotify recently changed its business model.
Starting in 2024, they are no longer paying indie artists half of the royalties (which are already absurdly low) due to them for any song streamed fewer than 1000 times per year.
So I need to get another 337 streams in the next ten months (so far it has earned 663 streams from 476 listeners around the world in the two months since it was released!)
I will probably write about this discouraging “rob from the poor to pay the rich” business strategy in a future blog post…
But, returning to several of the “glass-more-than-half-full” blessings in my life, I would like to thank Doug Hammer for playing so expressively on this recording and for being such a terrific engineer/producer.
Thank you to Stephen Fischer for his elegant graphic design work.
Thank you to the photographers at Pixabay for their beautiful images.
Thank you to the amazing cycles of water which circulate — from oceans to clouds to earth to plants to us and back around again and again and again — on a daily basis here on planet earth.
And thank YOU for reading and listening to another one of my blog posts!
ps: If you are thirsty for more musings about water, you can click here and here to read blog posts from 2022 and 2020 which featured earlier versions of my “Ode To Water.”
amusicalifeonplanetearth 
So much can be noted about water. Nice lyrics. Welcome back.
Thank you, Frank! Perhaps I’ll be able to squeeze out a blog post on a monthly basis going forward…
Beautiful.
Thank you for listening and reading and commenting, JoyIndestructible!
You’re welcome :0)
Thanks for the thorough discussion of water, climate, etc.! The proposed expansion of Hanscom Field to allow private jets is also a threat to the beautiful serenity of historic Walden Pond.
I hadn’t thought about that! A friend (with an electric car, bless her!) has driven me many times to that wonderful body of water for a swim. It appreciate being able to swim in a pond/lake which doesn’t have houses/docks built around the periphery. More planes flying overhead would certainly affect the historic serenity of Walden Pond…
❤️
Lovely song. Beautiful post!
THANK YOU for making time to read, listen and also leave a comment, Dawn!
Thank you for caring so deeply Will and living your life in a simple low impact way. There is no doubt that we need to do more to change the way with live on this precious planet or Mother Nature will make the adjustments needed for her survival. We might go the way of dinosaurs. I love your updated song. To precious water, nature, and people who live in harmony.
Yes, I agree, Brad: “Mother Nature will make the adjustments needed for her survival.” I sometimes wonder if the current rise of science-doubting/science-denying and increasingly belligerent human beings might actually be Mother Nature acting to bring about more catastrophes in our human lives so that more of the other species of life — plants, animals, fungi, etc. — are able to survive our ever-increasing human expansion/contamination/destruction here on planet earth. For example, the area around Chernobyl is apparently is now filled with wildlife — many species of which have mysteriously/amazingly managed to adapt to the high levels of radiation we human beings created when that nuclear power plant malfunctioned… Deep breath in. Deep breath out.
We may have to let things play out. Breathe in, breathe out.
Yup!
Thank you for this thoughtful and heartfelt post, Will. If more people did only a fraction of what you do to help the planet we might not be seeing so many frightening news articles.
You are very welcome, Clare! I could definitely do more (like stop eating meat entirely), but one person should not attempt to carry the weight of the entire world on their shoulders. It was considered a punishing feat even for a Titan like Atlas! I do believe that every wise (and maybe self-sacrificing for the sake of future generations) choice we humans make adds up — the opposite of “death by a thousand cuts.” Deep breath in. Deep breath out. When I read about the possibility of the gulf stream shifting in a significant way, I immediately think of all the folks who live in the UK and Ireland (which if I understand correctly have a warmer climate due in part to the way that Atlantic ocean currents currently flow). And I am sure that our weather and agriculture here in New England would/will be affected in all sorts of challenging ways, too, should this come to pass… We shall see!
Thank you, Will. Yes, the Gulf Stream affects our temperature a great deal; I live at the same latitude as Winnipeg and I would certainly not like their winter weather!
Wow. That’s quite a comparison, latitudinally speaking!
Yes!! I’m not sure that we would cope very well and any number of people would be queuing-up to apply for immigration visas!
Yes. Climate changes/catastrophes is likely to exacerbate all sorts of immigration challenges/conflicts… Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Whenever I take the time (and have the emotional bandwidth) to learn more about the wide-ranging implications/complications which climate change/catastrophe is bringing into our lives, the more grateful I am that I still have (for today at least) clean running water, healthy food, a dry home with a roof over my head, access to healthcare, and all of the other significant blessings I sometimes take for granted here in the USA.
🙂 ❤
Hi Will! It’s always wonderful to read your posts. I hear you, loud and clear. While I worry, I know there are many people who are doing good things, some big and some small. Combined, we are making a difference, albeit small steps. The press focuses on all the negatives, from politics to climate change. Honestly, even though things are not good, they are fear mongers. ‘Nuff said! I will continue to celebrate the good, teach young children, and help them to be both good citizens and caretakers of the world. I love the idea of taking a bath. And, how is your NY family doing? Best to you, Will.
I agree, Jennie, that there are “many people who are doing good things, some big and some small.” That is a source of hope for many of us! And your teaching life and your blog posts are also beautiful proof of that truth. And I similarly agree that our media organizations (“if it bleeds, it leads…”) tend to spread negative, frightening, and dispiriting stories which often skim the surface and do not take time to illuminate the complexities and nuances and historic roots of a particular issue. PLEASE keep doing (and sharing with us via your blog) all the wonderful things you do with the humans (both young and not-so-young) in your life! ps: I do not remember if I have already told you that my next public performance is (sort of) in your neck of the woods. On the evening of Friday March 29th I will be at the Parish Center for the Arts in Westford, MA. If by some chance you are available that night, I’d be honored and delighted if you can join me — plus musical friends Molly Ruggles, Carole Bundy, Ellen Epstein, Michael Cicone and Brendan Shea — for two sets of music (both covers and originals). And I’d be happy to give you a pair of complimentary tickets, too!
Hi Will! Thank you for your kind words. I’m the glass half full, as you know. I will keep doing what I’m doing with the little ones, and the not so little ones. 🙂 I will absolutely do my best to get to the Parish Center for the Arts to hear you perform and meet you. How exciting!! Can you give me a time frame for the performance? On Fridays I close school and leave after 5:30. Westford is 20 minutes away.
We are scheduled to start at 7pm (although my guess is that we will start a little after 7pm…) We do one slightly longer set (under an hour), take a break so that folks can schmooze and stretch their legs and admire the art on the walls in the gallery, and then do a second, slightly shorter set. I do not know what the local dinging options might be in case you wanted to get a quick bite to eat near the PCA. As the date gets closer, if you really think you can join us, I will happily leave you a comp ticket or pair of tickets (or even more if you want to come with a few friends…) Just let me know. My email is very simple — will@willsings.com. Just the thought that you MIGHT be able to join us puts a smile on my face. Deep breath in. Deep breath out.
Fingers crossed. I’ll email you. 🙂
AOK And no pressure to attend…
🙂
Dear Will, Once again your thoughtful reflection on the world we live in, its gifts and its vulnerabilities makes me think of our fragile existence, and how we humans endanger it. Thank you! And thank you for your poignant description of my father’s tiny cabin almost washed away in climate-induced storms.
You are very welcome, Molly! Thank YOU for making time to read and listen and comment!!!
Thank you (and Doug) for another great song. And thank you for sharing thoughtful comments. It is awful to think we humans have altered the Gulf Stream.
You are very welcome, SuzannesMom! Thank you ffor reading and listening and commenting! It would seem that a combination of human ignorance (how many people are taught about how the Gulf Stream works and how it affects the weather, agriculture and live-ability of many countries?) and human denial (who wants to think about such a profound and scary topic?) may be leading us into a very challenging future…Deep breath in. Deep breath out.
Hi Will. It’s good to hear from you. Interesting note about the private jets. After this year’s Superbowl, I read that Allegiant stadium is 100% powered by solar energy. Great news that is more than offset by the number of private jets that made their way to Vegas for the event. Sigh.
Hurrah for Allegiant Stadium being forward-thinking regarding solar energy! I have a vague sense that Las Vegas may have become a leader/role model regarding how to use precious resources — such as water — more thoughtfully and sustainably. In my childhood I was friends with a very wealthy family and flew once on their private plane (which seated around ten people if I am remembering correctly) to their vacation home on Martha’s Vineyard to see a solar eclipse (kind of like the lyrics in Carly’s Simon’s song “You’re So Vain”). It had two propellors (not jet engines), and my friend’s dad was the pilot. Private planes are certainly a convenient way to get one’s family — or group of friends… or board of directors — from point A to point B. But so often our human conveniences turn out to have significant downsides! Deep breath in. Deep breath out.
A beautiful song, Will! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and information on water and the climate. Much of Philadelphia and South Jersey will probably be underwater soon.
Thank you for listening and readying and leaving a comment! I was riding my bike along one of our local rivers (the Mystic) and wondering how much of the park lands (and private homes) along side the river will be flooded in future years. All the more reason to savor each and every day we are given in the present moment while doing what we can to prevent/mitigate future catastrophes!
You’re welcome, Will. Yes, indeed.
What a rich and varied post this is, Will. Loved the music and your reverie about rediscovering baths–and your infectious enthusiasm for all the individual bounty you and so many of us have and are or should be grateful for. Of course your urgent reminders about the growing dangers of climate change are well taken. We’ve been making some small changes by using paper products that are either recycled or made of bamboo–and laundry detergents that are less toxic and don’t come in plastic bottles. I think it’s great that your major mode of transportation is a bicycle. Kudos!
Lots of deep breathing, for sure.
A beautiful, celebratory song that’s a great reminder of how important water is. I enjoy a bath much more than a shower, but can’t use a bath right now – I do miss it! You make some very powerful points in this post Will.
Thank you for your kind words, Andrea! I started today with a bath and it definitely helped put some heat in my before I headed out into a chilly, windy spring day…
I don’t know why I haven’t visited you before, but glad I have now and enjoyed your musings. You made me giggle with your wit! Don’t worry too much about climate change, they are just using it to pull in more money from us… The world will survive together the people who focus on bringing joy to themselves and the world! Loved your music. Are you the singer, piano player? I’ve added it to my Spotify! I like a fellow rebel! I’ll be back! Take care, love Barbara
Hi, Barbara! I am the singer. Doug Hammer is the piano player. THANK YOU very much for reading/listening to this blog post , leaving me a lovely comment, and adding this song to your Spotify!!!
Love this gratitude blog Will. Your water song is beautiful.