I used to think I needed rest. What I actually needed was something to wake me up.

Disengagement felt like quicksand — the more I resisted, the deeper I sank. Re-engagement wasn’t just the rope; it was the ladder out.

Healing didn’t come from slowing down — it came from throwing myself into the fire of what I loved.

The ideal state: wake up each morning excited to get things started, go to bed already excited for tomorrow.

It took time — but now, I genuinely love waking up early. I feel excited to start the day -- coffee, writing, work. I am energized by endeavors that can make money, by albums I'm working on, by experimenting with film.

This shift matters to me because not long ago, I was on the other side — completely disconnected. I wasn’t making much music. My job felt like a drag. And I didn’t have much to look forward to.

Worst of all, I was dead tired all the time. No energy. No enthusiasm for life.

Working on things I loved helped me move out of that slog. It took me two years to write, record, and release an album. Sometimes it feels like that album saved my life -- the process itself re-engaged me with life.

When I wrote that record, I was in the worst part of my life. I needed healing. We often imagine healing as lying in bed, recovering from a cold. But that’s not always the best medicine.

Sometimes healing comes not from stillness, but from movement — from doing. Being active, connecting with others, showing up in the physical world — it all helps the body and mind shake off the fog.

When life gets heavy, the temptation is to check out — to disengage. But I’ve learned that disengagement is quicksand — it isn’t rest. It’s a trap. The way forward isn’t stepping back. It’s stepping in — re-engaging in a different way

The way out wasn’t rest — it was stepping back into life.