I’m Making a Small Change

An Interruption, A Little Context, and a Few Things I Love

Hi there. I thought I would send a quick note out and deviate slightly from sharing my series of short poems. This will be quick. If you missed what I wrote last week about this, it might help make sense of things a little better if you read through my post:

I've Been Digging

There are significantly more people that this is going out to today than there were last week, and I'm so grateful for that. So today, I wanted to do a quick recap of me, The Artifice, what all of this is, and where you come in.

The easiest way to get caught up would be to simply visit the archives to read and/or skim through any previous posts. There's not a ton. Words have been staying inside me more often than being released over the last few years.

But, sometimes getting the highlights is even better:

• I'm Trae, an artist and musician who grew up in the Dallas / Fort Worth area playing in punk bands, hardcore bands, and leading worship at churches. Now I'm in Columbus, Ohio figuring out how that cynical hardcore kid is supposed to exist as a 40-year-old executive/creative/worship pastor at X Church. I get to do life with my best friend Jessica and our three boys Jude (14), Endy (12), and Phoenix (9). I wrote about Phoenix on this post. I'll write about the other two soon. All three are just so special.

• The Artifice is where I share parts of me that I believe belong somewhere beyond just me. Not because I have it figured out or because I think I have deep wisdom to impart, but because nothing has shaped me more than being invited into someone else’s inner world.

• Some of what I'll share will be words, some will be images (usually photos), some will be my current muse, and maybe a little bit of something else at times.

• What do I ask of you? Well, not much really. Just be you. I love when this moves beyond a one-way-message though. So hearing your thoughts in a comment or email back is always a gift. You can agree, disagree, love, or hate it. I still want to know.

For some it's very easy to spew words and thoughts into the world for public consumption.

For me, it's not.

When you engage or share or reply, it reminds me that we're in this life thing together. You'll see buttons to encourage it, and if you feel inclined, it would be a gift.

Alright. I think that covers it. Thanks for sticking with me.

I mentioned I'm in the middle of sharing a series of short poems, and here's the first one I shared:

Season

Look for the next one sometime next week.

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For now, let me leave you with a few of my current loves:

Sammy Rae & The Friends

I found them one Friday over a slow three cups of coffee at a corner table in a great breakfast stop. I'm probably late to this party, but wow, I'm glad I made it.

Brain.fm

I love this service. It’s an incredible tool that combines music and neural effects to help with deep, creative work.

Letters to a Young Poet, Rainer Maria Rilke

This will be a book I come back to for the rest of my life. You'll hear more about Rilke soon.

Morning Pages

When I wake up, as often as I can, I handwrite three pages of stream-of-consciousness thoughts. Handwritten, not typed. It’s a way to get the thoughts out, process feelings, untangle problems, and write freely with no repercussions. When I’m done, I never read them again. This is part of a bigger journey I’m on, one I’ll share with you soon.

Cosmos and/or Foto

Both of these apps have been fun. They might only be here for a short duration as many new social media apps tend to be, but I hope they stick around. Cosmos seems to be the smaller, artist's Pinterest, and Foto seems to be the artist's Instagram.

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And finally, some unsolicited advice: if someone frequently uses phrases like “trust me” or “just believe me” in their conversations, well, don’t.

Bye for now.