Petition for a Peace Treaty

People My People,

               

Welcome back to my life, glad you could join me.  It’s 11:21 pm and I’m waiting for a phone call from an online radio station for an interview.   Perfect time for my weekly reflection, this would be the part of the movie that it would flashback to a poor childhood.  Someone telling me, “No one wants to hear you speak boy!” Cut to a montage of me writing, holding down my seasickness in the Navy, then rocking my first open mic, first slam, first bar, first festival, first poetry workshop I ran, to starting Train of Thought.  And mixed in with that a whole lot of trails and tears. 

               

A good friend and talented artist told me today that if his band doesn’t hit their album sales goals they are giving up music.  I was sad to hear that.  Even sadder that I understood and couldn’t blame him.  He’s newly married and rap sometimes has to give way to responsibility.  At what point does passion give way to having a stable position?  When does what you believe you were made for become a little less important than the person you believe you were made for?  I’m asking these questions but I really don’t have the answer.  As I move into the afternoon of my life these choices swarm around me, poking, prodding.  Is life about the people we serve or the people we love?

               

…I’m back, just got done with the interview, went well.  He messed up and got me speaking about the things I love. Almost couldn’t get me off the air!  Funny thing is the radio host is also one who is a family man, going to school to work in medicine, but loves the arts.  Medicine is steady; art is walking on Jell-O in high heels.  The interesting thing is even in the Great Depression people still went to shows, still paid for movies.  Needed an escape.  I truly believe one is not more important than the other.   And as for dreams vs. family, perhaps I’m naïve, but I don’t think they have to always be at war.  Draft a peace treaty, stick with it.  Take a moment to come up with creative solutions.  Get your family involved with those decisions.  I believe if they love you they will be happy to compromise.    If your dream is about the betterment of people, which I think all dreams are (even if you are entertaining them from the stage), then giving a little bit is better than giving up everything.  I’m not saying the people I mentioned before are doing that I’m just saying in general.

ON A PERSONAL NOTE:

Things are still going well.  Album is still selling, I’m still doing shows and Train of Thought is still my favorite part of the week.  Please come out and support me, Dave Booda, Elaine Faye tonight at RAW (make sure you say you are coming for me, I still got tickets to sell.)  I promise you will not be disappointed.  After tonight my life will change dramatically.  Stay tuned to the next email for details…. (Insert evil laugh here)

THIS WEEK’S CHALLENGE

Give your dream away.  That is the challenge for this week.  So many people keep who they are and what they want to be so close to their chest that it silently suffocates them.  This week your challenge is to tell one person what one of your dreams are AND ask if they have any ideas on how to make that happen.  Pick someone you love and trust.  If you have no one, hit me up, I’d love to hear from you.  Your dream is a manifestation of the gift you have been given.  And gifts are meant to be given.  Do not hold in your dream or gift.  Share it with someone who will hold you accountable.  It’s the first step.

Until Then

Be now

Remember The Light

Gill Sotu

www.trainofthoughtsd.com

www.gillsotu.com

Get ready for "N Miouo Nance" tomorrow night!
http://ping.fm/Kd4hC

"Train of Thought" is an interactive open mic showcase where artists are heard & everyone is like family...you know, play-cousins!! Check us out at http://ping.fm/WLH5K

A Beautiful Death

People My People,
I am happy to report. I am still alive! I know some of you may have been worried. So Renee and I were watching some movie or something where the character had cancer, or something I forget what they had, and I turn to her and for some reason asked her if she was afraid to die. I won't reveal her answer but the question itself begged me to answer as well. We are immensely desensitized to death. For most of us our reflex upon hearing about it is, "man that's terrible...can you pass the dinner rolls." And I'm in the same boat, I react the same. It would be a nice thought to think that we are all enlightened and realize that we are only spirits going on to another realm, another adventure. But the truth of the matter is that we don't ever think about it. We don't want to acknowledge it. When really the realization of our death could really be our greatest gift. Cancer could be the greatest thing God ever gave us.

I know that sounds a bit crazy, but bear with me for a second. I'm kind of thinking out loud here. Again, I never pre-plan what I'm going to write in these things exactly. I just verbally vomit and smile at the beautiful mess. On another show I was watching, (ok, it was Battlestar Galactica...but it's really good writing! Check it out on Netflix) a reporter asked the president who was dying of cancer, "how long do you have left to live?" her reply was, "how long do you have left to live?" I love it!

I recently performed for a young woman's birthday party. She saw me at another show and asked if I would do her party. It was a small gathering of friends and family. Over the phone before the show she said that 9 years ago she was diagnosed with Lupus and that she was told she had two years to live max. Obviously her spirit was stronger than science, but I remember thinking and telling her, what a beautiful gift to have a countdown, to make everything worth it, only to get an even bigger gift at the end and realize you have more time. Another friend a few years back was told by a doctor that she had to quit smoking and to laugh more to reduce stress in order to cure her illness. That's kinda great. That's like a license for fun. 007 and Flava Flav all rolled into one! (Maybe I went too far with that one)

A lot of people ask how God can allow all this death and destruction to happen. What I see are a lot of chances to make life matter. All life, all the time. This may be a bit off or perhaps you have heard this stuff a bunch of times before, but after you read this take a moment to think about death. About you not being here. Really think about it. That right now may be minutes before you go. Then ask yourself, what can I do today to make it all matter.

More Happenings
We still need volunteers of all walks and talents for Fiesta Del Sol (San Diego's Largest Latino Family Festival) over 75,000 in over a weekend in August last year, this year we are getting bigger and better. Next meeting Thursday, April 14th. Let me know if you’re down. This year's dates for Fiesta are Aug 12-13th
Train of Thought has joined up with RAW: San Diego and I will be featuring at their showcase along with Dave Booda and Elaine Faye at the prestigious IVY Nightclub on Apr 28th. So RAW is a showcase of talent with photography, music, fashion design, performance arts and more. Happens once a month. Tickets are only $10.00 (less than the price of a movie). Click on the link above to find more info or to purchase tickets. I need to sell at least 20 to support this great event! Even if you can't make it, grab a ticket to support your boy. It will be an amazing show! Make sure you select that you are supporting Gill Sotu.

This Weeks Challenge:
Recently in one of my lapses of realization of how beautiful and short this life is. I had the good notion to make myself a "Get Right Playlist"; in my iTunes I put all the songs that instantly put me in a good mood. That makes me want to sing out loud off key, dance like I shouldn't, you get the drift. Make yourself a "Get Right Playlist" now this is different than a workout song list, or a favorite's playlist. These are songs that just really bring you back to what you love about life. Music is amazing medicine. Let me know what your number one "Get Right" song is. I want to add it to my list and blast it at a train of thought or elevated. I'll give you mine, although #1 changes from time to time. This is for my old school hip hop heads.

"Everything is Gonna Be Alright" - Father MC (get it on iTunes, it'll cheer you up every time)
I have attached a link to download, "Moment's in Time" it seems fitting given this week's subject.

Until then,
Be now
Remember The Light
Gill Sotu
http://www.trainofthoughtsd.com
http://www.gillsotu.com
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To download the track "Moments In Time" for free, go to http://gillsotu.com/dl and enter the code bvjc-dk5p

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