Recovery

On Saturday night after we got back from Sarah's school Christmas party I started getting sick and it continued all night long and into the morning.  Wow, do ever get sick like that and start to wonder if it will ever stop?  The craziest thoughts go through your head as you go from burning hot to freezing cold.
As I laid on the couch trying not to wake up others in my house with my sudden trips to the washroom, I was thinking about those that suffer all of the time.  Not the ones like me who bounce back in a few days but those who have regular ongoing health issues that keep them from living a "normal" life.  Or those who have a terminal illness and will never see total healing.
It made me realize 2 things, 1) How Fragile we are, 2) How we need to be thankful for every moment of life and health that we enjoy.  Those times when we are together with family or friends and nothing in the world seems wrong.  Or simply hearing that song on the radio that always gives you a few moments of peace and bliss.
I hope that you get to experience a sense of peace this Holiday season.  In spite of all that is going on around you, that you have some sense of real joy.
That is my Christmas wish for you.
Dariin

I Love This Time of Year

My weekend started on Thursday night when we arrived at my parents' home and spent the evening hanging out with my sister who had just arrived from Africa where she lives.
We had tons of fun and a few drinks to toast the season as snow began to fall through the night.
Friday was spent getting ready for the big family gathering which would take place on Sunday and I could feel the little boy in me getting really excited about this early Christmas gathering.  Even though it was 2 weeks before "real Christmas".
On Friday night we put the kids to bed and I taught my sisters and my wife how to play poker.  Realizing that my parents' house wouldn't have such devilish things as playing cards and poker chips, we eventually found a deck and used mini marshmallows for chips.  Whoever ended up with the most marshmallows won that game.
Sitting around, laughing and sipping eggnog with a wee bit of rum whilst listening to my favourite Christmas album "Kenny Rogers Christmas" I was enjoying every moment.
We turned in at about 10:45pm in anticipation for out big family gathering on Saturday afternoon and evening.
Around 3pm on Saturday our family started to arrive and with mom's house perfectly decorated, the smell of cinnamon in the air and Michael Buble's voice setting the scene, we had a great time together.  Laughing, eating, playing games and hearing what everyone had been up to for the past few months and years.
There really never is enough time at those gatherings is there?

Those gatherings where people make the extra effort and drive the extra mile really only seem to happen at Christmas time.  So I love this time of year and look forward to the next time we are all together again.

Invincible

Every once in a little while I watch a movie from my list of favs to get inspired to do something great with my time here on earth.  In order to make my list of favs there has to be some element of overcoming adversity or going hard for a goal.
This morning on a rainy Monday in early December my internet was down so I pulled out my box of DVD's and found the Disney movie "Invincible" and watched.
There are so many things that I love about the movie.  From Vincent Papale walking onto the field of his favourite NFL team and making the team, to the relationship between the he and the coach and his father.
But something that really stood out to me this time through was the special bond between the group of friends that hang out at Max's bar and play touch football together in a local park.
Each one of those guys had something pretty major happening in their life and the really stood behind each other.
Recently I was asked to take a funeral service and I was moved by the group of guys that shared loving woods and funny stories about their dear friend who has suddenly passed away.
I couldn't help but think that day and was reminded of it again today that we really need each other in this life.  For anyone who feels alone and doesn't have a solid support structure of friends like that, you need to change that.  We can't make it in this life alone.  I don't think we were created to be that way.
So I am once again inspired.  Not to try out for a football team but to be a better friend to those in my life and to really strive for my goal to be a professional musician.

I Met With a Real Pro

Tonight I had the chance to sit down with a gal who is an absolute pro when it comes to developing a business plan and marketing your "product".  It feels very weird to talk about your music or yourself in those terms but the truth is,  as an artist, I am trying to get my songs into the hands of as many people as will listen.  Does that sound wrong?  I mean, it feels a bit wrong but why should it?
I've been thinking a bunch about music as a career and here's what has been going on in my mind.  If I were selling computers or miracle shakes or pencils, I would first of all make sure that the product I was selling was of good quality.  If it's not worth selling, nobody is going to buy it.  But if I believed in that product and believed that it could help people or save them time or whatever, I could get very excited about it and promote the stink out of it so that everyone I come in contact with could at least have the chance of owning such a product.
With my music, I am working very hard to make it the best quality that I can make it with the budget that I am working with.  I want to keep improving on that and will in time, but I believe in my songs and want lots of people to hear them.  I know that my music style or voice or CD quality won't jive with everyone who hears it, but I also know that in order to succeed in this, I need more than my family members and friends to hear it.
So anyway, this gal was super helpful and really inspired me to keep plugging away, keep focused on the main thing and putting in the time and passion.
So look out, cuz here comes a bunch of tweets, short video clilps, and facebook updates letting you know that Darin Martin Music is alive and kicking, hopefully soon in a radio near you.