Waking up to the impact of inaction

It's certainly been sometime since I've put my thoughts into this little box to stare back at me and ask "what else?"
What else can I do?
What else can I allow?

Admittedly, my life is an animated blessing...
I'm surrounded by courageouly loving community that inspire me through their heroic actions, deep sharing and powerful silences.
I spend most of my days playing music, communing with the ocean and enjoying the marvels of convenience in this pop cultural mecca by the sea.
When I was a child, about 6 or so, I remember my Aunt and cousins dropped by the house on their way to the beach. In a rush of eagerness and excitement, I jumped into the car and 7 hours later found myself at

Today I faced again the realization that along with BP, I am accountable for the atrocity that is still occurring in the gulf.
This was followed by a brief internalized assault upon myself
for not doing more in my everyday life to create a world
where BP stood for BE PLAYFUL instead of BRITISH PETROLEUM.
Then, in acknowledging that there was no power in self deprecation
I released the whip of the punisher and with an open hand remembered...

In accepting that I too have played a role in this whole mess,
I gain access to being a part of it's solution.

and so with nothing before me but space I ask myself,

"What else can I do?
What else can I allow?"

Being open to the greatest answers only requires trust,

p

6 songs in 7 days....

this sxsw has been a crazy adventure.

when the festival wound down on tuesday the 23rd
i decided to start writing some new songs.
who knows, maybe i'll be playing a few of them next year
when i'm on the artist side of the festival.
inspired by my friend and fellow songwriter/performer jessie payo whom is nothing short of totally awesome, i took on writing a song a day for a week

though i only ended up with six, cause today i'm practicing for my show
the tunes all have a life of their own and i look forward to sharing them with you

in case you're wondering the songs titles are

blueberries
brother i had known
leave on the lights
springkiss
deep within our truth
april full moon

i look forward to sharing them with you all

love, p

SXSW...

It's that time of year again in Austin where every venue in town has been overflowing with the population of a worldwide musical community. This year was the 4th year I've worked the festival in some shape or form and it was a wonderful opportunity to practice mindfulness of thought as I sorted, allocated and delivered DJ back line to electronic artist at the festival.

As my ego kept voicing feeling's of being left out and internalizing thoughts like,
"your missing the boat!" and "why aren't you playing a show instead of making spreadsheets?!"
I had many chances to observe my fears and frustrations under pressure.

When someone would appear at the 11th hour saying they needed something that involoved a mad scramble on my part to obtain...
I'd thank them for the opportunity to be loving under the gun, take a deep breath and then do the best I could to take care of them with all that I had available.
One of the things that helped me the most was frequently
standing in front of a mirror,
smiling at myself lovingly,
looking into my eyes as I would a lover, and saying,
"You're amazing and I love you"
(often this involved going to the men's room which was anything but empty and supplied more incentive to smile and laugh at myself for ever taking life seriously in the first place)

So after a long week of playing the role of "Parker, The DJ Gear Guy"
I'm reminded again how very grateful I am for all the people and their effort that goes into making a festival, or any show for that matter, happen as smoothly as possible.
I also got to spend time with some really wonderful people whom I'm grateful to know as well.

Next year I will be playing though... :)

Blessings and LOVE!
p

"With every breath you get the chance to start all over again..."

a passing yogi said this to me as we walked away from our morning yoga practice on a sunny winter day. it was one of those moments where i immediately felt that the universe had spoken to me directly through the voice of another.

months later, those words still echoed into the darkest corners of my life,
inspiring me to consiously stoke the fires of my own recreation with love, gratitude and patience.

one yoga intensive later, which i highly recommend to anyone that feels called to one,
i find it's more and more of a habit to repeat those words silently with every breath i take. for me, having a practice wherein i acknowledge my true self daily has been the best gift i could have ever given myself.

so, in my choice to further live my reconstruction
to feel it, see it and taste it...

i bought a beat up old sailboat
completely cleaned it out... i mean everything... it needed to go.
then choosing what i wished for it to contain,
i cared for it and built it into what i want.
many a moment i was frustrated, sad or lonely
but by choice i continued the process of recreation.
not by trying to do more, but by breathing another beginning into each dead end.

it is truly a blessing to remember that we wield the power to create who we are.
that whenever we don't like how things are going it's up to us to create anew.
and that this ongoing process is less of an action and more of an allowance...
just like breathing.

Blessed be,
p