That was a great post! Quite frankly I wouldn't mind at all reading more about your story. There's hint of a lot of episodes that must have been overwhelming and transforming. As well as it has been ten years ago and it seems you reached a point of closure, or beginning closure. Your experiences are raw and can be inspiring for others who are yet to try themselves in the real world, or are just in the midst of getting a grip on it. If you ever get by writing a part of your biography I'd be pleased to read it.
And furthermore good luck to you and your family!
(And yes; as a struggling musician I've been through an armada of egomaniacs, wanna be stars and people who grow sick and die of their disappointment (literally die of sickness). It came to a point where I had to decide what I wanted out of music. Nowadays I enjoy giving others the opportunity to find a safe space where they can explore and enjoy being creative. No ambitions for fame and riches, just pure joy and experimentation in creating good music. They may be beginners, or just enthusiasts. But the way they light up and get excited about the creations is authentically fun to experience. So with the help of those musicians I can come back to the place I was when I started music in the first place. Being excited about every new riff, every new idea, every great sound. And seeing music as the universal language and bridge to something higher than ourselves, instead of just the vehicle to becoming insanely rich and famous …)
This is such an inspiring comment ! You are very right when you talk about closure, this is the reason why I decided to write it down in the first place, and I can tell you that it was not easy and felt like vomiting while publishing it .
"No ambitions for fame and riches, just pure joy and experimentation in creating good music"
This is exactly how I behaved in the last 5 years, I took time to just work on my craft, a bit like a monk, and I was lucky that my wife got the patience to let me do so, now all I want is to give her back the freedom she gave me by letting me write, sing and become a better musician while it didn't make much sense at the time at least from a financial standpoint.
Another thing, I think music prevent people from going crazy and save lives, I know I would have ended in a much darker place without it, so the best way to give back to the universe is to teach and enjoy these little priceless moment that you are mentioning :)