Living the Life of RyLee

It's been a long time since I've blogged, though I can't really put my finger on why. Perhaps it has to do with the drastic shift my life has taken over the past few years with getting married, moving to Nashville from my homeland of Nova Scotia, getting a family dog and having a dear friend diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor.

With such transition going on I found it hard to journal, which is odd considering the many wonderful changes. Looking back, I think I felt like I didn’t deserve the “good stuff”. I was torn with leaving family and broken hearts behind, a choice that I still struggle with but I know was the right thing to do.

Now here I am making my home in Nashville in a cozy three bedroom ranch that my husband and I are slowly transforming into the home of our dreams. We’ve just finished a beautiful kitchen renovation that I designed (my other passion), with plans for a new roof and deck perhaps this fall. Life is moving at a nice pace, making music full time and living the dream with our boy Oskar (a one year old Vizsla).

My husband is a full time musician as well and has been a great support with the creative process. Making music is something I have loved to do since elementary school, and is still a passion for me as I enter into my 40th year (did I just say that?) The good thing is that with age comes wisdom, the wisdom of learning that my talent is a gift that I am to use on purpose for a purpose. I believe creating music will always be a part of who I am and hopefully one day soon I will have an American hit to my credit to show all those who believed didn’t waist their faith on my talents.

It amazes me to think back on my child hood dream of making music and to see that dream has become very much a reality. Music is my passion and I am blessed to be living the dream! How about you? Are you living your dream? If so, I’d love to hear about it!

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Someone I dearly love and trust has been dealing with a very difficult situation over the past year. One is which another party is making statements filled with accusations that are nothing but unacceptable and simply not true about her character. “How do you deal with that?” she is often asked by those who are a little less tolerant. She replies very simply with “I stand on the truth. I don’t have to defend myself against untruth because I know the truth and the truth is where I find peace”. A friend of hers recently told her “those who sling mud eventually loose ground”. This conjures up a quirky visual of someone so desperate to verbally damage another as they reach down to the mud pile under their feet and scoop up ball after ball of muck. Splat…hahaha, splat…hahaha…they think they are winning when really they are losing the very ground they are standing on. You see truth is not a mucky substance it is not watery, cloudy or hazy. Truth is solid as a rock, never changes it’s form and always remaining consistent and strong. Truth is all we need to stand on when being attacked by the mudslingers for truth never looses ground. It is solid, solid as a rock. Stand on it with pride and smile peacefully. RyLee

Have you ever had a moment when you simply can’t find the words to say what it is you really want to say? Most would think writers are never at a loss but the truth of it is, for me anyway, that I often wonder what is a genuine way to say something so that it is believable. Everything old is new again, everything new will be old soon and somewhere along the way, everything in the middle seems to get stuck there. The stuff that isn’t genuine or genius, heartfelt or unbelievable simply remains stuck in the ‘whatever’ category. What about the message people are trying to say that gets labeled as ‘bland’ or ‘done before’ does that mean what they have to say doesn’t matter? What happened to the simple ‘I love you’ that so many of us fail to say to those we really love, or the ‘I need you’ when in time of need, or simply ‘help’ when we don’t know what we are trying to say. Next time you find yourself unable to speak or articulate what you’re trying to get across simply ask yourself ‘what am I really trying to say’ then just go ahead and say it, you might surprise yourself! We only get one time around on this merry-go-round called life, hop on and enjoy the ride and take along someone you love. ‘I love you’ says it all, so share that with someone you love today, you may not have tomorrow.

Home, defined in the dictionary as being comfortable and at ease in a place or situation. Home is where the heart is meaning ones home will always be the place for which one feels the deepest affection, no matter where one is. Home sweet home used as an expression or ones pleasure or relief at being in or returning to ones own home. Have you ever found yourself away from the only home you have known only find you feel MORE at home somewhere else than you ever were before? Being back in my homeland of Nova Scotia after spending the winter in Nashville I find it interesting how my sense of home has shifted or should I say expanded. I’m amazed with the coping tools I have been equipped with to adjust to new surroundings and circumstances in Nashville. I believe much of it has to do with the co-writers I work with, my Canadian friends, my church Cornerstone, the friends I have made and God. Obviously creating a new sense of family and community has everything to do with feeling at home and I am thankful to have found this in Nashville. This now means I will always miss HOME whether I’m in Nova Scotia or in Nashville, but at the same time, I get to have that rush of ‘coming home’ in two places. I’ll never forget my roots, as they do tend to show a little more in Nashville then in Nova Scotia as I have yet to find a hairdresser in Nashville. My American friend Jonn Hamlin told me that I will develop two accents and that when I travel between homes I will be told I have an American accent in Canada and a Canadian accent in America. Well he was right, as I’ve noticed while being home in Nova Scotia I am calling pop, soda and I find myself saying ‘Yes Mam’ a lot. So while I’m home in Nova Scotia I guess I will be missing my home in Nashville in fact I KNOW I am. A song is in there somewhere.

When I made the decision to commit more time writing in Nashville last fall I also felt lead to find a home church to attend. I never thought of myself as someone who would go to church and join a choir, however doing so has been one of my greatest blessings here in Nashville. It has provided a new sense of family being such a distance from my family in Canada. Family is exactly what the members at Cornerstone Church have become and over this past week the church lost two very dear family members. Known in Nashville for his country music career and being a member of the Grand Ole Opry, Billy Walker and his wife Bettie, along with two members of his band, were killed in a car accident last Sunday morning while they made their way home from a gig in Alabama. The funeral was the most graceful service I have seen, with moving performances by Connie Smith, Ricky Scaggs & Vince Gill. The choir sang, Pastor Davis gave a moving sermon and many smiles through the tears could be seen while those attending listened to stories and watched slide shows of the wonderful life Billy and Bettie lived. To close the service the choir filed down from the platform while singing Amazing Grace, lining the isle hand in hand while the caskets gracefully rolled away. Family and friends including Little Jimmy Dickens, Lori Morgan, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Porter Wagner, Steve Warner & many more came to pay their respects at the most beautiful send off anyone of us could hope for. Billy & Bettie Walker were known for their passion for leading people to the Lord and living in the word of God daily. To quote a song Billy recorded only weeks before his death, “Before the dirt leaves the shovel, I’m already home” we all find comfort knowing that Billy and Bettie have arrived in Heaven together. Go rest high on that mountain Billy and Bettie, it was an honor to sing for you. www.billywalker.com

When you observe how little some people work, you wonder how they will know when they are retired! This is often a misperception of those of us in the music business. Many think since we make our own schedule, and write songs and play music, that we DON'T really work. It's not hard to understand why some people think this way, after all so many of us are locked into 9-5 jobs that we don't enjoy, we can't take a break on the front deck on a sunny afternoon, we can't just leave the office early because we want to get home to the family, we have bosses to answer too, etc. Based on a Lou Harris Poll: 63% of workers do not believe people work as hard as they used to, 78% say people take less pride in their work, 69% say workmanship is inferior, & 73% believe workers are less motivated. Personally I believe this is because so many of us are stuck in jobs that we don't enjoy, and we're not tapping into our life’s passion. We all have passions hidden within us, special talents that we excel at and I think those who discover this, and tap in without fear, will live much more fulfilled. I am thankful I am able to live my passion of writing and music, it doesn't mean it is not met with challenges, sacrifices and disappointments, however the rewards are far more worth it! Take some time to think about your passions, hidden talents or dream hobbies you've always wanted to tackle. I encourage you, once you've identified even one, to grab it and give it a shot! "The plans of the diligent lead surely to the plenty, But those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty." Proverbs 21:5

Heading into a new year, many of us take time to evaluate the year ahead. We list our goals and our new year resolutions, plan to visit friends and family more, go to church more, laugh more, etc. Here are some interesting stats I invite you to reflect on as you plan for your year. Did you know that in a lifetime the average North American will spend: - Six months sitting at stoplights - Eight months opening junk mail - One year looking for misplaced objects - Two years unsuccessfully returning phone calls - Five years waiting in line - Six years eating - 21 years watching TV - 23 years sleeping - 19 years working - Nine years in leisure Redeeming = to buy up, to ransom, to rescue from loss, to improve opportunity. "Redeeming the time is capitalizing on every appropriate opportunity" When you have time on your hands, try to fill it with whatever you are in most need of at the time. Perhaps rest, reading, prayer, walking, laughing, dreaming, writing, whatever your heart desires! Peace...RyLee

As I look back on 2005, I thank the many blessings I was fortunate to receive. Although life brought many challenges, it also brought the making of a brand new record, a tour of France & Ireland, a trip to Switzerland, working with the Hurricane Katrina Relief efforts in Houston TX, Two MIANS Awards (Music Industry Association of Nova Scotia), a spot on the ECMA Song Cafe 2006, and three new album cuts to name a few highlights! The launching of this brand new site marks the anticipated release of the new record, hopefully but the spring if all goes as planned. Shows are starting to fill in, with plans for a busy summer! This winter will be busy with writing in Nashville, something I love and feel very blessed to do. My thoughts are never too far from my friends and family, and I welcome any feedback you'd like to send! Happy New Year everyone, may it be all that you plan it to be. Peace...RyLee