Alright, I’m tired.
Not “I didn’t sleep well last night” tired, more like “this has been a decade-long week and the coffee isn’t cutting it” tired, and my stomach can’t take any more coffee anyway (and also, tariffs). The kind of disturbingly weary that seeps into your bones a little and makes your to-do list look like a dare (and Other People keep adding to it). But here’s the thing — I’m not here to wallow. I’m here to tell you to cheer up.
Yeah, you heard me. CHEER UP!
I know that sounds like the kind of thing someone says right before you unfriend and block them, but hang on a sec. I don’t mean “pretend everything’s fine” or “paint a smile on your face and call it ‘growth mindset’.” I mean: pause, take a breath, and look around. You’re still here, and what you do and think matters.
Lately, the headlines read like the books that people are trying to ban now, your inbox is probably a war zone of urgent-but-not-important, and — because New England — I’ve got pollen allergies starting even while there’s ice on my car. And yet…
So, today is Friday. And every Friday afternoon I am part of a regular virtual music show. There’s a whole raft of us starting at 1:30pm and running to 6. I have the 5-5:30 spot. And just watching and listening to these other wonderful people sing their songs, or their versions of other people’s tunes, brought me back just a bit. There was perfection and not quite perfection. There were internet gremlins and missed transitions. There were funny songs, and heartbreaking songs, and angry songs, and tender songs…
That’s the thing: art doesn’t fix everything, but it reminds us we’re not alone.
So I want to offer this: if you’re dragging today, if your brain feels like wet charcoal, if you’ve been doom-scrolling yourself into nausea — cheer up. Not because everything’s great. But because there’s still music, and chocolate, and bad puns….
(Well, climate change may affect chocolate… and then there’s the tariffs, again. Ok, let’s move on.)
Because there are songs left to write and people you haven’t met yet who will change your life in small and beautiful ways.
There’s still time. There’s always still time!
Sometimes cheering up isn’t about turning up the happy. Sometimes it’s just letting yourself be a little lighter for a minute. Call a friend. Go outside. Sing loud in the car. Tell someone you miss them or that you love them. Tell yourself.
And if none of that works — come find me. I’ll be playing online or at a pub somewhere, reminding folks that the end of the world is probably not today, so we might as well sing a bit and laugh at ourselves and the absurdity of life.
You’re not alone. And you’re not done yet.
Cheer up, dammit.