Howdy my friends,

 

   We are deeply into autumn now and I love this season. In fact, this will be my very short update so that I can go for a hike in the late sun before it’s gone completely. I feel extremely fortunate that something in my being still feels about autumn like I did as a child. The leaves! The amber rays! The brisk air! The hurried chatter of birds gathering seeds! The leaf blowers! Well, not that last part. I once had a plan to steal and run over as many leap blowers as I could in a week. But then somebody told me I might go to jail. Whoa. That was handy information. So I never did it. Much anyway.

I’m hoping to finish my latest Substack letter tomorrow and send it out. The Morning, Brilliant Blue, it is called, after a lyric in my song, One Breath. I’ve really enjoyed writing stories for it. I am learning though, that it’s not as I imagined it. I began it, imagining that it’s a mini-magazine I send out every month. I put together five or six stories, photos, a little humor, a few insights, some stories from my life -- but then I find out that most people just don’t have time to read them. I looked around at other Substack writers and was amazed that they were putting out something about a page long. Yikes! So no wonder I was getting little notices from Substack. Something like, “reaching limit of space.” Who? Me? Uh-oh.

So I’m trying to shorten the length and put out shorter ones more often. It will take a little while to find the shape of it now that I realize it’s not what I was imagining it to be. We are in the age of people texting and emojiing and LISTENING to books rather than reading them. I don’t think I realized how much so, though.

My Substack Letter is free to all — though I’m hoping to gradually have enough paid subscribers to help me fund my new album of new songs I’m writing. I’m really excited about where my songs are going. But it’s hard work. As time goes on, I feel that there is a depth I want to reach in my songs that comes from having lived a few more decades. So I take my time and when I do, I’m often astonished at what comes from just giving it time to show me what it is.

While my goal is to build a base of paid subscribers — which is slowly starting to grow — it is available to everyone. So try it out. If you feel after a time that you love what I’m doing and wish to help support it; you may do that. You can check it out at http://michaeltomlinson.substack.com

I have played two or three of the new ones in my Breathing Classes. They get to watch me go from thinking “I have finished a new song!” to “remember that song I thought I’d finished? Well, it’s WAY better now.” Some of the ones I think are finished, throw little tantrums until I see what they are really trying to become. Once I get that, it’s as if I’m on an amusement ride. I just go the new places it takes me and marvel that the tidy little thing I thought was my song, has become now some magnificent work of art that I would have been amazed at years earlier. There are some good things about getting older, I guess.

I will have some concerts over the next year. Haven’t decided if I’ll do Thanksgiving or Christmas concerts on Zoom this year. I’ll definitely let you know if I do. In 2026 I hope to put together at least two or three Live in Person ones. Probably produced her in the NW by moi, since that’s about the only way to get a concert done.

Thank you for visiting my website and reading my greeting. If you feel that you could use a little help centering your life, breathing easier or sleeping deeper or just feeling less exhausted from the chaos of the world, come to one of my Breathing Into Your Life gatherings on Zoom. You’ll feel right at home.

Your friend in the wind, Michael Tomlinson

mt@michaeltomlinson.com