Authbition Weekly — Artists Are the Human Expression of Mother Nature
From Cedar Mountain to Raleigh, a reflection on music, nature, and Flow
Welcome to the weekly newsletter for Authbition—it’s Authenticity and Ambition. It’s the best of the best, built on vulnerability, non-attachment, caring, thoughtfulness, and whole-mindedness.
Abby and I had a choice last week.
Drive ten hours back to Raleigh to see My Morning Jacket headline Hopscotch, a music festival taking place just a few blocks from our home. Or stay grounded in Cedar Mountain, parked in our Airstream under the trees.
It was a true this-or-that moment. The kind I built The Whole Mind Game for.
So I played it. If you’ve never played, I made a Custom GPT. It’s a great place to learn the game and to practice self-reflection. But the game is best played with another human. Try it out.
Our Tension: Go back to Raleigh for the show <> Stay in Cedar Mountain
This is a constructive tension — both sides good, but pulling in different directions. Here’s how the game played out:
Best of going back to Raleigh:
Belonging — supporting our favorite band and our city, surrounded by friends.Worst of going back to Raleigh:
Disruption — ten hours of driving, exhaustion, a break from the mountain calm.Best of staying in Cedar Mountain:
Nourishment — quiet, beauty, the grounding presence of nature.Worst of staying in Cedar Mountain:
Longing — missing the energy of community and the joy of live music.Best of the Best:
When I held both sides together, the synergy word emerged: Flow.
We stayed in Cedar Mountain, playing MMJ’s Waterfall album at camp, while friends sent photos and videos from Raleigh.
The music still reached us. We didn’t miss out — we tuned in.
That’s the genius of the AND. Flow over Overextension. Presence and connection, together.
In this week’s episode, I read the essay I wrote during One Big Holiday — a festival where time felt like a river and every song like a lifetime. And I reflect on something deeper: how artists are our human expression of Mother Nature. Just as we gather to see the leaves turn, we gather to hear music. Both are art. Both are life.
Watch or Listen to the Podcast
YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music
Read the Featured Essay
My Mind Swimming at One Big Holiday
We are water moving through the river of time
This Week’s Highlight
The first time I saw My Morning Jacket, they were on their Waterfall tour and coming through Raleigh’s Red Hat Amphitheater. Here in Cedar Mountain, the land of Waterfalls, we listened to the album of that same name while they were playing in Raleigh, a decade after that first life-changing experience. It was their song, Victory Dance, that had me declare, “Rock and Roll Lives!”
I was stuck. I was living in the past, listening to studio versions of the same songs I’d heard my entire life. The Who taught me, “The Music Must Change.” My Morning Jacket changed it, and changed me forever.
This week, I leave you with My Morning Jacket’s Victory Dance. I hope it touches you the way it touched me.
Thank you for taking the time to read, listen, and watch Authbition. I appreciate you.
Health, happiness, kindness, respect
for every being and all things.
— Andrew
