Following a song to Russia
Last month, I released a new CD.
The album includes a song called Keep Moving, which I wrote after learning about my friend’s mother’s family escaping East Prussia over the partially-frozen Baltic Sea at the end of WWII. My friend's mother was five years-old; she has never returned to her homeland. Almost seventy years after her escape, I got to hear her rarely-shared story. Even as we spoke for the first time, the seed of curiosity about visiting was planted. I've longed to see the East Prussian countryside and have many times imagined standing on the Baltic shoreline, the vast expanse of the sea filling my visual landscape.
One week from today, I will set out on that very adventure.
For twelve days will be on my own in Russia and Poland, followed by several days traveling with friends in Prague, Vienna and Budapest, and closing up the trip with several days again on my own. In total, I'll be gone for a month.
Why am I going, and what will I do there? To be honest, some of it's still coming together, and I expect some pieces won't come together until I'm actually there.
At its most basic, I'm going to listen and to sing.
This song, and my friend’s story, are continually teaching me to ask myself: “How far does my compassion extend?” The song is not pretty. It’s about war, which is messy, ugly, and traumatic. But where I may have first easily drawn battle lines or chosen sides, this story compels me to something deeper; it invites me to ask questions and seek out places, people and experiences to reveal a wider perspective.
With my guitar on my back, I’ll journey across Eastern Europe to be present to people, locations, and stories — past and current — and have conversations, eat local food, and sing songs in parks, living rooms, seasides, coffee shops, and old churches; at UNESCO sites, amid castle ruins, and maybe nearby a train station or two. People may stop to listen or sing along, but they might just as easily continue on their way. My hope is to offer a small gift in song and presence, and to receive all that is waiting for me.
Travel with me!
I’ll post pictures, videos and updates here along the way.
I'll leave you with Keep Moving, the song inspired by the story that inspired this whole adventure.
