How Rising Before the Sun Changed My Creative Course

I'm originally from Saginaw, Michigan - which is in the back half of the Eastern Time Zone. I currently live in Washington Heights, in Manhattan (where the sun rises significantly earlier.) I was raised in a small city, and went to college in small cities. Although moving to NYC has been a dream of mine since forever, it has been a significant shift in my life. I'm no longer only a few short hours (driving) away from my core family and friends. At one point, I called my godsister Dana one night almost in tears because I had just realized that it was just me out here and I felt alone. I was renting a room in an apartment building, and working at a restaurant in Harlem - it was overwhelming to say the least. 

I was drained, super stressed, a hot mental mess for a good part of that first month. 

Fast forward to October, where I had moved in with a friend - his dad was my mentor all through college, and I met my new roommate Kurt. My roommate Kurt proved to be exactly what I needed at the time. We immediately got along, mostly because we're both old souls, and were in similar places in our careers. Kurt's presence made me realize that I needed to slow down, and it was the first time I have *actually* taken that advice. (Ask any of my family and friends...) I'm so thankful that our paths crossed. 

You see, I was having a problem of recognizing myself. Who was I in this new place? What would I actually pursue out here? Do I want to play piano, sing jazz, act, teach, or dance? I felt the extreme pressure of needed to make a choice immediately. And honestly, I can't make that choice - even today as I write this blog post. 

The truth is, I thoroughly enjoy ALL of those things. And I was killing my mental capacity trying to force something that is too wide into a narrow space. 

So, how did rising before the sun put this all into perspective? 

Kurt and I had a goal to start going to the gym first thing in the morning, because I found that trying to schedule gym time at any time other than that basically didn't happen for me. There would always be food to eat or a documentary to watch on Netflix. 

The first week was COMPLETE HELL. I did NOT want to be there. The second week was a little better, but still hell. By the third week, I started to look forward to checking it off the list. This week - I'm extending my time, making sure I'm hitting all the areas I need to hit and spending quality time with myself. With a little massage at the end. (Shoutout to Planet Fitness!) 

One day I was on the running machine - if you know me, you know I will trip over air particles for no reason, so I don't use the treadmill - and something hit my spirit so HARD. 

If you continue on this road of intentional enlightenment, your path will be illuminated. 

I didn't necessarily understand completely what that meant, but after reflecting on it, this is what the outcomes had been so far:

1.) My alcohol intake has been greatly reduced by 95%. My food choices are getting better...

2.) I have sought to increase and strengthen a sense of community and relationship within my family and friends.

3.) My CREATIVE BEING is fortified daily, and further encouraged to finish/produce work that sustains me. 

I'm so excited about what is to come. If you want to be apart of the journey, follow me on my social network platforms:

FB: Richard Baskin | IG: road.to.richland | Twitter: @roadtorichland | SC: richdollaz | YouTube: Richard Baskin Jr. (content is about to be poppin', so make sure you visit that platform when I tell you to!)