City of the Rising

Before we begin…

I wrote this piece after a phenomenal Thank God For People (TGFP) concert in Austin, a monthly event where you can actually engage with the artists instead of the one directional, parasocial dynamic of larger performances.

What takes the cake is the open mic where you can share anything you’ve created - a song, poem, written piece, dance, anything, even experiences! It’s safe space for self expression, for anyone who has doubts about their creative side yet yearn to practice their voice.

I made many deep friendships in a very short amount of time thanks to TGFP. In the process, I realized just how special this city is as an emerging hub for inner cultivation and wholesome living - a place harnessing curiosity and ambition without competition or judgment. This is a tribute to the community and ideals that Austin has gifted me.

City of the Rising

What happened yesterday? I’m not exactly sure, yet. What I do know is that there is something brewing in Austin. It’s subtle, not loud, not trying to change or save the world, but something deep inside oneself, individually.

It’s personal, connected, and it makes us feel alive.

It felt like church. Except, instead of one voice preaching to the masses, this church is about self expression, mutual creation and inspiration, for the power of artists is to continuously transmute others work into new forms, passing the fire from one person to the next, with each cycle reaching new audiences until the entire world is awakened, ablaze in vibrant understanding and appreciation for universal languages that bonds as together as human beings who exist on this wondrous space rock, marvelous and insignificant at the same time.

This city is full of people who are truly, emotionally grateful, not just intellectually so. They in their own ways have overcome themselves to reach this state. Austin is a city of the rising, precisely because we have all fallen, and against the odds, survived, washed ashore to find each other.

Yet gratitude does not hold back ambition. There is a fiery hunger in each of us, but like a good conversation, no party is trying to win over the other. We are all seeking the answers to our own deepest questions, reveling in the opportunity to grow and level up in our craft every single day, continuously overcoming fear, imposter syndrome, generational trauma, self doubt, societal expectations, physical disabilities, financial constraints, uncertainty to risk it all for the sake of reaching the peak where we may witness the glorious sunrise of a our personal truths.

And when we glimpse that thin sliver of light across the horizon, we realize two things:

That there is yet another peak to climb, and we are not alone, for there are others who are perched atop their own peaks, smiling and saluting back at us.